It all started when I was just a young girl, back when most people were still going to the mall to get their ears pierced. I held a little teddy bear in my miniature hands and squeezed my eyes tight as the attendant (because i refuse to call them real piercers) put the gun to my ear and shot my first lobe piercing through. My eyes watered and I definitely let out a little yelp. But I was willing to let her pierce my other ear because I wanted it so badly. Finally the deed was finished and my mother went to the counter to pay and get the bottle of ear solution they're always so eager to hand out and I wiped the last few drops of water off my face. I was happy.
At A Glance Author crackerjack Contact bunnyfufu13@gmail.com IAM crackerjack When Two years ago Artist Ryan Ouellette Studio Precision Body Arts Location New Hampshire It took two days officially for my first metal related allergy to set in. I woke up two mornings later to swollen, puffy, red and oozing ears. I knew something was wrong. I went to my mother and showed her what was going on. "Oh no" she said "you must have my allergies!" Not knowing what the hell she was talking about I went to grab the cleaning solution and put some on. "No come back her honey we have to take those out" my mother beckoned. Trusting that she was doing the right thing I inched back in her direction defeated by the discomfort. After removing my studs my mother then explained to me that she has metal allergies, but she didn't know what exactly she was allergic to, that she has been struggling with her whole life and that she only tries to wear certain types of metals to avoid having a reaction.
Although disappointed I knew once my ears healed I would be able to try again with a "safer metal".
After waiting about 1 year for my ears to heal up I began going to mall piercing centers to find studs that I could wear. Alas not one shop that I visited actually had any idea or information about the metals they were piercing with and I wasn't willing to waste the money taking a risk.
A few years past and I was in my mid teens when I decided I wanted to get my belly button pierced, the hunt was on. I found this small salon in the town i was living in that had a piercing studio in the back. I talked to the man about my allergies and he showed me a rainbow color ring that was "hypo-allergenic" for people that had metal sensitive allergies. I said great let's do it and propped myself up onto the massage table. Sitting nervously on the table as he prepared the ring and tools needed, I kept my fingers crossed hoping he wouldn't ask me for an I.D. being as I was underage and also hoping that I didn't react to the metal again. I laid down as he marked the piercing spots and focused on taking long, steady breaths, I was staring at the ceiling when I felt the very tip of the cold, sharp needle press so lightly into my skin. "1,2,3" announced the piercer as so I could prepare myself for the pressure, I have to admit I held my breath. He slid the needle through 1/2 way, corked the pointed end and prepared to insert the jewelry. "You'll feel a sliding sensation" said the piercer, and I did. He cleaned me up, took the money and I was on my way back to the car. The piercing healed fine, although it was actually a little crooked, it was centered on the bottom hole but the top whole was slightly off to my right. I didn't really care.
Maybe 7 months to 1 year later I noticed a small patch of bumps forming around the side of my belly button. At first I thought nothing of it, but as the days past the patch of bumps grew larger and started to itch something fierce. Not understanding what was really going on at this point I went once again to my mother. "It's infected" she stated plainly. "No it isn't your wrong" I stated just as plainly back. "Let's get you to the doctor so he can take a look at it" she suggested. "Let's" I agreed. Off to the Doc's I went..... "It's infected" he said. "No it isn't" I replied. "We'll have to cut the ring out your stomach it's so swollen" he edged on. "You're not taking it out, cause it's not infected" I protested, "I know what an allergy looks like and I know what an infection looks like and this is not it, let's go mom" I grabbed her hand as I headed for the door. "I'll obviously have to figure this one out on my own" I said as I stared out the car window, "I know it's an allergy just like the last one, but why now"? "I don't know" said my mother puzzled, "but you have to do something soon it's getting really bad Alicia!"
At my house I found a couple of numbers to a variety of piercings shops that were somewhat near by. I called and talked to a man at BodMod USA who told me he could help me and get me into a metal that would not have these adverse affects over time. I get to the shop and the man explains that "the ring I've been using must have been coated with something that acted as a barrier between my skin and the metal below whether it be a metal coat or something else and now my body acids have broken down that barrier and exposed a metal I'm obviously allergic to underneath." I said "that makes sense." He pulls out a new ring from his counter and says "this is solid platinum, 100% nickel free, $180, I'll replace it for you right now." "A little expensive but yeah okay" I said. So he replaced the ring, 7-8 days later my rash clears up and I'm gloating to my mother about how I know more than the doctors. 2 years later at a hippy festival while I'm dancing around a bonfire the ring pops out of my stomach is now lost amongst the hay, dirt and grass on the Berkshire Mountains, dammit!
Skip ahead a few more years now I'm about 20 years old, I decided yet again to try to get my ears pierced at this point I know what to do and what not to do and I'm ready to try again. I go to a piercing shop, explain my allergies, they suggest some carrot of yellow gold that they say won't affect me, I get my ears pierced, 2 days pass I have an allergic reaction, fuck! Another 2 years pass, I decide again I'm going to try to pierce my ears, I go to a different shop and tell them about my allergies, they suggest surgical stainless steel "they use this metal for people in the hospital getting surgery" the counter person presses "you'll be fine." 2 days later I have another allergic reaction.
Now mind you that when I have a reaction on my ears it takes months to fully recover from the allergy that has taken place and to flush and heal the wound itself. So for two days of a piercing it takes two months to heal the reaction. It's painful, and gross looking non the less. So now I find one more place to try to get my ears pierced and I take a vow that if I can't accept the piercings this time that I won't torture my body any longer trying to have something that I so clearly couldn't and I would willingly accept defeat. This fat turd behind the counter at the Rte. 9 Piercing and Tattoo shop in Framingham MA, sells me white gold, tells me that no one has a reaction to white gold because it's "cleaner" then yellow gold. 2 days later I have a reaction, goddammit! I take the rings out and call the shop, I was so fed up with ALL the shops that I had EVER gone to and bitched out the counter guy and the owner. The owner told me if I come in he'll give something else to use for free. I said I'll come back when my ears are done healing in 2 months.
The truth is I never did go back. I made a promise to myself that this was the last time and like it or not I was just down right tired of it all. Well when I was 24 I met this guy and he asked me why I didn't have any piercings and I went over the entire story that I just shared with you, with him. He told me that the people I've been talking to were all idiots and I should come talk to his friends and see that there's other options for piercings besides metal. So he brought me up to Precision Body arts in NH where I met Ryan Ouellette and there Ryan introduced me Niobium which is a nickel free element. He gave me 10g rings in my ears, they healed beautifully and I've been stretching ever since I'm currently a 0g and waiting to move to a 00g very soon. I've also pierced my septum at a 12g with niobium thanks to Brian Decker, and have 2, 16g nostril piercings in titanium thanks to Emrys Yetz. I'm now 27 years old and I finally have a piece of the aesthetic pleasure that I've been looking for my whole life and have comfort in knowing that can get as many piercings as I please comfortably and securely. Special thanks to Jeff Rondina for helping me finally find the right people and to my piercers for knowing what you're doing! It took far too long to find you!