For years I have wanted to get my tongue pierced, but I seem to put it off every time I get near a studio. As time went by the vertical tongue piercing grew in popularity and I kind of lost interest until a few months back.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Brittney Studio House of Ink Location Venice Beach California You see, I'm training to be a teacher and in that profession piercings are frowned upon. However I was itching to get another piercing. I hadn't decided what to get though so I looked through what seemed like a million pictures and reviews and found quite a few that I wanted.
In the end I opted for some 'normal' piercings to satisfy my cravings until school had finished for summer. No studio (in Ireland) would even entertain the idea of a horizontal tongue piercing and I knew there was nothing else for it, so I boarded a plane bound for LA.
That may seem a little drastic, but I had planned a trip to visit friends out there and whilst on vacation I researched the various studios in the Venice area and House of Ink was highly recommended.
After several days building up the nerve to go through with the piercing, the time had come. I went down, met Brittney my piercer and explained what I wanted. After quite a long discussion about the dangers of such a piercing etc we were on our way.
Brittney made two custom bars for this piercing and marked me up for the job. I was pierced with a 14 gauge surgical steel surface bar, which was bent into shape to suit my tongue. It took ages to get the marks just right and I have to be honest the cleaning of the tongue was not too pleasant either.
We were ready to go. I stuck my tongue out; it was clamped and checked a few more times before the needle came out. Now at this point I was feeling quite nervous, all I could think about was how painful it is when you accidentally bite your tongue and how this was going to compare. I shut my eyes and then...nothing. A dull pressure then nothing. Where was all the pain?
After quite a bit drooling and a little bit of bleeding. Jewllery in place. It was over and still no pain. Weird. Brittney was fantastic, very professional and she comes highly recommended. We discussed the after care then I paid and left, very happy with my new piercing. A horizontal tongue scoop.
I waited for the massive swelling people told me about, but again it didn't happen. My tongue didn't hurt, swell or bleed. It was probably the easiest piercing I have ever had, and I have had quite a few.
Eating was very tricky to begin with, the bar was quite big and things kept getting caught. For the first two weeks it was mainly a liquid diet and drinking with straws is not a good idea.
My tongue bruised a little and was tender for about three weeks. I had a slight lisp but as the piercing healed the lisp has gone and I my speech has returned to normal.
I flew home about a week after my tongue was pierced; as soon as I got home I began to have a bit of trouble with it. It would bleed randomly and for no reason at all throughout the day. I could be on the bus and it would bleed, or walking along the street, even sleeping and it would bleed. However not enough for me to become overly concerned. I just kept rinsing my mouth with an alcohol free mouthwash, drinking plenty of water and gargling salt water. After about a week the bleeding stopped.
And now after a few minor set backs due to me trying to push it too far by eating certain foods etc my piercing is now healed beautifully and I absolutely love it. The only problem now is I cannot find anyone who is willing to change the bar; I guess I'll have to go on another vacation!
My advice to anyone thinking about getting this piercing is go for it! Its fantastic and I wouldn't be without it.
Some useful tips:
Be careful when eating certain foods like bread, cakes etc as these tend to get caught and cause a lot of problems.
Carry mouthwash with you at all times, it really helps.
Try not to drink using straws as the suction really hurts!
No chewy foods like toffee, even when you think it's healed...Bad Idea.
And as for the pain, getting it pierced itself really isn't as bad as you might think. However eating/drinking certain things will cause a lot more pain than the needle ever did.
So with that in mind I say 'Do it! You wont regret it.'