| At A Glance | |
| Author | Jenn |
| Contact | Jenn@bme.anon |
| When | A year ago |
| Artist | Me |
After asking my parents if I could get it done, they, like many other parents, said no. Needless to say, I was disappointed. As a mere 14 year old girl, my outlook wasn't too deep or structural. But, over the course of that year, I grew to who I am now and I read more and more about body modification. I learned what scarification was, the spiritual factors of suspension, and even the more extreme areas of genital mods and implants. You may think one as young as myself shouldn't be seeing such images, but at my own will was it that I saw these pictures and read the experiences provided in the Mod Blog entries.
And so, February 2007 came, and I was itching to modify myself. I had a bout of winter depression, and I had cut myself a few times during those cold months. Currently, I don't see cutting as a way to get away from pain, but as a way to make your body more aesthetically pleasing. The scars I have now from that time I don't see as ugly reminders of a dark time in my life, but as a part of my body I love more than other parts.
In February I did what most stubborn teenage girls do, and I decided to pierce my lip myself. And yes, it's as horrible as you can imagine. Although, I did know quite a bit around the time of the procedure, so I didn't go into it completely blind. Still, when I look back on it, I realize what I did was pretty stupid.
I used a sewing needle that was around 18ga. I had found it snooping around my mother's sewing box. I did not burn or boil it, like many people who DIY do. I merely ran it over with hot water, washed it with soap and water, and slathered it with hydrogen peroxide: not very smart, I know. I thoroughly washed my hands, and placed the jewelry I was going to use in a cap full of hydrogen peroxide. I swished mouthwash around in my mouth, and cleaned the place where I would pierce my lip with the hydrogen peroxide. I didn't use any ice to numb it, because I figured I could handle the pain.
I lined the needle up to the left side of my mouth, and pushed and pushed the needle through. As I thought, the adrenaline provided me with a pain free procedure, and it didn't take long for me to push the needle all the way through. Here's the most horrifying part: I put an earring stud in the hole.
Of course, it was short lived, for the next day my mom saw it and calmly asked me to take it out. I did, and for the next new days I watched over it to make sure it didn't get infected. Luckily, my watchful eye and care allowed the hole to close up without any problems. I now have a tiny, tiny round scar right under the vermilion border of my lower lip. When I see it I look at it fondly because it reminds me of something I achieved myself.
Since then I have done a couple other mods on myself, a few that were short lived and a few that will stay with me until I die. Mods such as lobe piercings, scarification, stretched ears, and even DIY tattooing. If I ever DIY again, I will be sure to have ordered the correct supplies from the BME shop in order to ensure a safe piercing. I'm lucky that I got away with a clean lip.
Yes, that's the earring stud in my lip. I'm glad my mother made me take it out, because I'm sure I would've been sorry I had done it that way. Now that I've grown, the spot I had chose wouldn't be where I would get my lip done if I wanted it done now. If you really want to DIY your lip, please get the right supplies, and please sterilize as much as you can! You never know what could go wrong.