I have wanted a labret piercing for so long but I always found some excuse like I don't have the money, my mom will flip out (she still will when she sees me next month, he he), etc. So, now that I am out on my own now, I figured today would be as good as any other day. My friend Tim had a labret piercing, and I loved it so much, but he had to take it out because of narrow-minded employers.
At A Glance Author Ash Contact Ash@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Me, Myself, and I Studio My dorm Location Columbia, SC Since I am extremely cheap, I made the decision to pierce myself. Probably not the wisest thing in the world because the only other thing that I pierced was my ears in fifth grade. So this was a big step. I have two other piercings that cost like $50 a piece, and some guy totally screwed one of them up. I still had to pay and I ended up removing it a few months later. So for starters, I ordered a kit with a 14G needle and a labret stud off ebay.
I have been reading the stories off BME and looking at pictures for around three years now. I checked out the tongue piercing stories before I got mine done, so lately, I have been totally engrossed in the lip section. I also read up on the procedure so I wouldn't create a catastrophe by letting it get infected.
I was going to wait until Friday when I got out of class but I was just so excited that I wanted it done now. I took a shower to calm myself down and also because I needed one. I have a bad habit of oversleeping and then having to run to class with no time to shower. Anyway, first, I cleaned my lip with antibacterial soap, rinsed with listerine, and wiped the area with alcohol. I tried numbing my lip with ice but trust me, it doesn't work...I then layed everything that I would need out. I tried to be as sanitary as possible. I marked the placement and took a deep breath. By now, I was freaking out and trying to keep myself from shaking so hard that I pierced my eye instead. I started to push the needle through and it did not seem to be going anywhere so I pushed harder. I felt a sharp twinge of pain, and I tried to push it steadily through my lip. Everytime I pushed really hard, it hurt like hell, but eventually, I saw the tip of the needle. When that was all the way through , I took a few deep breaths and started to prepare to stick the stud through as I pulled the needle out. By now I was drooling and having trouble trying to keep a hold of my lip. So I took a towel and dried my hands and the inside of my lip as best as I could. Next, I thought I had the the stud lined up with the hole that the needle was retreating into, but I pulled the needle out and dropped the stud inside my mouth! Blood started going everywhere and I panicked thinking that the hole would close. Luckily, I nervously got the labret stud in and screwed on the ball. It hurt pretty bad trying to screw the ball on so I'm not sure it is on there very well. When it heals some, I may try to tighten the ball even more unless it falls off first. I tried to clean up some of the blood with my towel which is permanently ruined now. I also got a little blood on the carpet but since it is a yucky rainbow color, you can't really tell. I cleaned up my lip with some good old fashioned iso propyl rubbing alcohol which burned as expected.
Next, my roommate walked in as I was cleaning up. I said, "Look what I did!" She thinks I'm a bit weird now but I'm happy so who cares. She told me not to pierce anything else while she was gone to work. I think one is enough for today though. This was definately a new experience but I think I did a great job if I may say so. The placement is dead center and I even angled the piercing slightly so it wouldn't rub against my gums. The back lies flatly against my bottom teeth. I'm not sure if I would advocate to everyone to pierce yourself. Yes, it is cheaper, but I could have totally screwed up. If you think you can do it though, I say go for it. It feels pretty weird but I am not having trouble trying to refrain myself from playing with it. I'm sure eating will be a big problem until I learn how to handle everything, but I was smart enough to eat beforehand.