I finally decided to get it done. I was going to get a piercing. I already had a tattoo, but beyond that I wasn't sure if I wanted any other body art. I had looked at a lot of different piercings on BME, and for a while I couldn't pick one to get done. I talked to some people in my classes and some friends that have had some done. But I settled on an eyebrow. It seemed like a semi-normal one, nothing too extreme for me yet. It would make a good first piercing.
At A Glance Author locojefe Contact locojefe@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Luke Studio Tatts by Zapp Location Duluth, MN I called up some studios in Duluth and checked out what they said. I chose Tatts by Zapp because they have a good reputation and they assured me about being clean before I could even ask about their sterilization methods.
My roommate and I went down one day after classes were over. It took us a little bit to find it, because we don't really know the area yet, but that was fine, I got to have another smoke to calm down a little. We go in and I fill out the form to get it done and the guy working the counter asks for my ID. Of course, being an idiot I forgot it in the room. So after apologizing to my roommate, we went and got my license.
We got back to the studio, and I was ready. My piercer was a guy named Luke. Luke brought me back and we talked for a little bit. He showed me everything he was doing; he followed all the steps that I knew of to ensure everything was clean. He let me pick where I wanted it, left eyebrow, and what jewelry I wanted, a standard captive ball ring. He put two dots on my left eyebrow, one above and one below. He said that angling it was just to look better than having it stick straight out. The clamp thing was ready and he put that on my face. So everything was ready, even me.
Now was the hard part, the actual piercing. I like what Luke did though. He kind of distracted me, just so I wouldn't get nervous at the needle or anything like that. He was talking to me about college and all that. He had me take a deep breath, hold it, and then let it out slowly. Before I could get it halfway out, he stabbed the needle through. It was more of a shock than anything, kind of like how my tattoo felt. It was more of a pinching sensation than anything. I had my eyes closed because I didn't want to see a needle that close to my eye, so I don't really know if it was bleeding or anything. He put the ring through and put the ball on. I looked in the mirror and just smiled. I really couldn't believe I had done it.
Afterwards, he talked to me about cleaning it and caring for it. They give out a sheet too, but it was good to be able to ask some questions. He told me to clean my hands always before touching my ring. That is a major infection risk. Cleaning once or twice a day was a requirement. For this he said to use some antibacterial soap with no extras in it like fragrance. He told me how to do the sea salt mixing and using it. I thanked and paid him for his work. I'll probably be back there sometime soon anyway.
It's been five days now since my piercing experience. My parents didn't really appreciate it. But they said the only thing they could do was rip it out, and I don't think they'll do that yet. My girlfriend loved it though. It was her suggestion to get it done anyway, so it's good that she liked it.
The holes have started to get a little tougher and little bit red. I don't know if that's an infection starting or if it's just normal. I'll have to wait and see on that I guess. I've been cleaning it at least once a day, sometimes twice. Soaking it a couple times a day with the sea salt mixture seems to be helping too. I try not to move it around too much, except when cleaning it. I've heard different opinions on it, but I'll stick with what I think makes sense, not moving it too much but just enough to help it heal right.
Once it's all healed up I might put a picture up on BME. But I'll wait a while for that. I don't think getting pierced is really anything to be afraid of. I will be getting more piercings, and I'll be going to Tatts by Zapp for sure. These experience pages really do help because people tell everything about it, not just a small description.