Being a teenager, I would normally get extremely annoyed when an elder of any sort told me, "You're just a stubborn teenager." Well after this experience, I agree. Okay, well let me start from the VERY beginning. I am currently 15 years old, and I am a huge fan of body modification. I already have my lobes at 00g, and my nostril pierced. My mother and I have a deal where if I get above a 3.8 Grade Point Average for the school year, I can get a piercing. This year I was dead set on getting a Monroe piercing- and I didn't care how.
At A Glance Author Emily Contact Emily@bme.anon IAM :30toEMILY When A month ago Artist JayJay Studio The Canvas Tattoo Studio Location Prior Lakes, MN When I received my grades (3.85 GPA!) on a Thursday evening, I immediately told my mom and demanded that we would go and get my Monroe done tonight. We called around the Twin Cities area, and none of the shops we knew of were open, so I resorted to the wonderful world of Google. I found a place that happened to be open called The Canvas Studio. I didn't look into anything, except the fact that they pierce minors, so we left right that moment. You're probably thinking just what I said in the beginning of this, and yet again, I agree.
After about a twenty-minute car ride, we walked inside The Canvas Piercing studio. To be honest, I was not impressed. It was a very laid back atmosphere- almost too laid back. There was music being blasted throughout the shop, and when I say blasted... I mean blasted! It scared me a bit that all of the piercings were pretty much being done out in the open, but I didn't care. We went to the front desk and asked if they could pierce my Monroe. I filled out the paperwork (obviously not reading what I was signing- I know, I know. Shame on me.) and my mother and I showed our identification.
After a few minutes of nervously waiting, JayJay (the owner of the shop) took me to the room and told me to sit on the desk/chair thing. He asked me what color of jewelry I was interested in, and I was a bit confused- the post or the gem? So I asked him and he just gave me this look, as if I were the dumbest person in the world, and said "The gem". I obviously did not feel comfortable there anymore, but there was no turning back then. He then cleansed the right side of my upper lip, and marked the dot and asked how I liked the placement. I looked in the mirror to see if I liked it, but the dot was so goddamn big that I couldn't tell where it was. Being sick of all of this crap, I just shrugged and said, "Okay, sure."
Now, time for the real stuff. He put the clamp on (which didn't really hurt much), and told me to take a deep breath in, and then out. On the way out, as expected, he stuck the needle through. My god, did it hurt. I'm not usually a wimp when it comes to pain, but it was so sudden. He didn't prep me or anything. From what I can remember, I jumped a little from it being so sudden, and I could tell he was annoyed. I walked impatiently out of the room, wanting to leave as soon as possible.
Here comes the most ridiculous part of this experience; JayJay told me to rinse with Listerine after every time I eat, wash with antibacterial soap three times a day, and soak with a salt solution (containing one teaspoon of salt per 6 oz. of water), and when it was healed (which he said I'd know when it happens) to come in. Like hell I will. I thought he was supposed to be a professional!
For the next few days I followed some of the instructions. I still cleansed it with antibacterial soap twice a day (not knowing any better), rinsed with Listerine after every time I ate and soaked it in sea salt solution three times a day (1/4 teaspoon per 8 oz.). After about a week, my Monroe looked pretty irritated.
Now, here's where the story gets better. When my piercing was about two weeks old, my sister was interested in getting a rook piercing. But this time we really looked into it. After getting many opinions from friends, and input from the wonderful BMEzine, we decided to go to Saint Sabrinas in Minneapolis. I have to say, that was probably one of our best decisions in a long time.
Once again, we arrived at a different shop, but this time our opinion was very different. It felt very comfortable, but I could tell it was still a very clean and reputable shop. After my sister was pierced, I was able to talk to Jamie, the guy who pierced her. I asked him about the aftercare they told me about at The Canvas Studio, and he was appalled. He told me that antibacterial soap and Listerine will only hurt my piercing, and it was pretty obvious that it was, which was pretty believable, due to the fact that he's part of the APP.
That night, I was enlightened. (haha, I had to say it). After a telling him about my experience, I learned how horribly I was pierced. We chatted for a bit on what I should do now to successfully take care of it. He told me to use a sea salt soak three times a day, rinse my mouth with sea salt solution after every time I eat, and to try not to eat anything too spicy or salty. After I bought some new plugs for my ears, my family and I left the shop very happy.
It's been a few days since then, and my piercing has definitely improved. A tip for your next piercing is to make sure to look into the piercing studio before you go there, and once you get there, make sure it's a reputable place. Also, if you don't feel comfortable, LEAVE! I discovered that JayJay was suffering the "Cool Guy Syndrome", making me feel stupid for just asking some simple questions. If the piercing artist won't answer questions, that's probably not a good thing.
I hope you learned as much as I have by reading this, and I know that I won't be going anywhere else. If you ever get the chance, I suggest you visit Saint Sabrinas for a great piercing experience. And please, don't make the mistakes I made and earn the reputation of the "Stubborn Teenager". It's not worth it.