At A Glance Author alligatorsallaround When Five years ago Artist TJ Studio Fantasy Tattoo Location New York A couple of years ago I came to college dead set on not falling prey to the common tattoo/piercing fad that plagues college freshmen. But with my new ethernet hookup and BMEzine online, I began scanning piercings day in and day out. I saw a picture of a nape piercing, read a bit about it, and decided to go out and get it the day before my first mid-term. I brought a friend with me for support, but did no backup checks on the place I went, which was stupid of me. I went to a part of town where there were a lot of tattoo shops that did piercings and just walked into one without an appointment. I had brought the picture and asked the guys if they had ever done nape piercings before. They said yes and I asked if they had any pictures. They had two, which I looked over very carefully. Both looked nice and so I asked all the usual questions, "How much does it cost?", "How long will it take to heal?", etc.
TJ and Mad Dog were very nice and patient with me and took the time to answer my questions. I looked at a couple of different pieces of jewelry which all looked really long to me. There was a curved barbell and a straight barbell which TJ said he would curve a little bit, leaving the middle part straight, and only curving the ends. Still, I thought that both barbells looked huge! TJ told me he would mark my neck and hold up the barbell and I could see that it wasn't going to be too long.
First he had me look down while he marked the back of my neck. Then he had me turn from side to side and move my head up and down over and over again to make sure that he was choosing the part of my nape that moved the least amount, to aid healing. After about twenty minutes of head shaking, TJ hands me the mirror and shows me where he will pierce me. It looks good until he puts the barbell up to my neck, which extends about a quarter inch on each side. The piercings I had seen were smaller, with only the balls exposed. I asked TJ to put the dots closer together and to choose a smaller barbell. He obliged and after another twenty minutes of head shaking, he handed me the mirror again. This time I was pleased. I asked TJ to please curve the straight barbell so that the balls would stick out a little bit.
TJ walked me to a sister store nearby where he used some tools and a vice to bend the barbell while I read a magazine. My friend was getting bored but wanted to hang around for the big moment.
Finally, TJ brought over the barbell and suggested I lay down on the tattoo bed. He pulled his chair close and realized it was an awkward position and asked me to sit in the chair instead. He positioned himself and realized he still couldn't do it. I tried sitting on the chair backwards, I tried another chair with a lower back, but nothing seemed to work. Finally TJ asked me if I thought I could stand. I said, "Sure." Nothing was going to stop me at this point.
Then began the long cleaning process, which I am thankful for, no matter how boring it may be. First he cleaned his hands with antibacterial soap. Then he put on gloves. Then he cleaned the barbell and the little ball at the end. Then he cleaned my neck. Then he asked me to put up my hair so that it was all out of the way. Then he cleaned the clamp and whatever other tools he needed.
I was so excited at this point that I was shaking and was beginning to wonder if I'd be able to stand up straight while he pierced me. TJ then asked me to bend my neck up and down and left to right a couple more times before he took out the needle. He asked me if I was sure I wanted to do this. He told me it hurt a lot and would take six months to heal, at least. I didn't care, I was ready.
I bent my head down and TJ opened up the needle and stood behind me. He told me to take in a deep breath, and exhale. I exhaled all I could exhale, but it felt like the huge needle wasn't even halfway through yet. Finally, after a very slow push, I felt the needle pop through. TJ put the barbell in, cleaned my neck, and sent me on my way with precise instructions on how to care for it. For the next month my nape hurt but was healing nicely. I used salt water and tea bags on it and washed it with antibacterial soap. After eight months, I switched the barbell easily, by myself, without a mirror. I had the piercing for another two years before it began to get infected. I still can't figure out why it was getting infected, but it never looked good anymore, so I eventually took it out. It was a sad day. My nape piercing was the coolest thing I had ever seen and well worth all the trouble.