Little did I know the first time I signed permission for my body to become a piercer's personal canvas that my experience would quickly guide me into a world I was never familiar with before that day. My "first time" might have lasted a mere half-hour, but its impact continues to fuel and feed my addiction to this day.
At A Glance Author lil_nsha Contact lil_nsha@bme.anon IAM luvnnsha When It just happened Artist Sean Phillips Studio Art with a Pulse Location Glen Burnie, Md Soon after I was newly adorned, I craved more. I searched the Internet for useful, carefully researched, information concerning piercings and found BME. The many pictures on this site were inspirational and the written experiences were very informative. As I browsed the different piercing categories, I stumbled upon one that almost took my breath away; body surface. I never knew an area of level flesh could be transformed from a plain canvas to an adorned piece of art with a piercing. The rarity of these piercings caused me to want one even more.
After many months of thinking about which surface piercing I wanted to attempt first, I decided on the cleavage piercing. This piercing is very simple but yet, very beautiful in my opinion. I already knew who I was going to for the experience; I just had to decide when.
When the carefully planned day arrived, it seemed like the perfect day for a drive; the autumn weather was crisp and the sky was cloud free. The three hour trip from Richmond, Virginia to Glen Burnie, Maryland seemed to fly by due to the anticipation that was slowly building through my veins.
Around 7pm, my eyes were greeted with a neon sign hung within the building's window that read "open" with my piercer seated on the couch. As him and I made small talk, he had me fill out a consent form asking me questions concerning my current state of health and permission for whether or not pictures were to be taken for his portfolio. After he made a copy of my driver's license, he disappeared around the hallway for a moment to clean and set-up the room.
Upon entering the room, I noticed how clean it was; spotless tile floors, properly stored sterilized jewelry, new individually packaged needles, disposal containers, and a white leather chair that was in perfect condition with out a trace of harmful substances. Needless to say, I always feel safe in Sean's hands. Not only does he keep every thing safe and clean for each of his customers, he has the best bed side manner a person could ever ask for.
For the marking of this piercing, I was asked to remove my shirt while leaving my bra on, and to remain standing to ensure a straight and comfortable placement; ladies wear a bra for this purpose. After careful marking and me being asked if I liked the placement numerous times, it was time for me to lie back and try to relax.
Sean told me that he would begin the procedure with a deep tissue massage that probably would be uncomfortable but was necessary for this surface piercing. I felt no pain from this procedure (which only lasted for about a minute) but it was a good deal of tugging and pulling, almost like a kneading feeling with pressure.
When I saw Sean walking towards the tray with the 14G needle I began to breathe more deeply and calmly. Through many experiences I found that the more relaxed and focused I am on the results instead of the anticipated pain, my body & mind experience less of a shock than if I would have allowed myself to have a nervous break down long before the needle ever touched my flesh.
I asked Sean how he would like me to breathe and he replied with a big breath in and a long deep breath out. I acknowledged that I knew what he said and he then lifted the area to be pierced with his gloved hand and positioned the needle against the upper mark with his other gloved hand. With a deep breath in and a deep breath out, I felt the needle begin to slice through my skin while I exhaled. I felt a slight amount of pressure and discomfort but with no accompanying intense pain. During the middle of my exhale, I felt a bit of resistance with the needle so a bit more pressure was applied but I continued to breathe without panic and the needle slid through the remaining area and popped out through the exit mark. The needle took about 4 seconds to complete the piercing which was not too bad since I had allowed myself to relax before and during the experience.
The insertion of the 14G surface bar was not too difficult. It followed through behind the needle with as much ease as with a standard barbell or captive bead ring would go through. I think this easy insertion greatly had to do with Sean's great experience and skill with performing surface piercings. The balls were screwed on and I was told that I was done. Or so we thought...
Sean announced that I was a bleeder! I could not help but laugh when I looked down to see part of my chest covered in blood because my natural happy pain-killers had already begun their great recovery work. Feeling the bit of blood flow from my body felt like a release of all the pent-up stress and emotional baggage I had been holding for so long.
Sean stopped the bleeding quickly with what I believe were paper towels and afterward, told me to go check out my newly decorated cleavage. From the moment I saw it glistening in the mirror I was in love.
I thanked Sean for his great work with many verbal "thank-you"s and a ten dollar tip. If I were not a poor college student, I would have given him much more, but instead I promised to try and bring as many customers into his shop as I could. Little does he know that I plan on bringing him some cookies or some other treat the next time I return as well.
After care for this piercing is fairly simple: salt water soaks 2-3 times a day during the healing period (8-12 months), gently wash with antibacterial Provon soap once every 2-3 days, no rotation of the jewelry, no unnecessary pressure caused by wearing constricting shirts and/or sleeping on your stomach, and after all these things are maintained, the leave-it alone method.
When I arrived at my apartment that evening and was about to give it a good cleaning before I went to bed, I noticed that it had bled a bit more after leaving Sean's shop. It was no problem to gently clean with a warm salt soak but it did cause a smile on my face. When looking at my piercing before its first cleaning, it looked like a vampire had left his kiss between my breasts.