Cyber Bite: Long Time Waiting

It seems I have been absent for quite sometime. My last post as in... August? Oh my. 

It's the late night of January 21st, 2013... Hmm, almost January 22nd. I'm sitting here, wrapped in a deep wine colored blanket trying to think if much of anything has happened since August. Chewing my bottom lip slowly, I have to shake my head. In fact, nothing really NEW has happened. Romance come and gone. Work. Sleep. Food. So... lacking... so... Oh wait! There is something new!
Wait.
For.
It.

A new hole in my head, hahaha. Yes. I finally completed my OH SO WANTED Cyber Bite. 

Haha, it's not my best picture but it will have to do. Though you can barely make out the piercing duo, it's the center of my upper and bottom lip that completes the "Cyber Bite". 

Bite piercings tend to refer to the piercings that are two or more piercings around the mouth. In example: snake bites (which seems to be rather popular), venom bites, spider bites, angel bites, canine... oh, I'm sure you get the point.

I've had a Philtrum piercing (or Medusa as I've come to hear most people call it), for over a year. I did get it re-pierced but I still count the time. I had actually originally wanted the philtrum piercing on plans of completing the 'cyber bite'. I never committed fully to the cyber bite and talked myself out of it multiple times (even out of all my piercings) with a desire to get a better job. But my desire for the metal was more powerful than finding a '9 to 5' job. I don't even have enough digits to count with to express the amount of adults that distaste my facial piercings and how many of them mourn that I'll never have a job with big bucks and super professional attire. It seems most of those jobs I've come across require some sort of lengthy and expensive adventure to furthering ones education in which I bring up to the disgusted people that if they feel the need to be concerned with my "working future", they should be more worried about me not attending school rather than having metal pierced through my skin.

But that's a ramble for another time. Back to my new piercing.

So I finally got the complete cyber bite, yes. The labret didn't hurt at all. I went to my usual place of piercing pleasures and was pierced by the lovely Briana that has always done a tip worthy job.  16g, 7/16in surgial steel labret at the end of November and I was one HAPPY CAMPER. And still am. 

It's basically the opposite of the Philturm. Lower lip, center. I almost am kicking myself for not getting a  vertical labret (which comes up through the lower lip). I can always get re-pierced though. No regret. So, like with the Philtrum, placement is SUPER DUPER IMPORTANT. If not placed correctly... it can throw off your whole face. Make sure you trust the piercing and check out the placement BEFORE THE NEEDLE HAPPENS. With this lip piercing, a ring or labret can work. I've even seen some people have spirals which, I have to admit, would look pretty awesome with a labret piercing on the left of right part of the lip. I haven't had a ring in my labret piercing but I'm sure I'll try it someday. 

As I said earlier, the piercing didn't hurt much if at all. Deep breath in. Start to let it out. BOOM! Needle through. 1. 2. 3. Pretty much done.

The care instructions I used for mine were exactly the same as the Philtrum. Clean the outside morning and evening. Don't cake makeup around it, that helps no one. Rine with antispetic mouth wash for 3 seconds after each meal, drink (other than water) and cigarette. Remove foreign matter. No chewing tobacco for one week. For pain and swelling,  Ibuprofen, Advil or Mortin. I was pretty lucky. My bottom lip didn't swell as badly as my top lip. I asked for a longer bar, though, just in case. 

Maybe I'm just special but I recommend being SUPER careful eating after you get it pierced. Until you get used to it. Perhaps it's because I had such a long bar, but the first time I ate, I thought I was going to rip the piercing right through my lip. The back of the labret kept catching on bottom teeth as I chewed and LORDY, that was not the most pleasurable feeling. Now that I have a much shorter bar and have gotten used to it, I barely have any problems.

Remember, each piercer is going to have a different set of aftercare instructions and each person is different. Some people might not get much lip swelling, some might. Time of healing before it's safe to change the jewelry may vary from person to person and studio. If you're interested in any piercing, I recommend first researching it so you know exactly what you're going to yourself into, think about if you really want it, how to take care of it and so on.

Also, it's a good idea to get the phone number of your piercer in case you have an emergency question or if any problems arise.

Other than that... I cannot think of much else to say about it other than it is AWESOME. Haha, I have a retainer in currently and it's not very noticeable at all. 

It feels good to kind of be back, haha.

Pierce on my friends.

Pierce. On.

A Stone Turning Piercing: The “Medusa”.

The philtrum, mostly known as the “Medusa” piercing, is one of my all time favorites. Usually pierced by a labret, it's placed in the groove above the center of the top lip. There is a variation of this piercing called the 'jestrum' but that's a posting for another day.

IMPORTANT:
Placement of a Medusa piercing is VERY, VERY important. Placed wrong, it can throw off the whole symmetry of ones face which, in turn, would cause everything to look unbalanced. Double check placement before the needle touches your skin.

The Medusa piercing is mostly worn with a labret but! Rings and other jewelry are possible.

I'd say the care instructions for this piercing are pretty basic. I'm not sure about others but when I got my pierced, oh my world on fire, my lip swelled so much. I'll share my experience in a different post. All I'm going to say is to make sure you have a comfortable length bar that leaves room for swelling. Also ice is your friend. It's recommended to stay away from spicy foods, acidic juices an hot beverages for the first few days. And you'll want to rinse with Listerine or any ANTISEPTIC mouthwash for 3seconds after each meal, soft drink and cigarette. If you're a tobacco chewer, it's advised to now chew for at least one week. This is the basic inside cleaning for the piercing.

For basic outside cleaning, clean it twice a day- once in the morning, once at night. Make sure the bead is tight if it is a labret or beaded piercing. After 3 weeks, it's safe to change out the jewelry for a shorter bar.

Remember, each piercer is going to have a different set of aftercare instructions and each person is different. Some people might not get much lip swelling, some might. Time of healing before it's safe to change the jewelry may vary from person to person and studio. If you're interested in any piercing, I recommend first researching it so you know exactly what you're going to yourself into, think about if you really want it, how to take care of it and so on.

Also, it's a good idea to get the phone number of your piercer in case you have an emergency question or if any problems arise.

I've recently gotten this piercing, again. I've had it once before but took it out and regretted it oh so much. Happily, I am with metal once again.

I find facial piercings to be a big commitment. Some are easier to hide than others. Luckily, retainers are available. Though they do not make the piercings 100% invisible, they make it not as obvious that you have a new hole in your face haha.

Pierce on, friends.

Pierce. On.