I took on an apprenticeship at Electric Line Tattoo to learn all the behind-the-scenes stuff to tattooing and piercing. Up to this point in my life, I had collected six piercings (I know that's not much by BME standards, but for Leechburg, it's plenty). The only one that I felt had hurt was my cartilige. That is probably because it's the only one that wasn't professionally done. I had a friend numb me up with ice then jam a baby ear piercing gun through. Which as we all know, is a stupid, stupid idea. I didn't know at the time. It was my first piercing, and I was all for it. But I digress. All of my other piercings went effortlessly and healed nicely. I can't say I had much trouble with them after the actual piercing was over with, really. Except not being able to eat or talk well with my tongue, and my eyebrow being started with a damaged piece of jewelry, I've had no problems.
At A Glance Author AcePgh Contact ares212@hotmail.com When Three months ago Artist April Studio Electric Line Location Leechburg, PA This got me ambitious, and I started entertaining the thought of a Prince Albert, but I'm an extremely shy person, and couldn't think of coming to work everyday after they'd seen my junk, and I also couldn't just take my stuff to a piercer I don't know and trust and ask them to do it.
So I kept booting the idea around for awhile. Finally one day I just decided I was being stupid. I personally knew April's expertise and trusted her, and if she could be mature about it, so could I. (That and I had a first date the night before that went well, and I wanted to get the piercing done now so that it would be healed by the time I wanted to use it, instead of waiting till I was ready to go and breaking my equipment!)
So one night after the shop closed, we got out the equipment and went in the privacy room. I was extremely worked up, not so much afraid of the piercing, but embarassed and feeling awkward. I was so nervous, in fact, that my guy was trying to hide and making it an unduly tedious process. I had been told the receiving tube was the worst, the piercing was nothing, and I believed it, because only one of my other piercings (my cartilige) had hurt.
So in goes the receiving tube. Its presence wasn't a bother to me at all. But then it gets angled so that the end of it is visible to place the needle. And, ow. The receiving tube is sort of beveled at the end, which makes for a nice little point. That one hurt. For some reason I still thought the needle going in through my skin would hurt less than the point just kinda poking at it from the inside.
And they're off. My other piercings, as soon as I started to feel the needle, it was through and I was fine again. But this little bugger wasn't having it. As soon as I started to feel the needle, I started to feel it some more. It seemed like it took an hour when I know in reality it was a quick pinch.
April has pierced my tongue successfully when other shops have told me I have an unpiercable tongue. She has even fixed a piercing that another shops had screwed up; I noticed infinite improvement one day after she did her thing. So I know her expertise is unparallel. I just have a sensitive guy.
Peeing wasn't enjoyable at all for a few days. It burned like nothing I've ever felt. Standing, sitting, wearing clothes, being naked, all hurt for awhile. Soon April and I talked about it again, and we decided different jewelry would help. I ordered a smaller diameter ring (the only larger diameter ring we had on hand at the time was like two inches... and I'm not even going to try to exaggerate that much), which I think was also a larger gauge. I changed it, and the very next day I could walk comfortably again.
Now it has been two months, and the only time it still bothers me is if I get a little too rowdy in the bedroom :D But the sensitivity is heightened to pleasure as well. I guess it's sort of one way to get back what you lost with circumcision.
Even though it took a little longer to heal than most of my other piercings (it ranked more alongside my cartilige than anything), I am extremely glad I got it done, and I am even more glad that I had April do it for me. For anyone in Western Pennsylvania wanting a piercing but is leary about trusting their body to someone, my highest reccomendations go to April's knowledge and skill.