At A Glance
Author	anonymous
Contact	soph_ww@hotmail.com
When	It just happened
Artist	Kat
Studio	HTC Body Piercing
Location	Tempe, Arizona

I had my eyes on getting a monroe piercing for several months, unfortunately my parents weren't so keen on letting me get it, but eventually - they let me.

I wasn't too sure if it would suit me or not, originally I wanted a labret piercing but I came to the conclusion that it probably wouldn't look good on me, even though i've not quite wiped this off my list of future piercings to come..., so, anyway, I decided to go for the monroe - it seemed like something a little different.

I had my piercing done at HTC Body Piercing, where I previously had my tongue pierced in September for my 15th birthday, and certainly lived up to its good reputation, I will definitely be returning for more.

My Mom and I had to sign a few papers, show some I.D. (passports and my Mom's marriage certificate, because she has a different last name than me).

The shop was busy so we had to wait for about 20 minutes, I started to get a few butterflies in my stomach but I figured i'd be fine, none of my previous piercings hurt too much.
I chose my jewelery out of a box containing about 15 different colors and 3 different sizes, I picked a small clear stud which I thought would look good because my nose stud is the same color and I wanted something that wasn't too "loud".

Then I got called back into one of the 4 rooms, it was pristine, I sat up on the bed.
I was told to wash my mouth out with the mouthwash given to me in a small cup for 30 seconds, which I did.
Kat then put some new gloves on and then marked a small dot on both sides of my upper lip in blue ink and I checked to see if this is what I wanted in the mirror, the positioning was perfect - after seeing the dot, all of my butterflies were gone and I was ready and excited for my piercing.
She unwrapped the brand new needle and bar out of its packaging and told me to lie back on the bed, she took the needle and carefully aligned it with the blue dot underneath my lip - no clamp was used, she told me to take a deep breath in, hold it for a few seconds, and then release it slowly through my nose as she pushed the needle through quickly.
I didn't really feel anything, well - I felt the needle exit my skin, but it certainly wasn't painful, it felt like someone had put a tiny amount of pressure onto my face, I didn't even feel a pinch... which in a way pleasantly surprised me. She then shifted the needle a little to the right so she was able to put the bar in, which felt a little weird and unusual but not certainly not painful. She then pushed the bar up and the needle came out and was disposed of in a sharps box.
Kat then fixed the bead onto my new bar, this was a little awkward because it was a small ball and it took a few seconds to align and tighten the bead onto the bar, but once it was in, all was great and I was extremely pleased with the outcome.

I looked in the mirror at my new piercing, I love it, I love how when the light catches it it glistens, I also love how the bead isn't huge and obnoxious, but still obvious enough to be noticed.
I've only had my new piercing for about 3 hours, the swelling is the worst yet that i've encountered with my 12 piercings and it feels a little weird and my lip looks a little odd, but I can still talk and eat with no difficulty... so it isn't that bad. It is a little painful to smile and laugh (this may be what caused the swelling to be so bad.. so I advise you to try and limit your happiness after your piercing!), but i'm sure that this won't last for too long.

I was given products to care for my new piercing, a bottle of blue non-alcoholic mouthwash - which actually tastes really good, and a salt-water spray, which I haven't actually seen before, I find very useful as i'm not a huge fan of messy salt water soaks. I was told not to touch or play with my new piercing until it heals, even though this is a little hard because I love to fidget, and then, after 2 weeks, I can get it downsized to a smaller post.

I would recommend this piercing to anyone, I think it looks great on both male and females.