When I was 17 and at college, I got really into piercing, but sadly I have a rather oppressive father with a serious phobia of them. So when I met a girl with her web pierced I was quite excited, and instantly decided it was the piercing for me. So off I went to the place where all my friends get their piercings and tattoos, only to be told that they don't do it. In my town there was only one other studio, and when I arrived there it had shut down. In my desperation (and anger, I really wanted this and I was not happy with the guy for telling me he didn't do it) I marched off to a shop and bought a bar that I think they were selling for eyebrows, about 14 gauge. I also bought some sterilising stuff from the chemists.
At A Glance Author Jesseee Contact Jesseee@bme.anon When Two years ago Studio West Coast Tattoo Location Aberystwyth, Wales I got home, sterilised a safety pin (yes I do now realise how idiotic I was being) found a place on my web that looked about right, and stuck the pin through. It didn't hurt too much, but I had a lot of trouble getting it through. When I finally did, I tried to get the bar through. For about half an hour. It would not go through. I am ashamed to say that I cried from frustration. Although I really wanted the piercing, I gave up.
About a year later I went to university. In the first week a group of the people living in my new halls of residence decided to go to the nearest big town (my uni is in a very tiny one) and while we were there we decided to go to the tattoo studio (I can't really remember how this came about, it's always possible drink was involved). One of the guys got his belly button pierced, one of the girls got her eyebrow done, and my mind crept back to that time in the bathroom with the safety pin. It hadn't hurt that much, and surely it would be better with a professional? Suddenly I desperately wanted it done again.
I asked the guy, who said he had never done it before, but was willing to give it a go. I signed the form, chose the jewellery- a captive hematite ring, about 12 or 14 gauge I think, and went and sat in the chair. I started getting really nervous when he unwrapped the needle from the sterile packet thing. I am useless with injections, and apart from my bathroom experience I had only had 6 piercing in my ears, all done with a gun apart from one that I did myself. I have very little idea what went on during the piercing itself, apart from the fact that it hurt A LOT. And my mouth wouldn't stop watering. The reason for my lack of awareness is that I hadn't eaten much, and have low blood pressure. I very nearly fainted. When I got up I was white as a sheet, and my friends had to run out and buy me lucozade while a very kind woman who worked there rolled me a cigarette.
After it had been done I used antiseptic mouthwash twice a day, but one side of the piercing swelled up into a weird lump. It stayed like that for several months, and a few people (including my dentist, who was so fascinated that he took a picture) said I should take it out. But I loved it so much I couldn't bring myself to, although I changed the ring to a bar, which has helped because it doesn't catch on my teeth anymore, but I can still play with it. It's now been two years since I had it done, I hardly have any problems with it, and my parents still have no idea. Although it did once come undone while I was having a meal with them, it's surprisingly hard to spit a bar into your hand with no one noticing. And I have to be careful if I yawn in front of them.
It's so much fun showing it to people, most of the people who've seen it think its cool, a couple think its absolutely vile and don't understand how I could do it, and a few don't care (which is most upsetting). Oh, and for those who think it's a useless piercing, I don't know how true this is, but I have been told that it is good for a particular sexual practice involving the mouth ;). I'm now looking forward to getting my next piercing soon, hopefully in my labia.
I guess the moral of my story is, unless you are experienced, it is much better to get a piercing like this done professionally, in my experience anyway. Oh, and eat lots of food before you go, it was so embarrassing to nearly pass out in front of a crowd of people, particularly since half of them had just been pierced themselves.