Let me start by saying, I had absolutely no intent on getting a vertical chest surface piercing.
At A Glance Author evlchic69 Contact evlchic69@bme.anon IAM evlchic69 When A month ago Artist Leo IV Studio Purple Scorpion Location Salem MA Originally my sister and I went to Purple Scorpion to see Leo, and so that I could get vertical tragus piercings. Apparently I didn't have enough skin, so after a lot of pouting, I started to look through one of Leo's little portfolios. That's when I saw it. This gorgeous piercing, in the center of a womans chest, right above her cleavage line. All I could see were these 2 little balls, in the middle of no where, and that's when I decided it had to be mine. As did my sister.
So we started the process. Measuring, centering, and marking. All this really did to me was leave purple lines on my skin for 3 days, and it made me laugh really hard when everyone commented that I had stripes. Leo was awesome about it. He picked out a 14 gauge barbell, measured everything, and then custom bent the barbell so that it would be the perfect size for the piercing. The little barbell, which now looked like a staple with balls on it, got popped into an autoclave bag, marked as mine, and put in the auto clave so it would be ready for when I pierced it. Then the wait started.
I had to wait a few days to have the time to get pierced. I needed to make sure that Leo was available, that it wasn't too busy of a day, and I had to make sure I had ample time to sit with an ice pack on my chest, and relax. But once that day came, I was really excited. My sister and I both went up, (since we always get things pierced together) and she got hers done first. I watched the procedure, and I shouldn't have. I must have changed my mind about 12 times. Then, I decided enough was enough, and I wanted this. So I told my self to stop being a baby, and I got marked up. As I sat back in the chair I started getting more and more nervous.
This guy Eric, who was counter staff, had to pinch and hold the skin up off of my chest. The skin on my chest is really tight, so when he held the skin up, it seriously felt like he was trying to rip my skin off. (Let me tell you, this was the WORST part of the whole procedure) So Eric stands over me, pinching my chest, and Leo gets the clamp all set on the skin, and I take a deep breathe in, and as I blow it out, I feel this little bit of heat on my chest and a little pop feeling. I knew from past piercing experiences that the needle was in, and the worst was over, well, except for Eric holding my chest. The one thing I couldn't figure out was how Leo was going to get this staple looking thing into my skin.. But Leo just popped the barbell in, and Eric released his pinchy little grip, and I was done. Adrenaline hit me, and I felt so lightheaded, it was great. I couldn't stop staring at it.
There, in the center of my chest, were 2 little balls. It was so weird to look at, looking down at it, it looked like some one broke a barbell in half and jabbed them into my skin. But I love it. It's perfect centered (for my body... no body is symmetrical) and after 1 month of fear of it rejecting, it's looking great.
I was a little bruised in the beginning, not from the piercing it's self, but from Eric holding my skin. It wasn't his fault though, I get bruises when I play with the cat. I took Motrin a lot, and the ice pack became my best friend for the first 2 weeks, but that kept all the swelling down, and it made it feel a whole lot better. I'm still doing hot salt water soaks twice a day, and I am still watching for any pulling or changes. All in all, I am thrilled with it, except for the fact that I have to sleep with a sports bra on... that get's really old, really fast.
I love the balls on my chest, and I wouldn't take it out for anyone, ok, almost anyone, if Leo tells me it doesn't look ok and it needs to come out, then out it comes. The worst thing is people asking me, "Is that real?" or "How does that stay in your skin?". Other than that, it's just when people ask me if they can touch it. To which I reply, "No you can't touch it, it's MINE!"
But alas, I want more, and someday, I will have them...