At A Glance Author FirstStar Contact onestar.keefe@sympatico.ca IAM FirstStar When It just happened Artist Me (Jeff) Studio FirstStar Location Lachine, Quebec
One of my I-AM buddies just had a birthday, so, I decided to give him a birthday present. He'd originally went to someone else for a vertical labret, which had to be taken out. Firstly, it was crooked and secondly, the jewelry that was inserted, was too short. He should have come to me in the first place but hey, we all live and learn, right?
I knew that he'd been wanting his tongue pierced for a while and when he had to remove his vertical labret, I felt a little bad for him, so, I offered to pierce his tongue for his birthday. He had so many piercing's planed for the summer, when he lost his job, that kind of put a stop to all, his piercing projects. The only piercing he ended up getting, was a bust. He's always supported me and is a loyal customer (especially now after the vertical labret experience), so, why not do this for him. A big "thank-you" to BME, for reminding me about his birthday.
Enough about his birthday, back to piercing at hand...He obviously took my offer and we made an appointment for Thursday. He was right on schedule, he came in and made himself comfortable. Like I do with most of my customers, we had a little small talk, to make them comfortable. He was eager so, without wasting any time, we got to work. As I was setting up, he talked to me about his other body modification plans. His biggest dream, was to get his tongue split, so, getting his tongue pierced before hand, was a good step. Since, I'd probably be the one to split his tongue, I would pierce him accordingly and if anyone else would do the procedure(splitting), it would give them a stopping point. When splitting a tongue, you never want to go too far back and I was going to use his piercing as a guide, for future reference.
I was washed up and had my equipment ready for his piercing. I gave him a small cup of mouth wash and asked him to rinse. He came back and sat down in front of me. I just wanted to make sure I could pierce his tongue, so, I asked to see the under side. As he lifted up his tongue, I saw a bright blue vein passing through the center of his tongue. As he brought his tongue back into his mouth, I said, "oh no...", he quickly responded, "what do you mean, oh no...?". I explained to him that even though it was rare, certain tongue's have vein's and nerves, that run zig zag through the tongue, making it almost impossible to pierce. The chances of hitting it and causing him permanent damage, was way too risky, I showed him the under side of my tongue. Seeing the difference between my tongue and his, gave him a better understanding. Although disappointed, he understood and told me his mother had the same problem and never got her tongue pierced either.
Now, that was my mistake, I should have checked his tongue before taking out all my tools and getting him all excited. So, I would have to re-sterilize, since I took the barbell out of it's package but, I wasn't about to let him go home empty handed. I knew he was disappointed and I asked him if there was any else he wanted done. He couldn't think of anything off the top of his head, since the tongue piercing, was what he'd been looking forward too. He mentioned that on his I-AM page, he had a wish list. So, we went over to the computer and brought up his I-AM page. After thinking about it for a few minutes, he decided to go with his anti-eyebrow idea.
Once again, I started setting up, since it wasn't the same type of procedure, I needed different tools. I got out the proper barbell, needle and clamps, I asked him about freezing and he said, "no". I took an extra few minutes, to find an area that would be less prone to rejection. I found a good spot, cleaned the area and marked him, then, I asked him to take a look. He liked the placement, so, we proceeded with the piercing. I went over the procedure with him one last time, before putting on the clamps. Finally, the time came to pierce him...I put on the clamps, making sure I was properly lined up. As I reached for the needle, I explained that I'd slowly count to three and then drop it through. I asked him if he was ready, he said yes ,so, I counted to three and dropped the needle through. I grabbed for the barbell and slide it through the skin. I must've just nicked a vein because he had a small amount of blood trickle out, when I slide the barbell through, which stopped the moment the clamps came off. I cleaned him up and asked him if he wanted to see it. He ran over to the mirror and was visibly pleased with his piercing. I brought him back and washed off the excess blood, he was very happy with his vertical anti-eyebrow.
I got him to sit down for a few minutes (like I do with all my customers), just to make sure everything was ok. I got him out an after-care sheet and I went over it with him. Before leaving, I took a picture of his new piercing. Although a little disappointed, he mentioned how happy he was, that he'd come to me for his tongue. He said he'd hate to think what could've happened, if he'd gone somewhere else and they hadn't taken the time to check it out before hand. This also puts a crimp in his tongue splitting plans as well.
This is why I decided to write this experience, for an experienced piercer, the tongue is one of the easiest piercing's to do. It's doesn't happen often but, every once in a while, I get a tongue that I am unable to pierce. This could be for a number of reason's, too short, webbing too long or like in his case, the veins run zig-zag and all over the under side of his tongue. People or teens thinking about piercing their own or even their friends tongue's, should know about this. If you are going to do it at home, at least take the time to research it properly. As a second opinion, you can always go to a professional and ask them if your tongue is able to be pierced. I shutter every time I read a "do-it-yourself" job, I ask myself if they really know what they are doing. Every certified piercer, went through many hours of training, learning about the human body, ie: veins, nerves and how the body heals and react's to piercing's. If my experience can save one person from having irreversible damage, then my job here is done.
Thank you,
FirstStar