I've been into mods for a while now. It all started four years ago when I was living in the suburbs and decided to shock the hell out of everyone and pierce my tongue, which was almost unheard of outside the big city.
At A Glance Author Freddy Knockout Contact freddyknockout@hotmail.com When Three months ago Artist Daniel Studio Adrenaline Location Montreal, Qc, Canada Fast-forward ahead to November 2002. I was hanging out with my friends at college, and suddenly that urge we all know, the piercing urge, strikes me. I turned to my friend Deirdre and said, "I want a new piercing." This is not at all uncommon in our little group, we're known for spur of the moment mods. So we sat there debating what I could get pierced when suddenly Deirdre said "How about your nape?" This intrigued me, because about 3 weeks prior to that, I had been at the piercing shop that we go to, Adrenaline, with a desire to get my nape, but my 14 year-old sister who I had brought along kept saying " no no no" and so I ended up backing out and getting my snug done instead (which I still love and cherish).
So after chatting about it for a while, we took off to Adrenaline. Our friend Nick, the absolute non-piercing guy, came along for the ride. As we were walking up the street, we just happened to run into the piercer we always go to at the studio, Daniel. I told him my idea, and he was totally stoked to do it. He spun me around, looked at my nape and said "Dude! This is gonna look awesome on you!"
So into the studio we went. We discussed the option of using Tygon rather than a barbell. For those of you who may not know, Tygon is a very flexible plastic wire that can be used in the place of standard metal jewelry in places that are prone to rejection. The though is that if the part that's inside the body can flex with the skin, it won't cause the friction that can eventually leads to rejection.
Anyways, we ended up deciding on a stainless-steel barbell, seeing as my body does tend to heal abnormally well. I signed the release form, and filled out all the necessary info while Daniel got everything sterilized and ready. We all went into the piercing room, and Daniel and I began working on the placement of the piercing. After trying a few different heights, we ended up choosing one about 2 inches below my hairline, and about an inch across. So now came the moment of truth. I got onto a piercing bed, of sorts, and was lying face down. Daniel gave me the option of whether he would do it free hand or with clamps. I know he prefers free-hand, and I am completely comfortable with his judgement, so I told him to do it however he was more comfortable doing it. He debated for a while, and eventually decided it would be safer to do it with clamps.
So then I felt that familiar feeling of the cold metal clamps pinching some flesh. It's always at that point that the nerves start up. I got really excited, and my heart was pounding. I knew this would hurt less than my nipples had, but I was still getting a piece of metal inserted into the back of my neck. The psychological aspect was a lot worse than the actual situation. After chitchatting a while (me trying to delay the inevitable I suppose, ha ha), I told him I was ready. He told me to take a deep breath, and as I exhaled, he would pierce it. So I took in that breath, and focused my thoughts on feeling the needle pass through my body, feeling every aspect of being pierced, because I find that takes my mind away from the pain.
Exhale. I feel the needle enter. It didn't hurt, really. It was more interesting than anything. My friend Nick let out a laugh, probably because he couldn't believe it had actually happened. Daniel said that it was pierced perfectly, and that there wasn't even any blood. That impressed me. Then he told me it was time for the jewelry insertion. I took another deep breath, because in my experience, the insertion often hurts more than the piercing, due to all that motion through a fresh entry wound I suppose. But this time it went very smoothly. Daniel screwed on the second ball and told me to stay there for a bit so he could wipe me off.
After a minute or so, he told me to get up and have a look. So I walked over to the mirror, took the hand-mirror that Daniel gave me and saw it for the first time. I was thrilled! It looked amazing. Daniel had done an incredible job. Then I looked back at the table and noticed a few gauze pads coated in blood. I gave Daniel an odd look, he smiled, and I later found out that when he said it wasn't bleeding, I was actually pulsing blood out like a victim in a slasher flick. I had a good laugh over that. So, as it was a slow day in the studio, we stood around talking a bit, catching up on each other's lives. I then went to the front desk, talked with Jen, the owner, for a bit, and paid her. She gave me a bit of a discount because I'm always there, and they all know me by name. It's the little things like that, in addition to the great work they do of course, that keep me going back there time and time again.
When I got home that evening, I noticed that there was some dried blood around the balls, but nothing serious. I pulled out my bottle of Bactistat anti-bacterial soap and cleaned it off with a few Q-tips.
I've had absolutely no problems with the piercing yet. The day after I got the piercing, I was resting my neck on a couch arm while reading, and felt zero discomfort. Although, in hindsight, that might have been asking for an infection. It didn't lead to one though. It has been three months now. I mostly just let the shower water do the cleaning, but I still do occasionally do a traditional "anti-bacterial soap on a Q-tip" cleaning, because hey, that's a piece of metal going through my skin, and, as much as I think it's great, my body might not be inclined to agree.
I highly recommend any of the piercers at Adrenaline in Montreal, Quebec. I also highly recommend this piercing to anyone who may be debating it. It's not overly painful, it looks great, and it can be a really fun conversation starter. Feel free to email me with any questions or comments!
"So, I noticed you have a piece of metal in your neck..."