Ok, so I have always had a timid love for body mods.... I mean who hasn't. I am however a little cautious about getting one in a clearly visible area, so since I was about 14 I wanted to get under my tongue pierced. I thought it would be the perfect way to show my love of body mods but not really. At 15 I tried to pierce it myself and lost the hole, and thus decided I would never do it by myself again.
At A Glance Author Britt Contact Britt@bme.anon When A week ago Artist J Studio Aenigma ink Location Ontario When I finally went away to university, my roommate confessed that she wanted to get her nose pierced, so one day we decided we would just and get it done. We looked up a few shops in town and decided on one that we herd was good from a friend. We also brought one of my other friends along for moral support.
The truth is that I was slightly disappointed to have so many people with me and felt a little uncomfortable with the fact that I had two of my good friends with me. I wanted to just get it done on my own. I think getting a piercing done is a personal thing that you need to be comfortable with. If you are comfortable with people being there that's fine, but if not I would advise you to make this clear to any one who wishes to be there.
Anyways when I went in and told the guy what I wanted he said open up and let's take a look. Immediately after looking in my mouth he said that is impossible, you just don't have enough webbing. I knew that this piercing was not suitable for everyone, but I still thought there was just enough webbing to do it, but I thought wrong. It was at this point that my roommate announced that she didn't want to get her nose pierced...at least for now. So grudgingly we all went and got coffee and went home. While we were drinking coffee it came to me to get a smiley instead. I mean it is also easy to hide and it wouldn't leave a big scar if I took it out. So I told my friend and my roommate that I would think about it.
The next day (after a ton of research) I jumped on the buss and got it done. (word to the wise not everyone can get this done either, you need enough webbing between your upper lip and gum, use a mirror to look and see if there is enough tissue to grasp with your clean fingers) As soon as I got there he said 'ok lets see if this will work' And in front of the whole store started examining my lip, to then say 'fuck this will be easy!' I was so happy! Firstly when looking this up on the net I found out that it was supposed to be a painless piercing.... its not. It hurt a bit but it did hurt. Again it was no where near as painful as my five ear piercing but there was pain. The other thing that was not really mentioned is just how incredibly awkward it is to get. You need to hold open your top lip and not pull back. I had drool everywhere (but apparently this is normal) and tears streaming down my face (despite the fact that I was not crying). The most painful part for me was trying to get the ring in, because I kept pulling away. But once the ring was in it was all good. It takes a while to get used to the feeling of having something in front of your teeth but I love it!
Warning: This is a piercing that is not all that common, so get used to the funny looks and questions. Most people seem to like it though and my friend is hell bent on getting one as soon as she gets her braces off. The other thing is that this is a piercing that usually rejects over time, so be prepared with the thought that it might have to come out some day down the road. It's still worth it! It's not at all noticeable till I smile too. You can't see it at all when you are talking or anything.
The after care for this is the same as any oral piercing, with using a mouthwash after eating, smoking or drinking. Also kissing and oral sex are no no's while the piercing is still fresh. One day I would like to get a frownie as well, but it might be harder due to less webbing.
If you are thinking about it ... just go get it ... and you will love it! Worse comes to worse you end up taking it out and move on with life.