I wanted my nape done.
At A Glance Author paullyanna Contact paullyanna@bme.anon IAM paullyanna When Three months ago Artist John Studio Forbidden Fruit Location Austin, TX Although no one I knew actually had a nape piercing, I'd read stories and seen photos aplently-- enough to know that I wanted it bad, pretty much for aesthetic reasons only. Although I wasn't sure how I would deal with a surface piercing, not having tried any before. I've got a pretty high tolerance for pain (I enjoy getting cartilege piercings, particularly inner conch), but since I really had no basis for comparison I didn't really know what to expect.
I asked John if he would do one for me. He's the only person I go to (the only one I trust); he's done a superb job on everything else I have. He was reluctant to do this for me though, given the high rate of rejection and scarring that usually come with surface piercings. I badgered him about it for a month straight, in email and in person.
I was in one day to have two inner conch piercings done, when I brought up the nape topic yet again. He mentioned that he had some tygon in the back that he could get ready, if I really wanted. I was kind of caught off gaurd not expecting him to agree to go for it, and I was totally floored. He disappeared to put a bunch of stuff in the autoclave, then came back to do my ear. Finished within minutes, no big deal. Normally I would have taken the time to relish the ear piercings by themselves, but I was so into the though of finally getting my nape done that I barely paid attention to the warmth radiating from the left side of my head.
John had me stand up, shoulders straight, head up, to mark the back of my neck. He made me check it myself in the mirror, and after some minor adjustments we were ready. It was going to be a pretty long piercing, almost 2 inches in length. I laid down again on the table, face buried in my arms, and he cleaned the back of my neck. He started pinching all the skin up, getting a feel for it. He wasn't going to use any clamps. He asked if I was ready, gave me the old breathing routine and grabbed up a bunch of skin, then pierced on my exhale.
OW. Certainly a different feeling than anything else I had done. I heard a lot of people say that nape piercings were a piece of cake for them, that they went through smooth as butter, over in a matter of seconds. Not so for me. John noted that my skin seemed to be extra tough-- he was having a really hard time getting the needle through! I could feel him pushing really hard with all of his weight. It took 4 pushes to get that bitch through! I really had to steady my breathing, and I couldn't help letting out random expletives as we went. His hands even started to shake a little bit, he was pushing so hard. After what seemed like forever, I could feel him coming close to the exit hole. In a painful last burst, the needle popped through the skin. Damn.
We both sat there for a second, and then he picked up the tygon (14ga). Following the needle through with that stuff was almost as bad as having it done! But he did get it through, and screwed some balls onto the ends. He left about a cm extra on each side to allow for easy cleaning and drainage.
As I stood up to stretch, John sat down on the table where I had been laying. He commented that even he could use a cigarette! I guess those piercings are still pretty intense for him too. I admired it in the mirror, John gave me some Satin soap and a few extra aftercare reminders, and sent me on my merry way.
Aside from a little redness, everything was fine for the first week. I would do salt soaks twice a day, and wash it with the soap in the shower. The holes began to get really red and crusty, so I varied my routine a bit. The left side started to calm down, but the right wasn't making any progress-- there even appeared to be a bump forming inside the hole. One day, staring at it in the mirror, I picked up a Qtip and pushed down on the bump, out towards the hole. A sea of really gross gunk came out, including a little bit of blood. It was enough to cover the head of the Qtip-- really nasty. I started working the stuff out every time I would clean the piercing, and there was always a lot of it. After a month or so I went to see John to make sure everything was OK, but he didn't seem to think it was an infection and just told me to keep up the aftercare and wait it patiently out. "It's a surface piercing." he shrugged. "This is why I don't like to d o these." This of course made me even more determined to heal the damned thing, to win the fight for control over my own body.
Another month and I had to admit defeat. I had started to hate wearing collarless shirts, as people would always comment on it, and I knew it wasn't a pretty sight. It hadn't migrated or rejected one bit, it was just... angry. And you could tell. Perhaps I just got too much hair gunk in it, or maybe I touched it too much. Maybe I slept on it wrong. Or maybe I just didn't wait it out long enough. I'll never know now. Back into Forbidden Fruit once more; John snipped off one end and gently slid the tygon out. He cleaned my neck, working everything out of the holes. It was over. I had challenged my body and lost the battle.
Within a few days the drainage stopped completely, although the redness remained. Three months after having my nape pierced, I am left with two small scars on the back of my neck. It looks like a vampire has bitten me on the back of my neck. I don't think I'll try it again, but it was fun to attempt.
Makes you realize how little control you actually have over your own body...