I have had my ears pierced nineteen times, and because they are tiny at this point they were all filled up, so I went online looking for something new. BME helped me an insane amount in deciding that I would get my eyebrow pierced. I spent at least a year trying to convince my parents (mostly my dad, my mom got her ears pierced the first time when I did, & now has four) & during that time I looked at the 6 pages of images of eyebrow piercings on BME that I was allowed to over & over again. I even held little rings up to my eyebrow to pretend I had one, & to make sure it would look good. Finally, for my 17th birthday, my mom talked my dad into letting me get my eyebrow done (I get good grades & she said I need to be able to express myself, and he said, "I, too, felt like I didn't want to be judged by how I looked, so you go right ahead.")
At A Glance Author Emily Contact Emily@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Nathan W. Studio Accent Tattoo & Body Piercing Location Ukiah, California So on the fourteenth of May (actually three days ago) my mom & I went to Accent Tattoo and Body Piercing in Ukiah, which had been recommended to me by a lot of my friends. It's only 45 minutes away, and we shopped around first & I was fine until lunch came around. I talked really fast & got nervous chills & didn't even think about my sandwich. I was mostly scared about it looking really bad, and migrating out, and the piercing environment being uncomfortable, et cetera et cetera. I had tried only reading positive experiences of eyebrow piercings on BME but I had seen pictures of piercings that migrated out, & said, if I think it is doing anything like that I am taking it out as quick as possible.
After lunch we drove to Accent, which was tough to find and we ended up at the other end of the street from where it was. When we found it we parked, & as soon as we walked in I felt so comfortable. There was some bad music playing so I wasn't sure about that but when we walked up to the counter, filling forms out took my mind off of it. My piercer Nathan came out and said hello & took our driver's licenses to be photocopied, & I thought he looked nice but disinterested, & while he prepared the room I looked at the jewelry & tried not to think about getting a real piercing. (all of my ears had been done with a gun).
My mom & I went to the back room and Nathan gave me a lecture on gun piercing, which I had already heard but couldn't help, because I found out the dangers of it after they were all done! We talked a little about what sort of jewelry he was using (16ga, 3/8 inch barbell), because I was expecting a ring (but having it all said & done I am extremely pleased with my barbell.) He told me it was a very modest piercing, and marked my face very carefully two times with a toothpick in two little crosses. I thought it was a little too close to my nose, (I had pictured it farther out on my eyebrow) but I figured he was the piercer & what he did would probably be fine. He told me he only had ever seen 4 people come back with problems with their piercings, & he had pierced hundreds of people.
He had me lie back on the table & told me to close my eyes & concentrate on my breathing. My mom asked him if he used any numbing & he said no, he believed people should experience the piercing fully (he had his lobes stretched huuuuge & dimple piercings, & neck surface piercings that had migrated out). While I was breathing he asked my mom about southern California because he used to live there, & he stuck the needle in, I felt it a little coming out but just a small pinch. He kept talking and asked what we were doing afterward, & I felt the jewelry going in & the he fiddled around with it for a while, screwing the balls on and cleaning it, but I didn't really feel any of that, just my eyebrow moving around. We talked for a little more & then he told me to sit up slowly. It didn't hurt at ALL, which was wonderful! Especially compared to my ears. He was very calm the whole time, & meticulous with his cleaning, and made me feel very safe and comfortable.
We went back into the front room and he sold us saline solution & antibacterial soap for two dollars each, & told us where the health food store was so we could buy sea salt, which we did (two dollars for two containers of it, the final cost of my piercing was about $56.) In the store I immediately started noticing that people didn't really look at me too different with my eyebrow done, which was great, I was worried that I would 'seem to hard', which is what my mom kept telling me. But she ended up loving it, & now she wants her belly button done!
I have been very strict with my cleaning routine, and it hasn't ever hurt at all, and looks so beautiful, I am in love! It hasn't leaked or crusted or done anything crazy & gross. The blue ink wouldn't go away too easy for the first day, but now it looks wonderful. If anyone is in the northern California area, I recommend Accent. (Nathan said they were the best in N.Cal because he's worked a lot of places). I am so happy with my piercing, my dad was a little wary at first but he said it will grow on him. All of my friends love it, & a guy at work calls me barbell now. This was the best thing I have ever done, I think! I love it.