I've found that I usually end up getting a new piercing after a great deal of drama has passed through my life. I'm not one to thrive on inane little dramas randomly thrown into my face... relationship issues, job-related problems, money inconsistencies... the tiny things that makes life miserable for a time. Usually, I try not to let life's problems get to me, but as always, it happens anyways, and I'm usually a wreck until I can get over it. Sometimes, the rush from a piercing helps me get myself into gear and rearrange my life.
At A Glance Author Heidi Contact angered_lutraphobic@hotmail.com IAM angered_lutraphobic When Six months ago Artist Brent Holmes Studio Avant Garde Location West Allis, Wisconsin After a particularly bad month full of relationship problems, I finally made up my mind to get a piercing I had wanted for quite some time. One rainy night near the end of October, I drove out to my piercing studio with the intention of asking questions for the piercing I wanted. Because I had my severe doubts that I would be able to heal this particular piercing, due to the fact that my other surface piercings had been unusually problematic, I had some specific questions to ask about this one. After getting halfway to my piercing studio, which is near half hour away from my house, I turned around and drove home. Not because the rain had gotten worse, or that the car I was driving at the time had the idea to die at stoplights... but because I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to heal this piercing at all.
Halloween soon came, and while at a party in Madison, Wisconsin, I decided to try for the piercing again. This time, my best friend decided to come along and watch. Also, more importantly, she was able to drive me to the piercing studio, so I didn't have to worry about my death box stalling at another stoplight, or another, or another. So, a few days after Halloween, we decided to get it done.
We got to the studio around 8 PM and I was frightened beyond belief. It took a bit of persuading to get me out of the car and into the studio. Finally, I walked in and was able to somehow get my questions out. I asked if the studio did surface piercings with surface barbells and nothing else... and to my relief, that was all they used. Then, I asked if I could get the barbell a specific length, no more than an inch long. The guy behind the counter spun around and pointed to the back of his neck.
"You mean like this?"
I smiled. "Exactly like that."
He gave me the paperwork to fill out. I handed him my license to photocopy on the back of the paperwork and then gave him the money for the piercing. A few minutes later, I was all ready to get pierced. Except I had broken one of the cardinal rules of piercing: I hadn't eaten a thing since noon. The studio wasn't busy at the time, though they did close at 9 PM, but they suggested that I head down the street to McDonalds to at least get something into my stomach. By this time, I was shaking with hunger pains and fear, and decided this was the best thing to do.
After getting a sandwich from McDonalds, and eating about a third due to the fact I couldn't swallow anything without fear of it coming right back up, we headed back into the studio. Brent poked a bit of fun at me for being so babyish about this piercing, but that's what he generally does with me when I head into the studio to get something done. He assured me that the piercing I had gotten two months before, my nostril, would hurt much more than the nape, which calmed me a bit. My nostril hadn't hurt much at all.
This is what normally happens when I go to get something pierced. I become incredibly shaky beforehand right up until I'm laying down and Brent is preparing everything. At that moment, I become incredibly calm and am able to lay perfectly still. I'm not sure if that's a normal thing to experience, but I figure as long as I can be still and calm right before being pierced, I can be as shaky as I want up until I lay down. Of course, this gives Brent good reason to mock me to death, since he knows best of all that I can take the pain of piercings, but still freak out regardless.
Getting back to the piercing, as I'm slowly starting to calm down as Brent comes out front with a caliper to measure how long I want the barbell. He leads me back into the piercing room and lets me watch him custom bend the barbell to fit my neck perfectly. After bending the barbell, he took off his gloves and put a new pair on, asking me to lay down face first on the bed. He asked the typical questions (allergic to iodine, ect) and then told me he was going to apply the clamp. Laying perfectly still, I feel this intense pressure on the back of my neck as he clamped the skin and pulled it away from my neck. He tells me to breathe in, and out... and in, and out. And through the needle goes. A simple second later, the barbell was through the hole and he was twisting on the balls. After wiping the new piercing up a bit, he tells me that it's done and hands me a mirror to check out the back of my neck in the full length mirror.
I headed over to the mirror and turned my back to it. The piercing was exactly what I had wanted. Just an inch or so long barbell that's perfectly centered on the back of my neck. It was beautiful. And the best part was it hadn't hurt a bit. Comparing it to my other piercings, the industrial hurt the worst and the tongue hurt the least, while the new nape piercing ranked right above the tongue piercing. Again, I had been worried for nearly nothing. As usual.
Brent handed me the piercing care pamphlet for surface piercings and told me to clean it as usual, seeing as he tells me the aftercare every two months or so. We talked a bit more before he jokingly kicked us out of the studio so they could close, and my friend and I headed off to Walmart to buy some Dial soap for my new piercing.
For aftercare, I clean 2-3 times daily with Dial soap. I've healed every single one of my piercings this way and have had absolutely no problems. Every now and then, I'll do a sea salt soak, but only when the piercing seems tender or sore. I've had the piercing for five months now, and I still clean it 1-2 times daily with the Dial soap. The piercing shows no signs of rejection and isn't red around the holes anymore. It was never sore or swollen, and the barbell doesn't stick out much from my neck. Brent did a perfect job measuring it and I've had absolutely no complaints. I've gotten more compliments with this piercing then any of my other piercings. Even my grandmother, who is generally not fond of piercings, liked this one. I hope to keep this piercing for a good, long time, as it's quickly become my favorite. And the best part of it is that the rush from this piercing lasted me until mid January, when I finally headed back to Avant Garde for another two piercings. I pla ce full trust in my piercer and am very pleased with all the work he's done on me, especially my beautiful nape.