I have loved body modification culture for a long time, but I never had the balls to get a true visible mod. Both of my tattoos are easily hidden (on my back and on my right ribs) and my very first body piercing (navel) hardly ever comes out to play. But I've wanted something pretty and more visible for quite some time.
At A Glance Author Melissa Newman-Evans Contact Melissa Newman-Evans@bme.anon IAM hazakaza When It just happened Artist Owen Studio Chameleon Tattoo and Body Piercing Location Cambridge MA
I had been debating--lip centered, lip off-centered, or nostril--for weeks. Finally, I settled on off-center lip, with the probability of another to make it into snake bites. I had no set date to do it, but I kept having dreams of getting more tattoos, more piercings, and it was driving me a little crazy. One morning, I was exhausted, sleepy, unhappy, and shouted to my room mate, "ALL I REALLY WANT TO DO IS GET MY LIP PIERCED TODAY!"
A few minutes later, my friend--who wanted to get her third tattoo--imed me and said, "Want to come to the shop with me? I'm gonna make my appointment. And you can get your lip done!" And suddenly, it felt like the time was right. I didn't have any time to psych myself out of the pain, or consider anything but the overwhelming desire to pierce my lip. So I jumped on it, and I said an overwhelming YES!
We met at the Harvard t-stop and went up to Chameleon, my shop of choice. They are always VERY clean, and my back tattoo--a large and GORGEOUS hummingbird--is what hooked me on this wonderful shop. Their prices for piercings and tattoos are excellent for the quality of work and their location in the heart of cambridge.
I signed up, flashed my ID, and dashed back to the shop, which had just opened. Owen was one of the only people there, but he got to us very quickly. He sat me down and we talked placement, that I wanted it to end up as snake bites. He told me that if I came back, he could change the ring to a smaller ring, autoclave the ring he had used to pierce me, and then pierce the other side, which would save me the cash for an extra piercing ring, which was amazingly nice of him. I also expressed my concerns about gum recession. (I research every mod well before I get it.) He assuaged my fears completely and told me it would naturally have an upward angle. He looked at my lip, cleaned me, and made the first dot at my direction. I wasn't sure of the placement for the end result of snake bites, so he made another dot for comparison. Having done that, I was happy with his very first placement. He took a sip of coffee, scrubbed up, and opened up all the new packages of sterile jewelry, needle, everything. My f riend had to look away. Owen's voice was very soothing. I only felt a sudden rush of fear when Owen told me to breathe, and I knew what was coming. I felt the point of the needle pricking my lower lip, and bam! It was through! He kept talking in his wonderful, soothing voice as he slid the jewelry through. What a rush! I didn't bleed at all, either. It was over so quickly that I was still on time for work. I almost forgot to tip him, but my friend reminded me and I could have HIT myself for my poor etiquette. Owen was so kind (not to mention CUTE!) and I would highly recommend him to anyone and everyone who wants to get a nice relaxed piercing by an excellent piercer. He went over aftercare with me in detail--"Leave it alone, clean it twice daily with liquid antibacterial soap, use listerine, and use salt water"--and sold me some H2Ocean salt water spray.
The whole first day, it was fairly numb and happy with endorphins. Eating was rather difficult, but I handed it. I cleaned it off with the salt water after eating and kept drinking cold drinks to soothe it. I took some ibuprofen to keep the swelling down, but it barely swelled at all. My job is to talk on the phone, but it was fine. I also discovered that he was exactly right--the way he had pierced it, my lip ring didn't even touch my teeth unless I consciously touched the ring to my teeth. The piercing was perfectly straight, too, just the way I wanted it--not leaning to the left or the right, but straight up and down along my lip. I was so happy that it felt so right in my lip.
I'm now on my third day of healing and it's shedding lymph cells a bit. It's still sore, but that's to be expected. The ring is a bit bigger than I like, but I know that it's best to have a ring that's too large than a ring that's too small if my lip swelled like crazy. Everyone loves my new piercing, and I'm so happy that I got it done. It's beautiful. I will definitely be going back to Owen to finish my snakebites!