My fascination with the Monroe piercing surpassed fantasy and bled right into obsession. My drive to get this was my dirty little secret. Every person I told that I wanted this had the same reaction...
At A Glance Author Betty Contact Betty@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Unknown Studio Bound By Design Location Denver, CO
"Are you serious?"
"I hate those?"
"Facial piercings make you look gross. Don't get one."
...and so on and so forth. No matter who I told, I got the same reaction. This alone kept me from getting one. So, I shoved this thought into the back of my mind until it disappeared...or so I thought.
A couple of weeks ago, my roommate and I were talking about what we wanted to get done. I have 3 tattoos, and she was wanting one. She has bunches of piercings, and I was wanting one. Then, I thought, why don't I finally get that forbidden piercing of my dreams? I thought about it for a week or so, then, one Saturday, I decided to go ahead and do it, or else I never would.
I searched the internet for about 5 minutes before I found a sanitary, clean studio that had a reputation for good work. I drove down there immediately, walked in and asked about the piercing. It was then that I realized that I know nothing about getting anything but my ears pierced, and had to have everything explained to me.
I'm not a piercing person. I have my ears pierced, once in each ear, and I never wear earrings. This was a stretch.
Finally, I decided to get one. The piercer, a very friendly girl with lots of piercings (including a Medusa), drew three dots on my face and I chose the one closest to my cheek. I lay down on the bed, she disinfected, clamped and then...1...2...3...drove a needle through my skin. It was surprisingly tolerable. I can't remember anything so seemingly horrifying that ended up being...relatively painless.
Actually, her putting in the jewelry actually pinched more than the actual piercing. It was surreal. I was expecting to bleed and cry all over the place, not to mention hating myself forever for putting myself through so much pain.
She warned me that I would hate this piercing for the first month, because the labret she put in was far too big for my face, but I had to accommodate my piercing for swelling. I wouldn't be able to change out the labret for 4-6 weeks.
Turns out, I didn't swell AT ALL. Seriously. The hole got red, and a tad sore when I was eating, but no swelling. So, I just had a big antennae sticking out of my face. It was driving me crazy.
Now, I have delicate features. I have a small nose and a smaller mouth. Maybe, if I had Angelina Jolie lips, it wouldn't have looked so silly. But, no, here's this fragile little white girl with a hunk of metal jutting out above her lip. It was difficult to wash my face, because I would keep hitting it. Changing shirts, I would always snag it. I couldn't open my mouth very wide without it snagging my gums.
So, ignoring all sensible advice, I bought a smaller, prettier labret and changed out the piercing on my own...a mere 3 days after I got the piercing. However, the original piercing was a bit more difficult to get out than I expected. It was screwed on so tight, I couldn't manage it off, even with pliers. So, I gave up on trying to get it off. However, I found out the hard way that I had scratched the jewelry with my little escapade, and it was very painful to scratch against the fresh wound.
Then, I HAD to get it out and replace it with scratch-free jewelry that wouldn't give me an infection. I sat myself down in front of a mirror, got two sets of pliers, and didn't stop until that thing was off.
Once I slipped the old jewelry off, the new jewelry was very easy to put in. I make sure the new stud is in tight, but not THAT tight.
Now, I love it. No antennae, no swelling, no infection...just a pretty little diamond.
Of course, I clean this thing almost ritualistically. Twice a day, I use Q-tips to lather antibacterial soap on and off, and then to hold that sea salt mixture to my face for 5-10 minutes. It feels good to know that it's clean.
I love this piercing. It's modest, pretty, and I'm glad I have the right kind of face to pull it off. Now, people's reactions are totally different. Everybody likes it. I get compliments constantly throughout my day from strangers. It's awesome. If you want to, do it. This kind of mistake will always grow in if you don't like it.
Just always make sure you're going to a reputable, clean place. Where I went, everyone was friendly and I could tell they actually cared about the jobs they're doing. Suffice it to say, I gave a generous tip. She did a good job in calming my nervous self down. It's worth the extra change.