Ever since I saw one for the first time, I have wanted one. A labret piercing. In fact, it was the first real piercing I ever saw(or remember seeing). I was intrigued with it, even at a very young age. So when I started getting pierced, I kept asking about it, but every time I asked my mom would say no. And I got that answer for 2 years, until finally I managed to break her down. I actually told her it was because I was depressed, and getting a new piercing would help me feel better. So she said "as long as you pay for it" and I was more than willing. I spent the rest of that hour frantically looking for any nearby piercing shops, and I got lucky, there was one called Inkswell in the paper, so I called and asked the price. $45. Good deal, so we looked up directions and we headed out there.
At A Glance Author [x].Liz.[x] Contact Nitemarez@macpunk.com When A year ago Artist ? Studio Inkswell Tattoo's & Body Piercing Location Williamsburg, OH I knew the area of town, my grandpa had lived out there, and own a bar too. We could not find the place, so we stopped and asked this guy, when he turned around, he had his nipples freshly done, he smiled and told us where. When we walked in it was small, and simple, some flash on the wall, a case for jewelry in the back. There were 2 guys and a young girl in there. He asked what I wanted done and then gave me all the proper papers to sign, but to my surprise, he did not ask for my ID, only my mom's. Weird, but ok.
So we did all the paper work and I asked him some questions about the gauge (14) and gum recession. He explained how he has had his for years and he has not had any problems with it.
Then we went back to the little room. It resembled a small doctors office, with some posters and such on the wall. It even had this huge cabinet shaped as a coffin. It was pretty neat. He had everything set out on this little table with a napkin on it. He put on a pair of gloves then cleaned my lip, and made me rinse my mouth out with Listerine. Then he marked it. He wanted to get it perfect so this took a while. When he was done he handed me the mirror, it was perfect. I was so excited. He got the forceps ready and clamped my lip, it took him a couple of tries to get it lined up right, and this was kind of uncomfortable, but I stuck with it. When he finally got it positioned right he told me to take 3 deep breaths, and he would push it through on the third. So I did, I felt a slight pinch, then nothing. He put the jewelry in, and screwed on the ball. He gave me some more Listerine to rinse with, and handed me the mirror.
It was so awesome. It was perfect, just what I had imagined. I thanked him a thousand times over, he cleaned up, and we went into the main room. We chatted a bit, turns out this shop used to be my grandpa's bar, and he knew my grandpa too. That was pretty cool. We paid. $45, and a $5 tip. As soon as we got out I had my friend take lots of pictures, even though it was all red and orangey from what he used to clean it with.
He gave me after care instructions, I was to Listerine after eating, drinking, etc. He told me what to expect during healing, about the crusties and such. After a few days, I kind of thought it was swollen, because the stud was so little, but it turns out, he used a small one, which kind of shocked me because I figured a longer one would be more convenient in case of swelling. Anyhow, it's been a year since I have gotten my labret done, and I still proudly wear it. Either I did not notice when I got it done, or it has migrated, but it is slightly off center now. It does not bother me though, nothing can be perfect, it just makes mine more unique. I do have concerns about gum recession, and I have recently been wearing an acrylic retainer. But there is not any noticeable damage yet, I think I'm going to stop it before it starts, and let this one heal, and get a vertical labret done.
Overall, this piercing was a joy. It is not a big hassle, and you have lots of neat jewelry options, spikes, acrylic. I would recommend this to anyone thinking about it. But to be careful of gum recession, your teeth are more important than a piece of metal in your lip.