Once upon a time in a far away land (well actually, 3 years ago- and not so far away. only 10 miles.) I had my labret pierced. I kept it in for about a year and then decided to take it out because I thought it didn't suit me anymore. Fast forward 2 years, and during those 2 years i had kicked myself again and again for taking it out. I thought "you know what? this is it. I want this done and I want it done NOW." and I decided to go ahead and get it done again.
At A Glance Author laughy When It just happened It took me a while to find a place that would pierce me with a 16 gauge (because all my labret jewelry is 16 gauge)... The places that i called all said that they did it with 14 gauges. That's fine. But the ones that DID tell me they would do it with a 16 gauge didn't have the right kind of jewelry because none was long enough for the swelling. And I certainly wasn't about to go through what I had went through earlier with my lip piercing. But considering this is a very small town, I should have known better. *rolls eyes*
So, after I had called around and found a place that I thought sounded like it was a decent one, I decided to go and give it a try. The first time I seen the building, I knew I made a good choice. It was SO clean inside and out and the piercer was very friendly. After he finished working on a woman's tattoo on her back (it was very pretty, might I add- and now makes me want another tattoo, haha!), He came out of the little room and told me he was ready to pierce my labret.
Of course, he made me swish listerine for 30 seconds before I sat down in the chair. Even after so many piercings I was still nervous. I think it's quite funny. I am such a chicken when it comes to things like this. He marked the spot on my lip with a little pen and told me he put it there because it would be the best placement so that it caused minimal discomfort and damage to my teeth and gums. (he also told me how out of the tattoo and pierecers in the area, only 3 were trained in piercing. how scary is that?) I checked to make sure it was okay (because he told me to) and of course it was just fine. After I sat back down on the chair, he took the clamp from his counter and clamped me which never seems to hurts in the least bit. Then he took the needle out of its packaging and told me that he was going to pierce it right then. So, quickly and painlessly, he pierced my labret. It was probably THE cleanest piercing I had ever encountered thus far. (I've had my labret done twice now, my lip on the left side, my nose, my eyebrow, and my ears several times. I don't have my left side of my lip or eyebrow pierced anymore, however.) I honestly didn't even flinch this time. I was surprised. No drooling... nothing! It was amazing, haha!
Then he cleaned me off and told me to take some q-tips with warm water to "wash away" the very little blood around the area and proceeded to tell me how to take care of it. (Sea salt soaks! The first time any piercer ever told me this, but I knew it was a good thing because of lots of research on the internet.) I mentioned that his shop was so clean and nice and he told me that he appreciated it and that he hoped it made a good impression on everyone that walked in to it. I thanked him and paid him... Out the door I went happy as can be!
Now it's been a few hours and there's bare minimum swelling and no bruising. (something i did the first time i got it done.) I have ate and I seemed to not have a problem twith eating anything either. I did get it caught a few times, but you definetly learn very quickly not to bite down on it, haha. Right now though, I can't wait until I get to take this honker out and put a smaller labret stud in there.
Over all and in general, I am extremely satisfied with this piercing. The first time i got my labret done, I felt uneasy. I was afraid it didn't suit me at all... But after 3 years I really do think it does suit me now and I hope I can enjoy it many years down the road.