I began my obsession with piercings when i was fifteen. My best friend at the time, Sarah, had decided her first piercing was to be an industrial. I had hardly any interest in body modification at the time, but being the kid that always had to stand out (at the time I was known as "The-Girl-With-The-Hair", I'd dyed it half blond and half black much like Cruella De Ville.) I knew I had to get one too. Three industrials, an anti-eyebrow, the nape of my neck twice, my sternum, two tattoos and three whole years later, i had my sights set on my cheeks.
At A Glance Author Sweet Cheeks Contact hesgotyoutalking@yahoo.com When A year ago Artist Steeney Studio Freaks on Broadway Location West Port in Kansas City MO I talked to my piercer, Steeney, and even though she'd never pierced cheeks before we decided it was doable. (She usually does the less complicated and more common piercings such as lips and noses leaving the more adventurous mods to Jeremy at the parlor down the street.) We measured my cheeks and decided, based on the swelling of previous piercings, that 1 1/4 in. bars would probably be necessary. She ordered the jewelery and told me she'd call me when when it came in, beginning the longest four day wait of my life.
When the bars finally arrived my mom (who takes pictures every time Steeney puts another hole in me) and I jumped in the car and headed to Freaks. The parlor had the same sterile sent as always with only one or two customers waiting. I took a seat in the same, blue chair I was so accustomed to (I suppose it's the kind you'd find in a dentists office) and looked one last time in the mirror across from me at my clean, untouched cheeks.
Steeney used a toothpick and some ink to mark the spots where each bar would go and after a few adjustments I was satisfied. Laying back I let my eyes fixate on the same tiles in the ceiling that I always did, right next to the chain that supports the light fixture above me. A small crowd of curious customers had gathered near the counter trying to get a better view as Steeney prepared the first of the long, stainless steel barbells. I couldn't help but notice how unnecessarily long they seemed, but I trusted Steeney's judgment.
I wasn't nervous until she actually had her gloved hands in my mouth, pinching to find a sweet spot and make sure no major tendons were obstructing the path that the needle was about to travel. A quick "one, two... three" and a startlingly painful pinch later and my right cheek was done. A little unnerved at how much more painful it was as compared to how I expected it to be, I took in a deep breath and gave a shaky thumbs-up. My left cheek was no less painful than the first, I had underestimated how thick the tissue in my face was I suppose.
Slightly sore but hyped up on adrenalin I thanked Steeney again for another job well done and headed out the door. In the next few weeks Steeney's ability to predict the future proved to be useful, my cheeks swelled to an alarming size. The swelling subsided after about a month and the constant, yellow ooze finally went away after two months. After the swelling and oozing stopped I put some smaller bars in and continued to drop sizes until I was as healed as I am now with significantly shorter bars.
I've run into a handful of problems with my cheeks so far. The first was finding out (even after researching the piercing) that i missed the glands on either side of my cheeks by millimeters. My doctor warned me that hitting them could cause Bell's palsy, or partial paralysis of the face. My right cheek has also decided to grow its self a little extra scar tissue that has since protruded onto the bar on the inside of my mouth. At first I thought it was infected and cleaned it constantly, then realized it was scar tissue (and like an idiot) i took the piercing out and simply cut it off. What surprised me was that with a few sea salt soaks my solution to the scarring problem actually worked (but really kids, don't try that one. I'm sure I really could have done some damage there.)
My cheeks are about as happy and as healed as can be now. I've had them for about a year and other than a little bit of scar tissue left on the right one everything seems to be in working order. My only advice to anyone contemplating this piercing is to make sure you know where the glands on the insides of your cheeks are so you can avoid them (it's that little bump on either side) and to try to use sea salt soaks more often than not. Other wise they're cute as can be and have given me the adorable nickname of "Sweet Cheeks"!