Decisions
At A Glance Author Cyn Contact Cyn@bme.anon When A week ago Studio Skull of the Dragon Location Newport, Maine
I was forced to remove my lip rings 6 months after I got them done due to gum recession and a while later I was missing my lip piercings like crazy. After emailing the owner, Rose, at Skull of the Dragon, I decided to go with a vertical lip piercing figuring that since it wouldn't be touching my teeth, I wouldn't have to worry about the previous woe. Deciding to kill two birds with one stone, I also set up an appointment to get my anti-eyebrow re-done on the opposite side.
That is, I decided on vertical until I was skimming BME that morning and I caught sight of the horizontal lip piercings. It was love at first sight.
The Day
I arrived at the parlor right as they opened, filled out the usual form that asked for age, allergies, whether or not I had AIDS/HIV and such and then paced nervously around the room while the piercer himself made his way to work.
The piercer, whose name I can't remember, arrived shortly and led me to the familiar back room. After quickly wiping down the piercing bed with some sort of cleaner, and washing his hands, he went on to pulling on gloves and setting up equipment. I watched him take out individually packaged needles, jewelry, and clamps. He then changed gloves, opened the packages and rubbed some brown liquid on my face where my anti-eyebrow and lip piercing would go.
After the anti-eyebrow was pierced, he went through the entire sterilization pattern again and I decided to ask him about doing the piercing horizontally instead of vertically. He had no idea what I was talking about but said he was pretty sure he could still do it. We decided to place it right underneath my bottom lip instead of directly through because I was screwed with really thin lips. He offered to do it with a surface bar which I knew was a better choice over a curved barbell from reading this article but I am more familiar with curved barbells and I don't keep many of my piercings over a long period of time so I went with a curved barbell instead.
Clamping isn't the most comfortable feeling in the world but it's not something to worry about either. The piercer talked to me about old school bands he liked as he checked the placement and held the needle in place. He asked if I was ready and I said go for it. I took a deep breath and the needle went through. No tears, no grimacing, no nothing. Other than the burning sensation underneah my lip, I felt fine.
While the needle felt like nothing, the barbell was another thing. It was externally threaded and I could feel every one of those threads ripping through my skin. It was painful but not overwhelmingly so. I just gritted my teeth and waited for him to finish. After he got the end ball screwed on, he discussed how to take clean it, care for it, and approximately how long to let it heal (4-6 weeks).
I paid $50 for the piercing. It's a little bit crooked but most people have told me that they didn't notice until I told them.
Afterwards
Swelling: When I had my lip pierced before there was no swelling. This time my lower lip expanded about 3 times it's normal size (Hey, it almost looked normal!). The bar was long enough to accommodate the swelling but the skin in that area still felt tight when I smiled, talked, and ate.
Cleaning: I clean this piercing by filling a 1/2 cup measuring cup with luke warm water and some sea salt. I then soak my lip in it for as long as I feel necessary. I do this only once a day. The rest of the time, I just use q-tips to soak off any blood or clear puss-like stuff that has built-up on the bar.
Pain: A little throbbing for the first 3 days and it didn't like when I nicked it with glasses, mugs, or hand but otherwise it gave me no problems.
Reactions: Most people think that it's two separate labrets. I always have to pull my lip down to show them that it doesn't go all the way through. Then they're usually completely disgusted. My little sister loves it. She's been sticking those sticker earrings under her lower lip to copy mine to the best of her ability. I think that I've completely corrupted the poor thing.
Other: One thing I've become more aware of is that when I'm deep in thought I have a tendency to pull in my bottom lip and chew on it. This happens now with quite a bit of pain since I always forget that the bar's there and I bite down on the barbell before remembering.
STRAWS have become my new best friend. The rims of mugs and glasses touch the piercing when I go to drink things and I really don't like the feeling of the glass hitting the metal that's stuck in my skin. Eww.
Other than that I haven't had any problems with this piercing.
That's all there is to this tale. Now go out there and get one too!