About six months ago, I came to a point in my life where my ½ lobes were no longer satisfying and only a 'real' piercing would do the trick, real meaning my first piercing done in a studio. I had been browsing through the piercing galleries on BME and despite loving almost all of what I had seen, decided that venoms would be the right choice for me. Fast forward to six months later.
At A Glance Author sarah Contact sarah@bme.anon When Six months ago Artist Jay Studio Soul Survivors Location Winnipeg,MB Canada As scary as getting not one tongue piercing but two done at the same time was, I couldn't let that stand in the way any longer. I know many people who have had their piercings done at Soul Survivors and have had nothing but good to say about the shop so there was no question in my mind on where I was having my piercings done. I picked up the phone and called Soul Survivors. After repeating what I wanted done about five times, the receptionist said I could come in the next day to get the piercing done by Eric.
Needless to say I could not find anyone who did not have plans for the day. That's my luck for you. I decided to go to my appointment alone. I arrived just on time, filled out the paperwork and waited for my turn. Eric came out about 20 minutes later and lead me to the room. He explained to me that for a rare piercing such as this one, they usually book in an hour for the consultation/piercing and that the counter girl was new, didn't know procedure and had only scheduled me in for a regular tongue piercing. Eric explained that he could do the consultation and that I could come back the following day for the actual piercing. I agreed and Eric examined my tongue, telling me I had the right anatomy for the piercing except that there would only be about 5mm between and although he could pierce it, there may be a chance that they would pinch together. I decided to give it a go anyway and hope for the best. Eric apologized once more for the mix up, scheduled me an appointment for the following day with Jay (Eric wasn't working that day) and gave me a card for 20 dollars off on the piercing.
I went back the following day, this time with the company of a good friend. I filled out the paperwork once more and had a seat in the waiting room. I was extremely nervous by the time Jay came and got me about 30 minutes later. We went into the room and he went over all of the aftercare, explained the procedure and set up his supplies.
When he was ready, he spent about 15 minutes marking where the piercings would go. At one point he wasn't satisfied so he got out the ruler and measured. It was time for the piercing. Jay got out the clamps, clamped my tongue and told me to take a deep breath. He counted to three and slid the needle through. I have to say it wasn't NEARLY as bad as I thought it would be. He slid the jewelry in place and told me to take a look while he got some new gloves(one of MANY times) and the other jewelry out of the package. Then it was time for the other side. I must say. This one hurt a lot more than the first. I felt every millimeter the needle went through and especially when he inserted the jewelry. It was all over. My piercings were perfectly aligned and looked fantastic (they are actually about 8mm apart). Jay went over aftercare again and we went to the front. I paid him the 100 dollars for the piercings (there was the 20 dollars off card) and tipped him the 20 anyway.
My tongue swelled for maybe a week but even then it wasn't that bad. My speech was and still is perfect. I used biotene as suggested by Jay and made sure I rinsed with salt water every time I ate or drank anything. Two weeks after the initial piercing I went back and had my jewelry changed to a way more comfortable ½ inch.
I have to say that for a first piercing experience it was fantastic. The staff at Soul Survivors are extremely knowledgeable and wonderful and made me feel at ease the entire time I was there. For anyone lusting after venoms, do it. The pain wasn't that bad and I would get them done again in a heartbeat if anything ever happened to them. After hearing all of the great thing everyone had said about Soul Survivors I can confirm that all of it was true. I highly recommend that shop if you're in the Winnipeg area.