| At A Glance | |
| Author | Aspen1284 |
| Contact | aspen1284@aol.com |
| IAM | Aspen1284 |
| When | Three months ago |
| Artist | Brian |
| Studio | Aggression Studios |
| Location | Anderson, SC |
When I was younger I was the kind of person that thought that I would never be one of the people with tattoos or body piercings. That all changed about 2 years ago when tattoos started looking much more appealing and beautiful to me. After over a year of thinking, planning, and designing, I got my first tattoo. What I didn't know is how far that one tattoo would take me. Eventually I wanted more...so I got another tattoo, but this just wasn't enough. Finally I started looking at all the types of piercings there were and which appealed to me and would best suit me as a person. Finally, after months of thought I decided that a standard eyebrow piercing was for me.
Research/Procedure:
Once I knew what I wanted, I started looking up the piercing shops in my area and calling them, asking various questions about the tools they used as well as how long the shop had been in business. After calling around and narrowing my search down to a select few, I asked a few people I knew who had gotten various piercings who they used and how they liked the place they got it done at. Eventually I got it down to two shops, both of which I visited to see which was not only sterile and clean, but to see which shop made me feel comfortable and whos piercers knew the most about their profession. After my visits I decided to use Aggression Studios, a place a friend of mine had used to get both his nipples, labret, and PA done at. Brian, the piercer I met and trusted with my eyebrows only worked Mondays and Tuesdays, so I planned on coming in the following Monday. Monday came and I was nervous about what this new feeling of having a needle pushed through my eyebrow was goin g to feel like. I made sure to eat a good breakfast before leaving for the shop knowing that I would be too nervous to eat before the piercing later that day. I got to the shop and Brian greets me from behind the counter, he remembered me, and even something as small as him remembering me made me feel a little more at ease. He went back into the room and set everything up and got ready for the piercing. He returned after about 5 minutes and was ready to begin. I walk into the room to see a chair that looks like some ancient torture device, a mirror, and various cabinets with the tools on top all spread out and shiny in the brightly lit room. I sit down in the chair to find its actually quite comfortable and Brian begins to explain what the tools are and how he'll be using them. When done, he cleaned my eyebrow with Betadine, and then with alcohol I think it was. Then he used a toothpick and ink to mark on my eyebrow where I described I wanted the piercing to be. He marks my brow and I look in the mirror to see if Im happy with the pl
acement, and he nailed it the first time. Now came the part I was dreading the most...the actual piercing. Once my brow was marked and ready to go, he got the clamps in place, perfectly aligning the two marks on my eyebrow. Now this is where my one and only complaint comes in. The clamps were way too tight, and actually hurt quite a bit. Anyways, once the clamps were on he got the needle in hand and told me to count to three. Before I could even think of saying the word "One", the needle had already gone through. The feeling was not bad by any means, and I can understand why so many people love getting pierced, because the feeling was like nothing I had ever felt. Once the clamps were off, everything felt much better and all I could see was the end of the needle hanging from my eyebrow. Brian got the 16g curved barbell and began to thread it through the pierced hole, telling me that I might feel a little drag. Once through though, I felt nothing at all. He screwed the ball on and tightened it. Now at this point I could finally feel that my eyebrow was a bit sore and tender. Brian then proceeded to explain the aftercare to me and answered any question I had. I was asked if I was feeling light headed at all to which I said no, then I got up and walked to the front desk to pay. I paid Brian as he gave me the aftercare sheet and I thanked him numerous times before leaving. I finally had my first piercing, but not my last.
Aftercare:
Now let me say this first of all, I did a few things in my aftercare routine that many piercers do not say to do, nor do I recommend you do unless you know how your body acts towards just about everything. First off, when I got home after the piercing, I used a Q-Tip and water to clean off the dried blood around each hole carefully, making sure not to move the jewelry much at all. Now my aftercare routine was to clean three times a day, once in the morning, once sometime throughout the day, and before bed. In the morning, I used a Q-Tip to clean off any crusties or dried blood if there ever was any. Then I used Bactine and a Q-Tip to clean around each of the holes, making sure to also clean any part of the jewelry sticking out of the hole and/or touching the skin. Now this is the part I don't recommend many people do. I've used Bactine throughout my life and know how my body handles it. Well, after cleaning with the Bactine I would use another Q-Tip and water to get t he excess Bactine off of the piercing and the jewelry. Anyways, at some point in the day I would give my piercing a warm salt soak which kind of helped the piercing to relax in a weird way. At night I would repeat the Q-Tip and Bactine routine and clean off the excess Bactine as well with warm water. I did this routine everyday for 2 months straight and all seems to be doing very well. Keep in mind that after any sweating, swimming, or even any bump that may cause pain I would clean the piercing. And if the required things aren't within reach, just use a Q-Tip and water at least, its not much, but its better than not cleaning it at all. Well, after 2 months, I stopped the everyday routine of cleaning and just basically leave it alone now until I sweat or feel like it could use a good cleaning. Basically I try not to bother it now and its doing great!
Other Thoughts:
Once again, I do not recommend using Bactine in your aftercare routine. I've heard that on many people it is harsh to the skin and can dry out the piercing. It just so happens that Bactine works fine for me, but don't go out and buy a bottle of Bactine thinking you'll get the same results I did. Salt soaks I know are probably the best method of aftercare out there, but you just need to find whats best for you and your body. And something I forgot to mention about getting piercings and body modifications in general, if you are not of age, don't do it without parental permission. My mom totally refused to let me get any piercings or tattoos while I am still living in her house, but after a few months of intelligent conversations and showing her why I wanted these things, she finally accepted it. So just don't go behind your parents back and do things they don't want you to do, its so much easier just to wait a little longer and convince them you are responsible enough fo r such a thing...
