Well, here's the story of me losing my piercing virginity. I thought I'd share my experience since there aren't all that many here about bridge piercings, and I've read a lot at this site and feel i should contribute. Feel free to email me with any questions/ comments/ whatever. :)
At A Glance Author cindi :) Contact cindi@inorbit.com Artist Matt Studio Divine Location Edmonton, Alberta I've been wanting to get something pierced for over a year, but have had to wait until I turned 18 because my dad wouldn't give me consent to get it done. So when my 18th birthday came this is what I was most looking forward to. Before my birthday I changed my mind so many times about what I wanted to get... I hadn't really thought about a bridge, until I saw someone get it done on a reality tv show and thought it looked cool. So I went to BME to research, and after looking at pictures here, and reading the few bridge experiences, I knew that was what I wanted to get. I think my eyes are my best feature, and I think this piercing accentuates them. I also like that it's something not all that many people have, and according to the experiences I read here it apparently wouldn't hurt too much (not that pain was a big factor, but it helps). So those are the main reasons why i picked a bridge for my first piercing.
I went to Edmonton with my best friend, and when I went into Divine and made the appointment I was incredibly nervous. I asked for Matt to do it, because I was there when he pierced my friend's eyebrow a month earlier and he seemed really good. I'd definitely recommend him to anyone in Edmonton thinking of going to Divine.. he was really professional, also very friendly, and really good about getting the placement and everything perfect and where I wanted it. I had to wait an hour before I got it done, and during that time i got progessively more nervous as time went on...
I was in there for about an hour, and I think at least 30 minutes of that was spent marking the dots on my bridge, trying to get them as even as possible. By the time we were done marking the dots and got to the actual piercing part, I was feeling pretty comfortable being there and not really nervous anymore.
I layed down and he put the clamps on, which hurt quite a bit, since they dug in and pulled at the skin. I tried to ignore that feeling, and focused on my breathing. The piercer counted to 4, then pushed the needle through, which hurt a lot. The jewellery is apparently thinner than the needle, so it felt a lot better once he put the barbell in. To be honest, the piercing hurt more than I expected, but it only lasted for a few seconds, so it was worth the pain. And despite the fact that it hurt like a bitch, it was actually a really neat experience. It felt really surreal almost, I had this feeling like "wow, I can't believe I'm actually doing this". Right before the needle went through, I was thinking "OhMyGodsThisIsGoingToHurt!!!", immediately followed by "OW!", and then "wow, I have a piercing..COOL!".
When I got up and looked at myself in the mirror for the first time, I actually wasn't sure I liked it... I think it just took a little bit of getting used to though. I wasn't used to seeing myself with a piece of metal between my eyes. But by the end of the day I loved it, and I still do :)
The rest of the day after having it pierced it was just kind of a dull stinging feeling. The next morning I couldn't feel it all, and most of the time now I still can't. I've had it for 5 days now. It's a little tiny bit bruised, but it seems to be healing ok as far as I can tell. I can move the jewellery back and forth and turn it when I'm cleaning it, without it really hurting.
I've been asked a lot whether it bothers me having it in front of my eyes all the time, but it really doesn't. Within an hour of having it, I was used to seeing it out of the corners of my eyes all the time, and now I don't even notice. Although, it's neat.. if a light shines on it at the right angle, i can look at it and see a reflection of my eyelashes blinking in the jewellery. hehe.
Overall, I think my first piercing has been a really good experience... I can't wait to get another one! :)