At A Glance
Author	Ashley Payne
Contact	ashleyk_payne@hotmail.com
When	Three months ago
Artist	Hayley
Studio	Primal Urge
Location	Perth, WA Australia

In around December 07 I went to Primal Urge in Perth city to get my cheeks pierced. I had been there for other piercings & trusted that the artist would do a good job. I didn't make a booking (I never do, it is more of an impulse thing) & she took me in right away to get it done. I did not feel very nervous despite not knowing anyone else who'd had it done & what to expect, which suprised me (I'm actually a big wuss).

Anyway, it took almost an hour to get the 2 spots perfect. Haley is a real fuss-pot which is comforting, but eventually she drew 2 dots, perfectly measured & lined up. They were to sit perfectly where my dimples would naturally be (I had only 1, very faint dimple when I smiled). The piercing itself was virtually painless, I kept my eyes open for the entire process & the only thing I noticed was that the needles seemed a little hard to get through. Hayley put in tefflon bars to begin with, as she said they would be much more comfortable on my teeth & they are quite flexible. Anyway, I walked out very pleased with the job she'd done!

A few days after the initial piercing, I noticed one cheek was a little more swollen than the other. After a few hours, I started experiencing intense pain & I knew immediately the bar was too short & the pressure was causing me pain. I returned to Primal stat & they put in new bars & trimmed them so they were longer than the originals. At this point I looked like a squirrel (swollen cheeks) but for the time being, the swelling was bearable & I knew they'd look fine once they dimpled in & had healed.

I returned a few weeks later, once the swelling was completely down, to get my bars trimmed. They trimmed them up right away & told me once they dimple in a little more, to come in & get them trimmed once again (remember, I had tefflon). Anyway, shortly after I went over to Melbourne & within the first night, I got extremely drunk & managed to chew the flatback COMPLETELY off so that they fell out. The following morning we rushed to a piercer & had them put in new bars - but these were steel. I forget how long they were, yet they seemed to sit quite comfortably.

In the second week of being in Melbourne, my left cheek had been weeping quite badly & I got a little panicky that an infection had set in due to having the new bars (at an unknown place). I went into a piercer in Melbourne city (I have no idea where) & one of the guys told me I may have 'leaky cheek', which basically means saliva is coming out through the piercing. Yet I was not convinced it was saliva alone, & within a few days the piercing was red & pus-y. My boyfriend & I were staying in a hotel appartment & everyday I cleaned my piercing with saline. I would get toilet paper, dip it into the water & rest them on my cheeks, otherwise I would hold a shotglass up to it so it'd draw out all the yucky stuff. I would also used boiled teabags on the piercing as it would help reduce the redness (I found that it worked). Every night I would inspect the piercing & I noted that at the top, there was jelly type flesh beside the bar which I guessed was scar tissue it was trying to get out, however it simply was NOT coming out. By the end of the week, my piercing was almost healed & we flew back to Perth, me hoping I wouldn't get any scarring or have it try & reject.

A few weeks after having it heal, I noticed another lump appear beside the piercing. It looked pus-filled & of course it was, & it STILL had that jelly-looking flesh inside it. I squeezed some of it out - yet it was stubborn & again, it healed over after a time. Within a few weeks, when the lump returned, I foresaw this being a reoccurring issue & my only guess is that it was stubborn scar-tissue it was trying to expell.

Having arrived at the piercer's again & having it inspected, Haley confirmed it was scar tissue & gave me a little Hydrogen Peroxide to clean it up with. She said to apply it whenever there is 'crust' & eventually it will go away. As the cheek is such a deep piercing (through thick muscle) she said that some of the 'crust' etc, may also have accidentally been drawn back inside, which is causing it to flair up & is having difficulty getting rid of. Thus far, it is looking clean & seems to be healing nicely & I can see little of the 'scar tissue' left.

Overall, I am quite pleased with how it looks & the artist's job at Primal Urge. I have been back since to get more work done & I will also post about those, too. :)

Here is a pic of my cheeks when they were still relatively new: