I begged my Mom for months. Let me get my nose pierced, let me get more ear piercings, let me get my lip pierced, let me get my eyebrow pierced, let me pierce my belly button. I grew up with pretty much no rules, so this one was somewhat of a shocker. I'm not allowed to get any piercings. That changed fast.
At A Glance Author Allison Contact jewsoup4life07@aol.com When A year ago Artist Pat Studio Dr.Jefe's Location San Diego Maybe my Mom got sick of me asking every night. She finally agreed to an eyebrow piercing. So, I started reading up on it. I found a whole page of horror stories about eyebrow piercings. People getting eyebrow ring, and they started bleed into there eyes, or their nerves getting hit, and they had twitchy eyebrows. I was still going to go through with it though.
In San Diego, mainly Ocean Beach and Point Loma, there is only one place you go to for piercings. Ok, well maybe not only one. Two. Dr.Jefe's and if you can get a ride out there, Dutch Touch. I of course went to Dr. Jefe's.
Once we got there, I forgot my ID, and we had to go home, and by the time we got back, my mother and I were fighting. She couldn't say "No" now, and she knew it. Because if she said "NO" to I would go and find some other way to do it. I thinks he figured that if my daughter wants needles shoved through her face, at least I can make sure they are clean ones.
The wait is the worst part. I later came to find out after more visits, it will always be the worst part. You are nervous, and anxious, and you get to thinking about them messing up, or it looking bad, or it hurting really bad, or the piercing getting infected. It is enough to stress out Buddha.
We filled out all the paper work, and picked whether I want a ring or a barbell. I wanted a barbell, rings stick out too much, and get hit on everything. Maybe my Mother knew that, and wanted me to suffer, because she made me get a ring. (I later made me buy me a barbell.) So there I am sitting, waiting, and wondering about all the scary stuff. And I was a piercing virgin, besides a few ear piercings I got when I was a baby.
Then I saw the guy who was about to pop my piercing cherry. Pat had tattoos all over his body, up his neck, ears gaged to inch and a quarter. And a number of other piercings. I was 14 at the time, and not exactly knowledgeable about Body Mods. I was about to high tail my ass out of the shop and forget the whole thing. God, I'm glad I didn't.
Pat led me into the back room. My Mom insisted on coming, and watching. Then he started asking me all these weird questions about placement, and nerves, and which side I wanted it on. I have to tell you, I had no idea there was so much to deal with. I guess looking back, there really wasn't that much. I choose my right side, because I was already planning on a nose piercing, or Monroe for the other side. I closed my eyes and waited for it all to happen. It seemed like forever before Pat started talking to me. It was a long speech. "Breath in, Breath Out, this isn't going to hurt. Relax. I want more deep breathing." Thing pretty much along that line. I got so distracted listening to him, and trying to follow my breathing, that I didn't even feel him pierce me. All I really felt was the skin moving out of my eyebrow. That was a sensation that started an obsession for me. Before I even opened my eyes, the ring was in, and there was no measurable amount of blood.
The next day, there was no swelling, or pain. It looked awesome, and bad girl like with out being too big and obtrusive. My mom liked it a lot. A few days later she told me she wanted one. But thankfully(or unfortunately, which ever way you look at it) her boss said no. Here I am, a year later, and I still love it. Since then, I have had 5 other piercings, including my lip, a vertical labret, a monroe, a nostril, and my belly button. It is the only one I haven't gotten bored of, and I don't even notice it anymore. I feel like it had always been there, and always will be. When people first meet me, they rarely notice it, I think it is either because I am so comfortable with it, or because I have tiny clear orange plastic horns on the end of the barbell, and they just blend right in.
I learned that with piercings, if right when you get them, you don't feel like, or they don't look to you, as if they have always been there, you will take them out a lot sooner then the ones that just feel natural and right.