At A Glance Author aniorange Contact aniorange@gmail.com IAM aniorange When A month ago Artist Self done I should start by saying self piercing is a risky affair. This is not advice or instructions on how to do it yourself. This is simply my experience. I have done a lot of research and have taken my own health and safety into my own hands.
I had self-pierced before. All the previous times involved some sort of safety pin or sewing needle. Well, no more. I decided to be a bit more responsible this time and perhaps a touch smarter. I purchased some 14 gauge piercing needles from BMEShop. I felt I had been pierced enough and read enough, to have some idea of what I am doing. I felt more confident that I had a more proper needle. It was time for me to take what I considered another step. I was going to pierce my lip again.
First, I set a small pot of water to boil. When it reached boiling, I dropped the jewelry into the water. I set a timer for 20 minutes. As the jewelry sat in boiling water, I went about setting everything up. I got a little fold up table and sat it in the bathroom. I took some anti-bacterial wipes and wiped it down. I got some lubricating jelly, genetain violet, alcohol, toothpicks, cotton balls, paper towels, gloves and the needles I had bought. I put on some gloves and laid out some paper towels on the fold up table and squeezed out a little bit of lubricant. I took a toothpick and dipped it in the genetain violet and made a small mark where I wanted the piercing. I took off my gloves.
I waited a few more minutes for the jewelry to boil. When my timer went off, I took the pot off the stove. The water was pretty shallow. I put on some more gloves and grabbed the circular bar bell out of the pot and dropped it into my other hand. I took one of the balls off and laid part of it in the lubricant. I took off my gloves again. I peeled the package the needle was in open, put on new gloves and took the needle and placed the tip in the lubricant. I turned to Nicole and told her now was the time.
I picked up the needle and turned to the mirror. I placed the tip of the needle against the mark I had made. I pulled my lip down a little and just started pushing. It did not hurt that much, at least not at first. I, somewhat, expected the needle to just push right though. That was not the case. I kept pushing, determined to succeed. I started to see the tip pushing out on the inside of my lip. I pushed even more. My skin stretched inside my lip as the tip seemed more and more like it would break though, but no such break happened. It pushed though oh so slowly. After the tip was halfway out, it began to get a little easier to push. I pushed the needle halfway though and stopped. I had to take a breath.
I let the needle fall carefully in my mouth and turned to look at Nicole. I cannot remember what I said to her. I turned, and was about to pick up the jewelry, when I decided I need to push the needle farther through before I was ready for the jewelry. I pushed the needle till it was almost though. I used my finger to put a dab of lubricant on the dull end of the needle to help things slide along, and then picked up the jewelry. I tried to use the jewelry to push the needle out and the jewelry in. I had to tug on the needle a bit more and as I pulled the needle out, I felt the jewelry slide right in. I was surprised how little pain I was experiencing. I had been afraid I would chicken out. However, I did not seem to have any problem doing the job.
I now had the jewelry in and turned it, so that I could easily put the ball on the end. I tried doing this with my gloves on, but it just was not working. I took off my gloves and was able to screw the ball on pretty quickly. I gave my new addition a look over, inside and out. I knew I had made the dot on the outside of my lip in the same spot it was before. I would seem I was also able to exit at the same spot as before. I was quite pleased with this discovery. All and all it seemed to go pretty smoothly.
The piercing was done, the jewelry was in, and then I realized I forgot some things. I forgot to wash my mouth out before I pierced. Well, too late to go back and do that. I got some mouthwash and diluted it and washed my mouth out as well as I could. I also had forgotten to clean the outside of my lip. I got my trusted provon and wiped it down as well as possible. Such measures were a bit late, but better late than never. I, then, took time to pick up all my stuff.
Healing was, overall, easier than I expected. I tried keeping it clean with provon on the outside and mouthwash on the inside. I did forget from time to time. I hate that about myself. The first couple of days after the piercing it was stiff, slightly swollen and sore. The swelling came down pretty quick. The circular bar bell I put in began to move more freely. It may all be in my mind but it seemed to heal faster than when I had it pierced professional. There is something to be said about the germs in ones house. There are a limited number of people coming in and out compared to the amount of people at a piercing shop. Do not get me wrong, I have absolutely no complaints about my previous piercing experience.
I wanted to make sure to give the piercing plenty of time to heal before I changed the ring out. I kept wanting to change it, as I was no longer fond of the circular bar bell. I wanted to just put a captive bead ring there. It seemed pretty well healed, but I kept making myself wait. That is until one day as I was munching on some food and playing at the computer, the circular bar bell fell out. One of the balls had disappeared. I stopped for a moment, with a mouth full of chewed food wandering where it was. I looked about the floor and did not see it. I decided to just go ahead and swallow. If it was mixed in there, I did not feel like looking for it.
Now, I had little choice. I had to put another ring in. I went and selected one from my collection, and popped it in. It did not get irritated at the switch. There was no swelling or redness. My lip piercing is just as good as it was with the other jewelry, and I am even happier.