I started playing around with the idea of a lip piercing a little over a year ago. I had seen a few people with them and I liked the way they looked, but at the time I was 16 and could not legally have it done. Where I live you have to be at least eighteen unless you have parental consent. I also knew my parents would never go for the idea; it took me months just to talk my mom into letting me get my cartilage done. After a few months of slipping it into conversation to get them used to the idea I realized it was not going to happen until I was out of the house.
At A Glance Author Kristen Contact Kristen@bme.anon IAM kris10 When A month ago Artist self pierced Studio friend's bathroom About a year after I decided I wanted one I took the initiative to order all the supplies I would need for a DIY lip piercing off a website listed in the links on BME. When they came in the mail I showed my mom everything I had ordered and talked to her about all the research I had done on the procedure. I told her that I was responsible enough to order the right materials instead of using a safety pin or something worse. I told her how I planned to do it and that I would be completely sanitary and safe. I expected her to be mad that I ordered all this stuff behind her back, but she saw that I was set on having a lip ring. She understood that I had considered and accepted anything that could go along with a lip piercing (infections, tooth damage, hard time finding jobs, strange looks, etc.) and said I could do it.
I waited until Dec. 19 because it was the day I started Christmas break from school. I took all my supplies and went to my best friend's house after school. Five of my closest friends were there because they had heard what I was doing and wanted to watch. I went into her parent's bathroom and washed my hands, cleaned everything, washed my hands, washed my hands again, and set out everything that I had ordered. I had one sterilized 16g piercing needle, one 16g captive ring, a little pad to clean my lip before I started, and some H2Ocean sea salt spray.
With my friends surrounding me with their cameras I marked where I wanted to put the needle. I placed the needle against my lip, took a deep breath, and started to push the needle through. It was in before I knew it and I barely felt a thing. I did not even realize it had gone through until my friend Natalee shouted "It's through!" Next came the hard part. By then all the adrenaline had kicked in and my hands were starting to shake. I still had to put the ring in. I tried to follow the needle with the ring, but it took a good ten minutes before I was able to get it. I almost fainted and my friends were ready to take me to a hospital, they had even called a local tattoo shop to ask for advice. But it was finished and I loved it.
One week later I went to Colorado with the same group of friends. The original ring was too large and it was driving my crazy, so I decided to change the jewelry. All I had with me was a labret stud, but I could not take the ring anymore. The stud worked great for a day, but when I woke up the next morning the disk was covered by a layer of skin. I got on the internet to see if this was normal and decided I needed to go see a professional about it. I went into Breckenridge Body Art and they were so helpful. A guy took me back to take a look at it. He tried to push it through and did just about everything he could think of besides getting a scalpel out. He said I'd probably have to see an oral surgeon about it. This idea did not sit well with me so I thanked him for his help and went back to the condo. I went into the bathroom to see for myself and decided to give it a try. I pushed and pushed for about five minutes and all of the sudden it popped right through. I went back to the shop to get better jewelry so the problem would not continue. He gave me a circular barbell and after that everything with my piercing was perfect.
Unfortunately I only kept it for three weeks because I am still in my senior year of high school and facial piercings are against the dress code. I plan on getting it re-done right after graduation, this time professionally.