Fish on a Hook

14 September 2011. This is a day to remember. This is the day I GOT MY LIP PIERCED!!!!

I have of course been wanting a lip piercing for a few years, ever since I was fifteen. Maybe sixteen. Since I turned eighteen I've beel legally able to get one without my parents, and since I still wanted one, I figured I'd wanted one long enough that I wasn't going to regret it. It wasn't a rash decision.

So I started looking for places to get it done in Peoria. My problem was transportation. I don't have a car, and I don't know anyone nearby with one that I would want to go with me. There weren't many tattoo parlors within walking distance, and the city bus didn't got near any of them either. I also wanted to find one with good ratings. In the end, I probably wasn't as careful choosing one as I should have been.

I called a small tattoo parlor two streets over, purely because it was within easy walking distance. I'd researched it, and it didn't have any ratings and appeared to be a new shop. So anyway, I called, They guy on the phone was friendly and very willing to answer my questions (unlike that guy from that other place...) so I went over and looked at the shop.

It was small, largely undecorated, and had crappy carpet. There were only two people in there, and they both worked there. Lip piercing was only $30, which was a bit of a red flag, since, as a general rule, you get what you pay for in this industry. Still, I'd been wanting a lip piercing for a long time, and this was the only shop nearby. I told them I wanted my lip pierced and he said the piercer wasn't there at the moment, as he had a family emergency. I made an appointment (although they take walk-ins) for the following day.
The following day I went over. There were more people there this time: a guy at the counter, two in the back room (one was my piercer, one was a tattoo artist), a guy discussing a tattoo he wanted, and another guy who was getting a tattoo. I did the paperwork, proved I was old enough, and then went into the back room.
It was a pretty quick procedure. I think I was expecting it to take more time. He put a dot on my lower lip with a sharpie, we made sure it was centered and where I wanted it, and then I sat down on a chair. He pulled out the needle and the clamp and asked me if I was ready.
I'd been doing fine up until this point. Really. I was like "oh yes, I'm such a bamf, I'm getting my lip pierced all on my own and I'm not even nervous, sunshine and daisies, lalala..." But when he pulled out the needle I suddenly inhaled like a vaccuum and said, "um...can you give me a moment? I'm freaking out." He reassured me that I could take all the time I needed and told me it hurts a shitload. Oddly, that was more reassuring than if he had told me it doesn't hurt that much. When people say it doesn't hurt that much, I always think they're downplaying it. Anyway, while I was working on not freaking out, I asked him a few questions, and then I was ready.

I needn't have freaked out. It just felt like my lip was being pinched. I can't even remember if it hurt or not - I think it did for a second, but it was so trivial that now I can't really remember. I mean, I remember thinking that there was pain, but I don't remember feeling pain. He put the clamp on my lip, pushed the needle through (I confess...I had my eyes closed during this part), and then he worked the hoop through the hole.

So then I had a hoop in my lip, but he still needed to put the bead on it. This was the hard part. He spent several minutes tugging at my lip trying to get the bead on the hoop. He couldn't. He had the other guy try, the tattoo artist, and he couldn't get it either, so then he asked the guy at the front counter and he put it on in like, two seconds. Even while they were tugging at my lip, it didn't really hurt. The piercer wiped the marker of my lip, made me use mouthwash, and then I went up front and paid. And then I walked out feeling like a bamf. I went to CVS feeling like a bamf. And then I came back to my dorm feeling like a bamf.
Altogether, it was a good experience. I'm really happy with my piercing. It bled a little bit at first, but now you can't even tell it's fresh. There's no swelling, bleeding, crusting, or bruising. I give the shop 4 stars out of five.
My piercing is still healing. I'll come back later and add updates to this post as it heals up.
 
Update: Day Four - the skin around the piercing is a little swollen and pinkish. It still doesn't hurt, it's only a little sore when I try to eat something like a bagel, where I have to bite down on it.