For anyone wanting to get their labret done (maybe mine more counts as a low-bret as its a little lower than usual), I'm just putting out some care tips for people who were as paranoid as I was about getting it and want some first hand information.
Yes it does hurt (mine did anyway, some people seem to say theirs didn't at all), but no more than any decent bike related injury. I got it done at Essential beauty for $30. After I had gotten it done, I found out Essential Beauty are pretty dodgy apparently with their hygiene and such, but my labret turned out perfect. Perfect placing etc, so I wasn't upset.
It isn't hard to take care of, especially if you are hygenic as it is with your oral care (brushing twice a day etc). When I got mine, for the first 2 weeks, I would drink nothing but water and every time I ate ANYTHING, I would brush and listerine. - I was this paranoid because I had schoolies 2 weeks adn 4 days after I got it done and I wanted it to heal as much as possible. I also made a saline solution, pretty strong one, 1 full teaspoon of sea salt to 1/4 cup of warm to hot water. Mix it up, put it on a cotton ball or tissue and push the back of it with your tongue as hard as you find comfortable and clean the bar and ball carefully. Make sure you get all of it, and then after you are done just wiping it off, soak the tissue, and without squeezing the excess out, drip the water down your chin so it goes into the hole, then turn the bar side ways and push it in and out a few times to get the salt water good and in there. DON'T play with it with your tongue too much. I did, but mine never got infected, so I was lucky, but apparently a lot of the time when people's oral piercings get infected is because they play with it with their fingers and tongue. I always touch mine with my fingers, but its fully healed so its probably less of a problem. Mine did not get infected ONCE during the healing process. Everyone that I know that has had an oral piercing has had it infected at least once.
It will crust up in the first week or so. I got shit scared because during the healing process, mine got crusted on the bar, and it would get stuck in the hole, then, when I moved it, it would pull it out (and I thought it was breaking a scab, but rather its just a piece of shit on the bar). To get rid of it, just hold the saline tissue over it and it should dissolve. I used to just rub it/pick at it with my fingernail and then clean the area with the saline.
They will tell you no smoking, oral sex or kissing for a month as well no alcohol or soft drink for at least 2 weeks. - I can vouch for the alcohol part, and I must suggest that you wait longer than 2 weeks. On Schoolies, after 2 days I noticed a puffed up white ring around the inside of it. I assumed it was just healing, but I noticed that after I had been home for a few days, it went away. So yeah, alcohol is a no no.
Healing time is anywhere between 6 to 12 weeks. I dunno how long mine took, but I know I changed to a 10mm bar from an 8mm (there actually is a huge difference) at the 6 week mark, and I stretched from 16 gauge (1.2mm) to a 14 gauge (1.6mm) at around the 10 to 11 week mark. I may go up to a 12 gauge (2.0mm I think), but the back is already rubbing my teeth a little when I do certain things with my mouth, so I don't really wanna make that any worse. When I had the 16 gauge, it never rubbed at all.
When you first get it and you try to eat big things like burgers, it WILL get in the way and hurt and get stuck on your gums and stuff, but when you get used to it and get a shorter bar, it will go away. I don't notice its there most of the time, except I do play with it a lot so that does remind me about it.
I think I covered everything that I wanted to, any more questions about oral piercings just ask.
