In April of 2001 I was at a BANE (EVR Showcase) show in New Jersey. I had recently gotten into piercing, and concurrently the hardcore scene. Well, at this show I was standing behind a really hot girl; platinum blond hair with gorgeous sleeves and gauged lobes with some intricate wood jewelry (I don't remember the size). Then she lifted her hair and proceeded to tie it up with a couple Japanese chopsticks. That's when I saw it. Standing before me were two eyes in the back of her head, staring up at me. It was actually her upper name, and the eyes were balls attached to her surface bar. I tapped her on the shoulder and we started talking about it.
At A Glance Author rawcuss Contact rawcuss@bme.anon When Six months ago Artist Dave Studio Fatty's Custom Tatooz Location Washington DC I had thought about the nape before, but I never had that drive that I've experience with all the others (Tongue, R Nipple w/14 ga ring, R Nipple again after removal due to migration w/12 ga barbell hor., L Nipple barbell vert, and gauged lobes @ 0). I was scared of the nuisance it would be to care for, scared of the pain, and certainly not excited about not being able to see it well on a consistent basis. As soon as I saw how incredible this Jersey girl's looked though, I was absolutely sure I wanted it done.
I waltzed into Fatty's and chatted with Jacques (the coolest kids to talk to while waiting in a parlor.....it's worth the trip just to get to hang out with him) while I waited for Dave to finish up with his previous customer. I told him what I wanted to do. He asked me to turn around and pull my hair up. He pinched my neck and said, "Oh yeah, you gotta let me do your nape dude....It's perfect." This was very encouraging. Then I tried to set up an appointment for the next week, when his order of some surface bars would be in. "Nope," he said. "Not until you're back from the Ride." My piercer was looking out for me a hell of a lot better than I was! I was so excited about the nape that I totally forgot that it probably wasn't a great idea to get pierced, especially the nape, right before a 330 mile bike trip where I'd be sleeping in tents and have my neck bent and folded on it for ten hours a day. So I had to wait.
Finally, the ride was over, I saved some cash, and made my appointment. At this stage I was obsessing. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I thought I'd finally satisfy my perforation cravings with it (I haven't). When I finally went in to do it, Dave was GREAT, as always. He uses aboutfour pairs of gloves just to prep everything! He really takes his time and lets me know exactly what's going on at every stage. He marked it meticulously, and had me check (although I wasn't much good at checking), and my friend double-check. Finally I laid down on my tummy, head hanging off the end of the examining table like I was about to get a massage. He set the needle, which is the first little minuscule prick you feel. Then we started breathing. He breathes with me to get a good rhythm, then the needle starts to go in. "WOW!" Dave got worried for a second; til then I'd never said a word while a needle was going through. "This isn't nearly as bad as I'd expected!"
Okay, so it does hurt. But believe me, if you've ever done the nipple, this is cake. I didn't even feel the jewelry slipping in. I looked at it with a couple mirrors, and instantly fell in love. He has perfect placement! When he asked me to bend my head down to take pictures it was a bit sore, and I was also afraid of disturbing it. Being careful is good but I learned a nape can be a lot more durable and hardy that one would expect. In general I heal quite well (being a active, healthy, vegan, non-smoker), so it was perfectly healed within 3.5 months! I love it. I especially love putting my hair up in class for the first time and hearing all the gasps behind me. I just wish I had a mirror to watch! If you're looking for people's reactions, there's no shortage with the nape, but you never see their face, so consider that.
Would I do it again? Of course. I love it. I ordered dimpled balls so that I can attach captive (slave) rings and that looks great! I'm definitely considering doing another directly below or above, same width, so that I can lace a ribbon through. Oh, we did it with a 10ga, 1.25" bar. I think the only thing I would have done differently would be to do two angled bars to make a diamond. But, you see, I get attached to the ones I have, so taking out my first to do two others isn't appealing. I couldn't deal without my R Nipple so I redid it at the risk of it failing again! (It didn't.)
In any case, surface piercing is not for everyone, but if you take good care of you new adornment, you'll love it!