I saw a picture of a sternum piercing about two years ago on a web site and have been thinking about it since then. I just thought it was the most beautiful thing, almost like a necklace between the breasts suspended without any chain. I enjoy getting piercings (although I have a terrible fear of needles) but so far I spend a lot of time thinking about them before I actually go and do it. That is because I fully commit to my piercings and never take them out. I use them as a way to permanently enhance my appearance. Oddly enough, I also usually get them at different turning points in my life.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Scott Jania Studio The Alley Location Chicago Anyway, now it has been about two years since I have had my nose, and I was still thinking about the sternum piercing. Today I made up my mind to do it. I went up to the north side of Chicago to the Alley, which is the only place I would ever trust to get pierced. The piercer is not only licensed, but he is more like a Dr. of Piercing than just a piercer. He knows so much about the body tissues and healing, and his office literally reminds me of a doctor's office.
I asked about the piercing and took a look at the jewellery and then mentioned that I would like to know more about the procedure. (At this time, I was extremely nervous and my heart was beating so fast!) He explained that a needle would not be used in the procedure. To simply pierce with a needle would not be able to fully accomodate the jewellery into the skin. The use of a needle is one of the reasons that these piercings have such a high rate of rejection. Rather, he would be using two dermal punches to remove the tissue and skin at the points of insertion and then a taper would be used to push through the rest of the tissue. It was a little scary to me to think that about three centimetres of skin and tissue would literally be punched out of my chest, but I really wanted to do it so I decided to go for it. Scott actually showed me the entire procedure on a piece of plastic so I knew what I was getting into.
I paid and had the aftercare explained to me and then I went back in the room to do it. The room was great, with nice relaxing tribal music playing. Scott prepared a completely sterile environment, which took a while. It took a longer time to get to the actual piercing. I was cleaned numerous times, and Scott changed his gloves about six times total, or so it seemed. He also wore a surgical mask. Anyway, we had to measure and mark the points. This took a while. I had to be looked at from all angles, and Scott had all sorts of rulers and things that were sterile and just used for me. After the site was marked, I laid down and got ready. I was cleaned yet again, and the skin was massaged in order to prepare it further. At this point, I was very relaxed and unafraid, and I think this is because the utmost in preparation was taken and everything was fully explained. I have to say, the skin punch itself was rather excruciating, but I was not nervous for the second one. I just braced myself against the pain. The taper was not even noticeable. It pulled very easily through the skin, although Scott had told me that this part of the procedure was found by most to be more uncomfortable. He also said that usually he has to massage the taper through very slowly, as it has to be worked through the tissue. However, the reverse was true for me. The punches were very painful and I did not feel the taper at all. (It was 14 gauge, in case you are curious). The jewellery was connected on the end of the taper so after the taper slid through, the jewellery was in place. Scott then screwed on the other end. After that, he placed a large clear self-adhesive bandage on it. I am going to put that type of bandage on there for the next three days so it can heal perfectly.
When I was done, I was so excited!!! Now that I have had a dermal punch/ surface piercing, I feel like I could do anything! It is absolutely beautiful, and because of the way that it was done, I know that it will last for a very long time. Right now I have just flat metal disk on the surface bar, but in a month Scott will look at it and I will probably be getting some type of large pretty jewels screwed on the surface bar instead. I am so proud of myself!