At A Glance Author anonymous When A month ago Artist Myself Starting about a year ago, I became really interested in piercings. I had only my ears pierced and I wanted something more. At first I was interested in the average lip piercing etc, but it wasn't enough for me to actually get one. Then one day I fell in love with septum piercings and it was perfect because my parents being extremely strict wouldn't find out. I researched that alot and then I pierced my septum about a month later. It came out beautifully and it has been six months since I first pierced it. Oh, and my parents didn't find out. Since then I have had my tragus, rook, several lobes and a few gauged.
Anyway, I have always admired cheek piercings. I thought they looked so nice, and it wasn't having two like most people did, but I wanted just one to go along with my septum. So after reading alot of BME I went to the store and bought a sixteen gauge piercing needle, and a 22 mm bar. I know its really long, but I read that if there isn't enough room then the ball will easily suck into your skin. Disgusting haha. Ok so I bought everything and came home. I boiled the needle and jewlery for five to ten minutes and in my room I had a small desk with a papertowel. On it was the jewlery, needle, a bottle of alcohol, some anti bacterial mouth wash, and a little ice.
Okay so the preparation is ready, and now I sat there looking at the mirror for the perfect position. I decided that it would be a little low and closer to my mouth. I then took the needle and started to push it in. When i pierce, I generally go slow because I feel in control and I prefer the slow pain instead of a sudden fast pain. The first layer of skin was that sharp pain, but after that I knew I could finish it because the excitement kind of makes you forget about the pain. I felt a pop, maybe two, and then i could feel the needle start to come through in the inside of my mouth. One last push and the tip was through. Then pushing the rest of the needle through is my favorite because it feels like gauging, but its the last step of the initial piercing. The needle was through, and it wasn't so bad.
What i didn't notice was that, since I pierced from the outside in, I would have to put my jewlery in backwards because I couldn't follow through with the tip from the inside. I put the jewlery in no problem. I could feel my cheek swelling already, and I knew it would probably be swelling up alot more later on. Even though the jewlery wasn't a ball (since it was on the inside) my cheek looked great witht he backing of a labret. Hahaha. I put ice on it for ten minutes and then left it.
Oh ofcourse I didn't forget about my parents, for those of you hiding it with the consequences of death if they find out, be really careful. My parents were out of town for a few days so they weren't there to see my cheek at the maximum swelling level. When they returned home, by that time I had put the jewlery in normally, and i would just unscrew the ball. So there was a lttle metal dot with red around it. I told them it was a pimple that I popped and it was just a gross scab. Haha its unlikely but they bought it.
Okay so the aftercare of the piercing wasn't that hard. Sea salt soak twice a day, (make sure you don't have too much salt in the water, or else your piercing just gets irritated) I used alot of mouthwash, and brushed my teeth three times a day. I never touch it, I don't have those urges to play with my piercings like alot of people I noticed do. The 24mm bar was definitely worth it because my cheek did swell up and if the bar was any smaller I'm sure I would have had problems with the risk of the ball getting sucked in.
For those of you who are interested in cheek piercings or other piercings, I really would hope that you guys get it done proffesionally. I only pierced mine myself because I am not of age to get it done professionally. I've pierced my lip before, and a cheek is alot different. The lip was almost no problem, but your cheek is really thick, and luckily I didn't hit a vein or artery. If you do hit one while you are piercing your cheek then there are going to be ALOT of problems that surface immediately after the piercing, and long term. Whatever you guys do, be careful and I hope this helps you in the future.