If you would have asked me just three months ago if I would ever get a facial piercing (or anything outside of my ears for that matter), I probably would have said no without a moment's hesitation. I had nothing against piercing. I thought it was great, just something that wasn't meant for me. The thought of having a needle run through my face was enough to turn my stomach.
At A Glance Author InnerDemons Contact papercut_lp@hotmail.com IAM InnerDemons When A month ago Artist Andrea Studio The Hole Look Location Anchorage, AK Throughout my life I've been scared to death of needles. As a child I had to be held down for otherwise simple and painless vaccinations. I didn't want things punching through my skin, I didn't care what the reason. As I got older I learned to deal with this phobia when I absolutely had to, but if I ever had a choice in the matter it wouldn't take more than two seconds to make it. This was a blessing to my parents. A kind of guarantee that I would never take part in two things: injection drugs and body modification, as both piercing and tattooing relied exclusively on needles. They were half right.
I've been infatuated with body modification for years now, and after piercing and stretching my lobes to a small degree I still wasn't satisfied. I wanted something bigger, something better. They say tattoos and piercing are addictive. I wholly agree.
I had been in Alaska for about a month, ad aside from the gnawing homesickness I was stressing like a madman over the fast approaching due dates of upcoming papers and midterms. This was also about a couple of weeks after purchasing an IAM account, and looking at everyone and their mods was a constant reminder or my own desires to go a little further. The four walls of my dorm room were closing in and beginning to suffocate me. I was quickly sinking into depression. I needed to go out and do something, anything, even if it was only for a few moments.
It didn't take long before I was set on having something pierced. I had thought about it for quite some time, but had never given any actual thought to when or where these transformations would take place. No time like the present. I asked a few people I met on IAM who were in the area for a recommendation of a studio to go to and came up with The Hole Look. I asked my roommate Sean for a ride, grabbed my wallet, and we were off.
I hadn't the slightest idea of what to have done as my first "real" piercing, or even if I would get more than one. It wasn't until I was at the register that I made up my mind on getting the center of my lower lip pierced. My friend Casey had pierced the side of his lip some time ago, but because of an incompetent piercer the placement was off and his body rejected it (so I'm told). I wanted something facial, and this fit perfectly. I signed the release form and the clerk gave me some information including aftercare information and typical healing times for various piercings. The cost came out to $50, $30 for the piercing and $20 for the jewelry.
Sean, his girlfriend Jessica, and myself all followed Andrea into the back where I would be skewered in just a few short moments. The studio was incredibly clean and professional. I remember comparing it to a doctor's office with tattoo flash lining the walls in my mind. Fitting, because upon entering the room she told me to sit on a medical bed all too familiar to every emergency room I've ever seen, complete with the paper strip.
I don't think I can express in my limited ability the level of cleanliness present in that room. Doctors and dentists strive for this kind of clean. The only way it could have been any cleaner is if everyone was required to wear biohazard suits. The utensils and jewelry were prepared before she came to get me and rested neatly in a shiny metal tray. Andrea explained the procedure and aftercare before she handled anything. After I said that I understood she put on her latex gloves and pulled out a medical pen which she used to make a small dot in the center of my lip. She asked me to look in the mirror, if I was okay with the placement, and if I wanted her to move it. I gave the okay and she looked me over one more time. Apparently she wasn't satisfied with her previous mark because she made another, almost right on top of the other and asked for approval again. In all honesty I had no idea what the difference was. As long as she didn't go too low I was okay with her judgment , so I said it looked fine.
She opened the needles in front of me, but I must have unconsciously looked away because I distinctly remember her doing it, I just don't remember the image of it happening. At this point she asked me to lie down on my back where a light was hanging directly above my face. The bright light gave me just the excuse I needed to close my eyes, something I had planned on doing from the start anyway to avoid catching any sight of the needle, a practice I'd developed and used with all kinds of injections and such to avoid my phobia. See no evil.
Andrea told me each step of the procedure as she performed it, essentially walking me through the process. She gently stuck the clamps on my lip and told me to breath in and then to breath out. As I exhaled she pushed the needle through my skin. Immediately after she placed the captive bead ring in the fresh fourteen gauge hole and inserted the ball. An incredibly brief pinprick of pain and it was all over. I opened my eyes and was blinded by the light. Sean later told me that my eyes were watery, but whether it was from the light or the piercing is anyone's guess as I honestly don't know. Andrea said that it was normal so I didn't really care either way. I sat up and looked to the mirror to appraise my new adornment.
Before I left she walked me through the aftercare one more time and suggested some items to pick up at the store to help with the healing process: sea salt water solution, antibacterial soap, and alcohol-free mouthwash. I bought a can of H2Ocean at the counter on my way out and picked up the rest at Fred Meyer's on our trip back to the dorms. All in all I spent about another $20. I was smiling like an idiot the whole time ad was careful to a near paranoid level not to touch the fresh piercing at any costs.
The use of the piercing as a kind of stress relief worked like a charm. My new piece of facial jewelry broke the focus I had on my assignments long enough for me to think things out logically. I ended up with nothing less than a B- on each of the papers and midterms.
It's been five weeks to the day and I've had no complications. At first there was a good day of swelling, but not so much that you would notice unless you were looking for it. For the first week-and-a-half I had to be careful when eating. When I would put something in my mouth, pizza or a spoon for example, it would bump the piercing and, naturally, agitate it and cause some discomfort. There wasn't much pain, the only thing I was concerned about was if something got into the hold and infected it. If you knew me then you'd know I'm particularly paranoid about my piercings while they're healing. The swelling and discomfort subsided with a couple of weeks, but at the end of which I had gotten too comfortable and became a little relaxed in caring for it, allowing a grain of salt from a Cheez-It to get in or near the piercing. No serious complications arose, but it had caused my lip to swell to the same level as it had the day after I had gotten it and left it a little tender fo r the day.
What makes this whole experience really harmonious was that as soon as we got back I had a letter from my grandparents waiting for me, pleading with me to refrain from getting anything pierced on my face. I had mentioned the subject in a phone call about a week earlier, mostly in an attempt to get a rise out of them. Funny ol' world, innit?