| At A Glance | |
| Author | Nick Nihility xXx |
| Contact | Gamerremag@gmail.com |
| When | A month ago |
| Artist | Myself |
| Studio | My bathroom |
| Location | My house in Rhode Island |
To the story, I had been in the mood to change myself. Had just gotten out of a relationship and I still felt like there was something holding me back that I couldn't see. I went through a clothing / music change as it happens occasionally, but felt I should do something more.
This was my first piercing, though before this, I had been against the whole piercing thing, as I was brought up to disregard such things. Then I decided that it wasn't this rebellious and grotesque thing that people do to mutilate themselves (though that may be the case for some people in BMExtreme xD ). I decided to go with the now famous / unoriginal piercing: Snake Bites. For those unfamiliar with the term, it's basically a double lip ring, one on each side of the lower lip. I had read about it numerous times online, how to clean it, how to do it, pricing for it, ect. Around where I live in Rhode Island, United States, it would cost about $60 per lip ring. Whether it was the actual "dangerousness" of it or piercers wanting to cash in on the fad (or both?) I will never know. Regardless, I had set out to get the piercings done.
As I went to try and get a ride there from my mother, she decided that she did not want me to get it done (though she asked me if i wanted to get a tattoo with her. Hm.), even though my dentist was for the idea (Props to her, she even asked if I wanted to come in and let her numb it before i went to get it done). That's when checking out how to do it myself came in. I researched and researched, people asking how to do it and what the problems with doing it yourself included. I didn't come across anything more than "it will surely get infected", though after the experience, I was told that if you hit a nerve in the lip it can make your face completely numb permanently (probably a folk rumor, but still something to heed to if your unsure of what your doing).
Day finally came when I decided to do it. I had about.. 5 friends over. We were just sitting around playing video games when I got up and decided to go pierce myself. They kind of were wondering why I was so spontaneous to do it, but nevertheless, I had what I wanted to do in mind, and nothing was going to stop me.
I started sterilizing the tools I was using. Tools included a paperclip, dental tool (the one that dentists use to scrape off plague from between the ridges on top of your tooth, it's just a little hook thing), and a few 14g labrets. As I was doing it, numerous things were brought up, people telling me I should get it done professionally, ect. I didn't really heed to any of that, as I said before, I was on a mission. I got someone to mark off the best spots of where to go, and I started the piercing.
First, i took the paper clip to my skin. Keep in mind, I didn't think this through at all, just sort of went with my gut. I indented my skin with the end of the paper clip and poked through the skin with the dental tool.
Oh and for you all reading this, here's the video to go along with the experience:
After I got it through, I let it sit there for a bit, as seen below.
I just let it sit there, letting my skin relax around the hole. Then, I pushed the dental tool all the way through, as the hook was tapered at the end (lucky for me). This made the hole a tad bit bigger on both sides. After that, I grabbed the paper clip, and made the entry hole bigger. Then, I waited for the labret to heat up, and I pushed it through. Didn't hurt at all, and was a pretty fun experience, especially for those around who were watching.
After I had it up, the next day I was in school. Some admired it, and some disliked it. Amongst those who disliked it, it wasn't the fact that it was done, just the fact that I put it up a tad bit too high. It was between a snake bite and a viper bite (for those who aren't familiar with that term,
). So I let the thing heal up (did this on a Friday, started to heal it up on Monday) and re-pierced it that coming Sunday. I did it much lower, and I believe they came out perfect, as did everyone who saw them in school the next day. No complaints from the piercing junkies, they all thought I did a good job, especially doing it myself. No infection either, I grabbed Biotene as was suggested to me by numerous piercers, as it helps clean out bacteria by not using alcohol(?). Needless to say, it didn't hurt to swish it a few times before I went to school and after I ate and such. There was the occasional crusty around the lip ring, I switched them out every day (got a few before I did it which i suggest doing) and cleaned them off with anti bacterial soap. There was a bit of brown gunk the first few days which is normal. If you get these done / do them yourself and you see a white substance, do not automatically assume its infection. If your lip doesn't hurt to tug on it (mine didn't / other peoples I have done since then) and you see a little bit of white, its simply your body going through the healing process / completely normal.
Now for the aftercare rant. I suggest using nothing but surgical stainless steel / titanium piercings, as your body will accept them / have a higher chance of accepting them, than something else (REALLY recommend titanium). Don't buy from Hot Topic unless absolutely necessary, they're stuff is over priced..WAY over priced. They sell lip loops for $10 a piece! You can buy them from Minkymonky.com for no more than $3 for one, plus you get reward points on that site. I highly recommend using it. They have very fast shipping, which is free if you spend over $25, or its just $1.50 shipping if you spend over $15. As I said before get the titanium piercings if you do these. Stay safe, and research all around before you go into this or attempt doing it yourself (ESPECIALLY if you attempt to do it yourself).
After thoughts include: (1) if you're going to do it yourself, please, make sure you know what you're doing. I had a good idea of what was supposed to happen (thing goes through lip, I slide in piercing, piece of cake, right?) but it is a totally different experience when you're actually doing it. Wouldn't suggest this be someones first piercing (if they are doing it themselves, though if you're getting it done, by all means), as an infection of the lip can be pretty bad (just as it can be bad anywhere else, but its particularly dangerous in the mouth region). (2) If you have the money and you can get a ride, just get it done. It'll save you time and effort about worrying and such, plus it will get done much sooner than it takes if you're going to do it to yourself (I would know, I've done it to myself and others). You aren't meant to sit there and cause pain to yourself, so your body is going to do everything in its power to go against it / stop it. Things could include: fee ling uneasy, nervousness, anxiousness, feeling shaky, and, of course, PAIN (though I have a high pain tolerance :D ). Yes, some of these things can / will happen when you get it done, but if you've paid someone to do it, and they don't feel the pain you feel, you're going to end up walking away with a lip ring versus a hole in your lip that's half finished (and much more liable to infection). (3) You guys may be "rebels" or "hardcore" or trying to "make a statement" when you get it done, but make sure it's ok with your parents first! As I said before, my mom didn't want me doing it, and I am in no way the "rebel" in my family. After I had the first one through (after I re-pierced it) I called her up and told her I was doing it. She seemed a little too pre-occupied at work to do anything about it, so she just said "oh great, you have a hole in your lip", which I replied "soon to be two". She just sighed and went back to work, assuring me that it's my problem if it got infecte d (which it didn't :D).
Was a good experience all together, and was the foot in the door for me to get other piercings (which I do myself). The end result was :
Hair is a little messy in the picture, but the snake bites came out nice.
All in all, I suggest getting them; it's a nice first step in becoming a piercing addict, and you'll be wanting to get more as soon as you get it done ^-^ Any questions or comments, suggestions or ideas about anything in the story, or if you want more help on doing it yourself, feel free to message me at
http://www.myspace.com/imxindestructable
AiM: Gamerremag10
http://www.myyearbook.com/gamerremag
Gamerremag@gmail.com