I have had several body piercings for some time now, however, I have been reluctant to get any 'visible' piercings due to the potential for stigmatism and difficulties at work related to them. I had previously had my nipples and tongue pierced, both of which were of course generally unnoticed. That background being stated - A few months back, I had to remove my tongue piercing for a medical procedure, and I had never put it back in. I went with a friend who was getting a conch piercing done to Electric Babylon, a local piercing/tattooing place, where I had previously had my tongue done. While I was waiting for him to get finished with his piercing, I was discussing my previous experience with my tongue with someone, and the idea came in to my head to get it re-done. On the spot, I then decided to do so. I went to the counter and made arrangements to have my tongue re-done, and filled out the requisite forms, provided, ID, etc.
At A Glance Author Zythus Contact Zythus@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Nikki Studio Electric Babylon Location Winniprg, Canada Heading in to the piercing room with Nikki, who was going to do it for me, I was thinking about the fact that I really didn't like having to 'hide' my piercing from people at work. Then I recalled that a couple new hires had facial piercing, and that made me realise that perhaps I had over-estimated the negative response visible piercings would get. I work for a fairly large international corporation as a generic drone, but I guess apparently they are becoming more modern than they previously were. That, and I don't have to deal face to face with clients, so the idea rapidly gained steam as I went through the tongue process again (which was of course very simple and virtually painless).
I asked Nikki about getting an ear pierced, and she said I had good lobes for it, and asked what size I wanted. As I fairly thick earlobes, I didn't want anything too small, so we wound up going with a 12ga. She asked me which ear I wanted it done on, and I wasn't really sure - I personally didn't care, but I had heard that having it done on one side or the other only had implications of some sort, or might be taken that way by some people. We discussed the matter some, and she mentioned that most people had their ear pierced only on the left if they were just having one lobe done. She suggested perhaps I go with the right side to be different. As I couldn't think of any specific reason not to, apart from my odd paranoid, I concurred.
After making that decision, I happened to ask her how much it was for the piercing anyhow. She then quoted me a price that was only half of what I expected. I decided that the price was decent enough that I just said 'To hell with it, do them both'. I had wanted it for quite some time, and I decided I was tired of being concerned what other people might think. I was proud of my piercings in general, and I would rather stand out than be a coward.
After cleaning each lobe, she proceeded to mark out where to pierce, and asked me if I planned to stretch them at any point. While I am not sure if I want to do so, I figured it would be best to allow for the possibility, so I said so. As well, Nikki commented that I actually had two different sized earlobes, which was something I had never noticed about myself. So she took some time and care to line things up properly with her marks. She marked out a spot on each lobe that would allow for that in the future if I so chose. She then placed the jewelry on my ears where they would later sit after the piercing, and had me look in a mirror to see if I was happy about how they were aligned. I informed her that I thought it was great, and then she had me sit down, and breathe in and then out while the needles went through.
The actual piercing itself was nothing major, the pain was more than my tongue, less than my nipples, and really, was over very quickly. Nikki then explained the aftercare procedures for the ear piercings to me,
I am having to sleep on my back as I can't lie on either side right now, which is somewhat awkward. I am very pleased, however, and am almost no longer noticing the odd dangling/moving sensation from the rings. I have gotten positive reactions from almost everyone so far, and needless to say I am very happy with the decision to finally get 'visible' piercings done. Hiding is no fun; it is better to be yourself in the open.