Several months ago I decided that I liked the look of a vertical labret piercing. It was unusual, symmetrical, pretty. However, my place of employment did not allow facial piercings. I barely got away with the "extreme" piercings I had in my ears. So, when I decided to quit my job, my local piercer was one of the first to know.
At A Glance Author Punkybrewmeister Contact Punkybrewmeister@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist Dom Studio Tat Nice Location Huntington, WV I made a pre-piercing trip to the shop to make sure my piercer was able to do the piercing and was comfortable with the process. I looked into the type of jewelry available, looked at pictures of previous vertical labret piercings he had done, checked into pricing, and set up an appointment.
My boyfriend had the money a day before I got my last pay check and decided to go ahead with the process. Curious as to what I was getting into, as well as wanting to give moral support, I went along for the ride. The process seemed as I expected with much emphasis put on placement. I'm obsessed with symmetry which was one of the reasons I wanted this piercing in particular. His lip was clamped, he drooled a little, cringed when the needle went though, and was happy with the result. He didn't show much sign of pain, but verbalized that is was by no means a walk in the park. FAR more painful than his eyebrow, which was his first and only other piercing.
After he was done, we went to the mall for some dinner and, although my boyfriend complained slightly of pain, he ate and drank with ease... aside from using straws. Since the upper ball of the barbell comes up directly in the middle of your lip, it's hard to make a seal around the straw.
So, my day came and I was only slightly nervous. The time it took to align the piercing took significantly longer than it had on my boyfriend. After checking for placement and getting a few other opinions, it was time to do it. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and cringed for what seemed like forever. The skin literally popped and I heard it crunch. That hurt WAY worse than my industrial, which was quite uncomfortable. I looked at it, asked a few people in the shop what they thought, and decided it might be slightly crooked. The piercer told me if I decided I wanted it redone to come back any time and he would fix it, free of charge.
Being the stickler about symmetry that I am... I ran an errand and I went back 20 minute later. He reused the same top hole and made a new one slightly to the right of the old bottom one. He put the clamps on and I closed my eyes tightly in anticipation of the pain. I almost decided to deal with the crooked piercing because it had hurt so badly the first time. Now it was tender and I knew it was going to be worse.
That shit hurt like a son-of-a-bitch. Let me tell you. It was far, FAR more painful than either time I got my nipple pierced. It seemed to get stuck in the middle of my lip and had to be forced through. But it was done, and done right. And I was happy with it.
Here I am, 3-4 months down the line and LOVE it. It has developed a small bump of skin on the top, but is barely noticeable, and I suspect with proper care, it will go away. It gets sore from time-to-time. But I suppose that's normal if you are going to agitate it by eating a lot or kissing people. After all, it IS in a "high traffic" area. It was very easy to take care of during the healing process, being on the front of my face an all. So, if you can take the pain, it's a hot piercing to get.
I'm from a smaller city and the body art crowd isn't very large. It's nice to have something you don't see everyday. Something to get noticed for. I think it draws attention to my fuller bottom lip and looks really hot when I get all glammed up. One of my friends told me it made her want to make out with me.
As with most of my other piercings (I have 6, used to have a nipple ring [had that done twice], and have 1/2" ear lobes), I play with it all the time. I don't have trouble with it rubbing my gums as with a regular labret piercing, but i bite on it a lot. So far, I haven't had any trouble with it damaging my teeth either. Like I said, I have had nothing but a positive experience with this one... if you can take the pain. :]