I wanted to get my cheeks pierced for quite a while and after I lost my two eyebrow bridges I vowed told never get any more surface piercing so I went out and cheered myself up with a septum piercing! That was a while ago a recently in limerick I found myself with enough money to get my cheeks done so I bit the bullet and headed to a nearby studio.
At A Glance Author clarabella* Contact plasmaticdesigns@yahoo.co.uk IAM clarabella* When It just happened Location limerick Once I got inside I made my request and before anything could be done the guy had to ring up a fellow piercer to get a pricing as he had never done a pair of cheeks before, that was fine until I heard him say he was worried, be a bit dodgy. But thankfully my fears were laid to rest as he was getting the others that worked there to come in.
They said that they could have guess id be a bit of a pincushion the two cheeks are very rarely asked for. The lady was very she had to tell possible risks, such as the massive swelling that would occur and the possibility of the swelling being so severe that it takes in the jewellery at which point the piercing must come out. And as for longevity she could not tell me as she had done so few and did not know of that many either.
It was only then I realized that it was going to be quite a complicated piercing. I signed the release forms and I went in to get my dots drawn on. Usually this is quite a quick process but not being used to being stared at I reacted by smiling, giggling like a lunatic...the more they tell you to stop- well its kind of a nervous thing. Something that unnerved a driving instructor or two! Anyway I suggested they dot my one dimple and use it to map out where the other dot should go. More people came in to help. It was decided to work inside the dimple, as there was such a large mass of muscle there to begin with.
They were perfectionists with the markings and eventually we got it right! When I laughed at their absolute perfectionism the guy say 'we are only as good as our last piercing' which I though was a great way of looking at his work.
Anyway the girl doing the piercing wiped all the excess ink of with antiseptic to avoid any blood poisoning. Next we picked out the jewellary. The longest bars they had were 16mm but they had balls at each end as like I said before they was no all for the piercing I wanted. The next in size and flat-backed was a pair of 11mm bars but i am so glad we went with the 16mm, as they really do swell!
The girl got me to open my mouth very wide. She used a clamp and held it firmly as she put the needle through. I was surprised that it was just a sharp pain like perhaps when I got my lip pierced; I had expected a lot worse! All the while the needle was slowly being put through and the bar being pushed through she constantly asked how I was feeling. Making sure I was not dizzy or weak. I was given a breather before the second piercing and during this time any excess blood was wiped off. The second piercing went as good as the first and afterwards I watched as she used a tool to break the needle in half and dispose it in a small medical waste bin. I signed a sheet stating I had witnessed this, and was giving the remaining part, which had information on aftercare. Which is just another thing I hope can be brought it across the seas- proper standards in terms of health, safety and hygiene.
Before I left my face was cleaned up and I found it impossible to smile or laugh without having to hold my cheeks in extreme pain as the people working there made jokes. I guess you could call that karma! I was given 5 euros off each cheek-which was sweet so I paid up the eighty euros and said my goodbyes.
Before I got back into the care with Fonsa I bought some nurofen which is brilliant, not only does it stop the pain but it works also as an anti-inflammatory, a bottle of water, and savolon spray- an antiseptic spray. The women at the counter asked if I had just put myself through some pain, and when I forced a polite and painful smile and I could feel fluid slowly running down my face, the poor woman had to recoil in horror!
So now its three days later and the swelling is starting to go down, I have had no problems bar the pain that is easily relieved by taking some nurofen and sipping on cold water/ sucking ice, so except for the fact that I now look like a gerbil storing as much food as possible under my gums, I can say it was a very successful piercing.
So now I'm looking forward to going back to the shop this week to exchange these 16mm bars for some 11mm flat-backs!