It all started when I was 13 years old. I had wanted my helix done for a while now, and without any research done, I got what I wanted. I was at a mall in Clearwater, Florida... and saw a Claire's store. Without any hesitation, I forced my mom into Claire's and within minutes, I had a fresh (gunned) cartilage piercing.
At A Glance Author Rachel Contact Rachel@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Carol Studio 5th Element Location Tampa, Florida After that, I started looking at jewelry and what not for this piercing. Soon enough, I came across BME, and many other informative sites. I learned not only are guns dangerous, but they can be deadly.
After some research on the helix piercing, I saw other piercings. Now, I was never interested in piercings before i got my helix done, but getting it done opened a whole new world to me. After a while, I got attached to the tongue piercing.
I did ALOT of research on this piercing, looked at ALOT of pictures, and when I was ready... I finally asked my mom. At first, she thought it was joke, and she was not taking my seriously. But day after day, I would ask her, and yet, the answer was still no. She let my other brother do it, so why couldn't I? He got his down at around my age, and is now 19, and she didn't say one single thing to him.
I did some more research, and as days went on I slowly started convincing my mother. After a while, she gave in. I set a date for me to get it done on or around my birthday. She said yes. But that bad thing about it was that it was about 6 months away...
So, I had my mom call a few places to check out prices, age limits, etc. The one that seemed to fit my requirements was 5th Element. Besides, that's where my crazy, but loveable friend, Stacy, got her tongue and navel pierced. She highly recommended me going there, so I did.
Today was the day I got it pierced, and it went a little bit something like this...
My lovely mother kept me from school, because I needed an ID for me to get any type of piercing done. So we waited for about an hour in line, and it was finally my turn to get my picture taken. About 15 min. and 3 bucks later... and I had my not so flattering ID.
I wanted to get the piercing done right away, but since it took so long to get the ID, I couldn't. But my mother insisted we get the paper notarized beforehand. So, we drove up to 5th Element, and there was big sign on the window that said "CLOSED". Appalled, I shook my fist and cursed. I looked at the door to see what time they would be open, and it said 2:00PM-10:00PM. It was only around 12:00, and I was getting impatient.
We went back home, and I went on-line for a bit. Just roaming about, waiting for little brother and my niece to come home from school. As soon as they got home, my mom told me to jump in the car, and we were off to 5th Element. Carol, my piercer, told us that we needed to get a notarization. Already knowing where to go, we went right down the street to Amscot. Ten dollars later, we have a notarized paper. But I wasn't getting my tongue pierced anytime soon.
My mom said she couldn't be in the room with me while I got my tongue pierced, so she had to wait until my older sister got home from work, and she could go into the room with me. That wasn't until 6:30, and she wasn't able to go anyway. She had to stay home with her daughter, because she didn't want to go.
So it was just my mother and I. We got into the car, and my mom told me she needed to cash a check. Yet another trip to Amscot. That only took a few minutes. And when I realized that I was really going to do this, my stomach started to turn. My mom kept asking me if I really wanted to do this, because she was really against. And I insisted we go on.
We reached 5th Element, and with ID and notarization in hand, we enter the parlor. We walked in, and the place was empty. Very clean I might add. Carol was nowhere to be found. A man entered the parlor, and walked into the back. Then Carol came out and greeted us. She took the notarization, and both and my mother gave her our ID's. She went to the back, and returned with some paper work to fill out. So I filled out the paper work, and she gave me some water to rinse out with.
After I rinsed she told me to sit, and to stick my tongue out as far as I can. So I did. She clamped my tongue, and then checked it a few times, and then tugged on my tongue a bit more. She told me to take two deep breaths, and on the second breath she would stick the needle through. So I took one deep breath and then exhaled. I took another, and I don't remember if she counted or not, but she stuck the needle through. I have to admit, it did sting a little, but nothing I couldn't handle. She screwed the ball on, and started to give me some directions. I couldn't get the jewelry in my mouth, because it caught on my lip. Carol laughed, and that mad me laugh. I asked her if it was bleeding, because I could taste something funny in my mouth. She said, "A little bit."
So I sat there for a few seconds, until Carol came back with a cup of water. She told me to go rinse in the bathroom. So I did. I stuck my tongue out at the mirror to see that my tongue was drenched in blood. It was quite a nasty site. I rinsed for about a minute, and wiped my tongue. Blood is gross.
Carol asked if I was okay, and I told her I was fine, and I walked out of the bathroom. I walked up to the counter where my mother was standing, and Carol was behind it going over the directions. Then, I started to feel a bit dizzy. Carol looked at me, and asked if I was feeling okay, and without thinking I nodded my head. She obviously didn't agree with me, so she escorted me to a chair, where I had trouble sitting down on. She unzipped my jacket, and tried to take it off, but I kindly pushed her arm away and said, "I feel fine." Lying of course, she then brought me over to a little bed. She had me lay down, and she put on a fan. She brought me a cup of pepsi (because she said I needed sugar in my system), and she also brought me a wet cloth. I felt much better within seconds.
My mom was hovering over me, looking worried. I started to laugh, and then I stuck out my tongue at her. She cringed, and I laughed some more. After a few minutes, I got up and went back to the front desk with my mom, and Carol explained the after-care.
My tongue still stings a little, and it is slightly swollen. My mom is still worried. And I'm in love. Over the summer I will be getting a Vertical Labret. Yaay!
For anyone that wants this piercing, I HIGHLY recommend it. It's great!