I have had my inner lip tattooed twice, first on my birthday in 1996 and then a second time to add to the design in 2000. Both times the work was done by Mad Pup of Mad Pup Tattooing.

History & Motivation

In the summer of 1996 I was beginning to cross the indistinct boundary between being tattooed and being heavily tattooed. I had already committed to the idea of my transformation project and progress on it was accelerating rapidly. I was also about to test for the rank of shodan (1st black belt) and preparing to enter a PhD program in the fall. I wanted something to mark the time and to celebrate my 24th birthday. I soon decided upon getting one of the sigils I had been working on as an inner lip tattoo. I knew a few people with words tattooed on their inner lips, but I could never think of an appropriate word or phrase - the sigil, however, was perfect. It would also be the start of a birthday tradition to celebrate with somewhat more unusual or esoteric procedures & rituals.

Prelude to the Procedure

The first step was to head down to the shop and ask Mad Pup if he would do the piece. His general policy is that he doesn't do work below the ankles or wrists or above the neck - including the inner lip. However, he does make exceptions on a case-by-case basis - I qualified as such an exception. He gave me two basic warnings before we made the appointment, first, that it would be painful and secondly, that it might not hold. I had done some light research and spoken with a few people about their experiences with getting work on their inner lip and had heard the same. It seems that whether or not your tattoo holds is a pretty random variable - some people held very well, other held after touch-ups, and at least one person had given up after several attempts which all faded out.

The Procedure

The actual tattooing was not unlike any tattoo session with the exception that no stencil was applied and that preparing the area consisted of rinsing with Listerine. It took no more than five minutes to complete - meaning that more time was spent on setup and breakdown than the actual tattoo. Despite all the reports of how painful it would be, I actually didn't find it to be all that bad - less annoying than most of the other work I had had to date. The main sensation for me was of the vibration, I was also a bit distracted by my own slight drooling.

Aftermath & Aftercare

Once it was done the tattoo felt similar to a cut on the inside of my mouth. There was essentially little to no aftercare; I simply avoided eating and drinking for the next couple hours. By that evening it felt healed and I had birthday dinner with my parents. The design held beautifully and has not required any touch-ups. A few years later I decided to add two sets of dots in a triangle pattern to the design and everything went basically the same as before. Once I decide on a complimentary design I will have it added to the inside of my upper lip.

Summary

I have always been very happy with this particular tattoo, the design has special personal significance and its location makes somewhat private. I have often thought that this would be a good place for a person to get their first tattoo, since they would be able to keep it completely to themselves (and perhaps their dentist). At any rate, I do encourage people to consider it for a special piece or personal ritual - though it can be a shock piece as well I think the former reasons are far more gratifying.