My vertical labret experience occurred about three to four months ago. I have all my piercings done by Ricky at Artistic Skin Designs in Avon. He has done my eyebrow, my ears, and my lip(which has been done 5 times) and he is the only one I trust with this sort of thing.. He is a cool ass guy and I recommend him to anyone who lives in Indy.
At A Glance Author Wes Contact Wesb2003m@yahoo.com When Three months ago Artist Ricky Studio Artistic Skin Designs Location Avon, Indiana Well, too start off, like I stated earlier, I have had my lip done 4 times, twice on the left side, once on the right, and once in the middle. I was happy with having my lip pierced in the middle but then I saw a picture of the vertical labret and knew that is what I had to have. So I took my center lip ring out(which kind of sucked because I had just put a new one in, it was black)and waited about a week for the hole to close up a bit. There was nothing wrong with having the ring in the middle, it didn't hurt or hinder anything but I just needed a change.
So one day I went up to Artistic with my friend Justin(who has gone with me before when I get my piercings done) and my other friend Brian, not for moral support, but they wanted to come and I didn't mind. So I went in and looked in Ricky's booth and saw he was piercing some girls belly button, so I just sat in one of the chairs and waited. A few minutes later he came out and said "Hey Wes, what are you getting done today" and I told him I wanted a vertical labret piercing. I was not familiar with the piercing and I didn't know if it was a new piercing or anything so I was concerned if he would know how to do it, but when I said what I wanted he knew exactly what I wanted, which I should have expected, but I didn't know. :D After I filled out the form and everything, he stamped my free piercing card, at Artistic they have this thing if you get 5 piercings you get one free minus the price of the jewelery. So, he said told me it would be a minute so he could get set up and I told him okay and sat back down waiting. I always get nervous before my piercings and this one was not any different. After a couple of minutes he called me in and told me to have a seat on his table. Then we talked for a bit, and then went through the cleaning of the area process, and the rinse with mouthwash. He knew I had my lip done, as he is one who did it, and asked me how long I had it out for. I told him and said that's okay. After it was cleaned, he went ahead and made the mark for the piercing and I checked it out in the mirror and it was perfect, right where I wanted it. After that he had me lie down on the chair/table/bed thing(like doctors have) and got out the clamps. He placed the clamp where it needed to go and made sure it wasn't painful for me. Then I started to get my adrenaline rush and all the butterflies went away. Next came the needle, he placed it on the bottom of my lip, going from bottom through the top, and told me take a deep breath in.. I did, and then... the needle came through the top. I have to say it was the most painful piercing I have had, partially because it went through the scar tissue for my lip ring. Then, he put the jewelery in, screwed on the ends we it was done. I sat up and looked in the mirror and it was better than I imagined it would be. It bled some, but that was because of the scar tissue it had went through. I got up and my friends checked it out and they said it was tight so i was happy. We went to the counter and I paid(40 for the piercing and 10 for the tip), and me and Ricky talked for a little bit more, and I told him i would see him later and headed out the door.
Overall I am very pleased with the piercing and had no problems during the healing process, it bled the first day, but after that it was fine. I have had it for three months and everything is fine. If you want to get a lip piercing, or a labret I say go for it 'cause in the end it is worth it. Also, if you are in Indy I recommend Artistic because everyone there is very personable and it is a very clean place. They make you feel welcome and can answer any question you have.