A couple weeks ago I got the itch. You know, the feeling you get when maybe you haven't been pierced in awhile or you've found a to-die-for piercing that you just have to have! When it comes to the itch, I'm pretty much the instant gratification kind of girl. Once the idea infiltrates my brain I've just got to do it--no delays allowed.
At A Glance Author Miss Lyndsey Jean Contact Miss Lyndsey Jean@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Georg Birns Studio High Priestess Piercing Location Eugene, Oregon Until I moved out to Eugene, Oregon I'd only seen cheek piercings on one person-- a boy who worked the counter at my favorite shop, Hot Rod Piercing Company in Pittsburgh (where all my previous work had been done). While they looked decent enough on him, they seemed too large and masculine for me so the thought was dismissed easily. However, about 6 months ago I began to notice them on girls around town and noted that they looked really cute. Being short on money and a bit overcrowded on the face already, I again dismissed the idea.
As luck would have it a gift certificate to a very reputable shop in town landed in my lap about a two weeks ago. I'd heard only good things about High Priestess Piercing and I was acquainted with one of their tattoo artists.
I briefly considered getting my other nostril pierced for the sake of symmetry, but that seemed just a little bit too safe and not quite fun enough. It'd been about two years since my last piercing so I was ready for something new! I'm not sure exactly how it happened that cheek piercings got into my head, but they did. I started posting pictures of myself and my current facial piercings online in piercing groups, asking if cheek, or dimple piercings as I like to refer to them as, would suit me. After getting a lot of favorable feedback, I tossed around the idea of getting just one cheek pierced, but soon realized I'd rather just retire my tried and true Monroe piercing and get both cheeks done!
I wanted to wait until one of my co-workers had the money to get her horizontal, but the itch was causing me to be impatient. So on 4/6 I walked to the shop with the intent to get them done that afternoon! I talked to one of the counter tech boys and he repeatedly cautioned me and explained the difficulty in healing cheek piercings. He told me that swelling can last a considerable time and that 4-6 months (or even more) for them to heal and that until then I would have to change jewelry length often to accomodate for the ups and downs. I told him I was prepared to do that having had considerable experience with other piercings. The piercer was on lunch so I had to come back in a little while. That of course just made me more nervous!
Back at the shop half an hour later, I got the same cautionary information from Georg, the piercer. I am stubborn though and fully convinced I could and would do what it takes to properly heal my cheek piercings, so it was full steam ahead! I picked out 14g flatbacks with emerald gems. Once inside the piercing room I noted how tidy and clean it was. Georg and the counter tech were both extremely informative. Georg spent a good length of time making the markings on my cheeks for proper placement. He told me about the salivary glands, etc that he had to be careful for. We talked about my past piercing experiences. He was very friendly and put my completely at ease about being there without someone's hand to hold. After all the cleaning and marking he had me sit on the edge of the table and stood in front of me. I kept my eyes closed because I hate seeing the needle and also am pretty uncomfortable with space invasion. I was prepared for something relatively painful, but was pleasantly surprised at how little the first one hurt. I expected the second one to hurt a bit more, but it didn't. Each felt a bit like biting the inside of your cheek.
Afterwards it felt like I'd been to the dentist--slightly numb, but only painful to smile and laugh. Before I left I purchased mouthwash, soap, and sea salt spray. They reminded me to come back if the swelling increased and I thought I needed longer bars and likewise to come back if the swelling went down and the bars were too long. They cautioned me again about the importance of properly fitting jewelry. I assured them that I would be back if anything changed. I took some Ibuprofen and drank plenty of cold water.
Since then I have experienced a bit of swelling--it has fluctuated but nothing that had caused me to need a different length of flatback. I'm still being cautious about the swelling--sometimes taking Ibuprofen to bring the swelling down. I am careful to rinse out after putting anything in my mouth. And I use the sea salt spray 3-6 times a day.
I absolutely love my cheek piercings! I love the fact that one day when I do retire them I will have my own permanent dimples. The size of my jewelery is not overwhelming and I've gotten tons of positive feedback. When I need new jewelry or get the itch again I'll definitely return to High Priestess. I couldn't be happier.