My Japanese friend Kai was blitzed from an excessive drinking binge in Nottingham the night before I was supposed to get my tongue pierced in Derby. So I had to make my merry little way to the Abacus Tattoo and piercing studio alone the next morning. It was my first week in England for years worth of Victorian literature and theology training, and I wanted to mark the occasion with a new mod. I had always wanted a tongue piercing, both for the aesthetic and fetish elements of it, and having been released from the restraints of conservative parental units, it seemed like decent timing to get it done.
At A Glance Author toast Contact toast@bme.anon When Two years ago Artist Bob Studio Abacus Tattoo & Piercing Studio Location Derby, England The shop was poorly decorated with flash art pasted on the walls, but a fairly sterile environment. I was in the unfortunate position of having to wait with a bunch of 18-year-old girls in line to get their variety of butterfly tattoo's and sporty spice 'angel' knockoffs for the first half hour of my ordeal. They were giving detailed accounts of whom they had shagged in the washrooms of Zanzibar the night before, and just being typical slags in general. I assumed the pain of having to listen to them would be much more substantial then the actual piercing, and I was right. Nothing is worse than waiting in line with a bunch of trendy bitches named Gemma and Clare.
My piercer was a friendly cockney named Bob (which by all means, should have made me very nervous), he looked like a Glastonbury reject from the eighties, and he smelled like chips. He led me into an unassuming little black room the size of a closet. The room smelled like a hospital, despite the copious amount of Brute cologne the guy getting his back-piece in the other room was wearing. Sadly, after he had removed all of the instruments from the sterile packaging, the amount of prep I got for my ordeal was then "sit down and stick out your tongue". Myself, being young and unassuming, didn't think much of this until later when I had worlds more conversations and experience with body modification. Before I knew it, I had my tongue clamped, and the needle shoved through, and that was about the end of it. Thankfully, it didn't bleed much, and he fastened me in.
Afterwards, I got a quick "don't smoke or eat for 6 hours" pep talk before he sent me on my woozy way. I have a problem keeping the iron level in my blood up, so I am still rather surprised at this point that I remember that much now, after some cockney shoved a sharp object through one of my muscles.
I should have taken Kai up on the hangover breakfast offer, because after stumbling out of the studio, I was stupid and famine-stricken. And hey! What's great for a girl with a freshly pierced, swollen tongue? A Cadbury's Curly Whirly Bar! Everyone in Derby Eagle Centre was pretty amused as I toppled over in pain, and got my sorry ass on a bus back home.
I know now that it wasn't a smart idea, because the aftercare that I was given was wonky. Nonetheless I cleaned my piercing 4 times a day ¼ peroxide water combination. Had I done more research, I would have known better, but I was 17, and figured buddy knew what he was doing. Incidentally, the piercing did heal, but it took me a week to eat solid food. I lived off soup, and the occasional luxury cracker. Luckily for me, I've had no problems with my piercing since it's healed.
I've recently decided that having a fourteen gauge piercing is no longer enough. I have been introduced to the wonderful world of Teflon tape and ky jelly and have plans to have my tongue to at least an eight gauge. I think that I'll enjoy my piercing more if it has a bit more substance. I have plans to get more piercing, and to definitely get a lot of tattoo work done. I like mods, but I want to be sure of exactly what I want and now that I have a bit more knowledge, I'm pickier about where I'm going to get work done.
I don't regret for a minute having my tongue pierced. I love my piercing, it's become an extension of my body. I would, however, if given the chance, probably do things differently (if I was to do it over again that is). I would've done some more research, made sure that I knew what I was getting into. Had I known more about aftercare, I would've done the mouthwash thing, or at least swished with salt water or something. I probably would've run screaming from the studio had I known that the aftercare talk should be had before any equipment was removed from it's packaging. I guess that's my lesson to everyone else. Know what you're getting into before jumping in headfirst.