At A Glance
Author	clementine
Contact	clementine@bme.anon
When	It just happened
Artist	myself
Studio	my room
Location	maine

Medusa? ...maybe

Vertical Labret?...maybe

Scrumper?...YES!!!

I was exploring BME, goggling at the pictures of people and their piercings. At first I thought I was set on getting a medusa or maybe a vertical labret, but being a compulsive-indecisive 16 yr. old I didn't know what I wanted. I finally came across the page littered with photos of mouths stretched wide open, showing off the cute little rings that dangled from... well somewhere.

I scanned through some experiences of people who loved their scrumpers, hated them, pierced themselves and so on... through out the day I wanted one more and more. When I laughed or smiled I would think... "this would be so much cooler if I had a scrumper piercing," and the idea launched from there...

I had my boyfriend drive me down to the store where I bought most of my body jewelery. I purchased a few rings that I thought would look lovely dangling from my scrumper..(that sounds a little strange.) I picked a few different sized rings.. but all were 16 gauge because that seemed it would be the perfect fit. We then drove over to a local tattoo/piercing shop hoping to purchase some sort of piercing needle, but they weren't open. When we arrived at the second shop they were just opening and I was too shy to go in. My boyfriend assured me that we could come back another time, but ultimately my compulsiveness got the best of me.

Now comes the action!

I was out all day and I returned home bursting with excitement, I was going to pierce myself! Now.. I'm not one who recommends or even thought I could go through a DIY piercing... but I did.

I collected the materials I needed -

-A needle which I sterilized (though I only scalded it with a lighter)

-A clean ring which I had just purchased

-Witch Hazel to clean the piercing when finished

-And some audacity.

I lifted my lip and poked around the area until I found a good spot. (Though now looking back and reading further, I should have pierced it further back so to delay rejection, which seems to be common with scrumpers after a year or so.) When piercing myself I inserted the needle somewhat slowly because of the fragile area, which surprisingly didn't cause more pain. I placed my finger on the side opposite of the needle and hoped to feel it emerging. When it did ,I tried smoothing down the skin that was preventing its final puncture. It took a few tries, but finally it was working its way through, and voila, PAINLESS. I inserted the needle a few more times to make sure the hole was fit for a ring to go in.

I was ready to put the ring in and though it took some force it finally budged; the ball which snapped the ring together was another story in itself. It didn't end there, I decided that the jewelery was too big, and went for the smaller ring instead, which too took forever to snap the ball into place. When finished, I rinsed my new piercing with witch hazel, (though I'm not sure if that was the best thing to use) and later I proceeded to swish warm salt water around in my mouth and brushed my teeth, just to make sure my new piercing was in safe surroundings.

I was overjoyed that I actually did something like that for myself!!

I took a picture and sent it to my mom and a few close friends. I got mixed responses. My mom thought I was joking at first and went on to say "were you high?" which gave me a chuckle because she was in such disbelief. My friend asked if I would do hers because she liked the looks of it, but I told her I wanted it all to myself, and I don't know anyone else who has it, which makes it all the better! I wasn't sure what to think; the first few times I looked in the mirror I didn't think my smiley suited me, so I went to a friends house to get his opinion which consisted of a long stare and an "uhh..", which didn't exactly make me feel oh so confident about it. I returned home, gazed in the mirror again and alas, I fell in love. It did suit me, and the more I look at it the more I adore it. Now I'm completely sure that I want my piercing to stay until it decides to fall out, I want it to last forever!

All in all I'm super happy with my new piercing, it's fun, original, and was completely painless!!

p.s- scrumper is a term that roughly means "cute little thing" which I find adorable.