I felt that now is the most opportune time to write a tribute to my cleavage...
At A Glance Author Jessy's Cleavage Contact pinto234@shaw.ca IAM Jessy When A year ago Artist Jacob Studio NEXT! Body piercing Tattoo and aftercare Location 1068 Granville Street, Vancouver The afternoon of November 27th 2003, I got my front buttoned top, and low cut bra and headed off to the surrey central sky train with my (almost) boyfriend Jay.
I gotta say, the nerves running through my veins weren't as intense as one may think. By the time I went downtown that day I already has made over 20 trips for previous piercing, so to say the least I was more than excited to get my cleavage pierced! From the sky train stop on Granville to the front doors of NEXT! Is about a 10 minute walk, give or take.
Now normally that walk is agony! But 45 minutes after my departure from home I was standing outside my piercing shop, NEXT!...
as I walked inside I then knew the reality of what I was doing. I had heard many stories of cleavage piercings, about healing, and the fact that 90% of them reject!
Ok, now I was scared!
Then I saw the reassuring sweet face of Jacob, the piercer I had learned to trust with anything when I needed a needle stuck through me.
So I was ready. I signed all the necessary paperwork, emptied my bank account and then... I was hungry.
crap.
Now my nerves were going, Jay and I went out to starbucks and I got a muffin. Everything around me was in slow motion until I got back to NEXT! With a full tummy and a smile on my face. I was definitely ready!
We came back into the front of the store and sat down. Jacob came out of another piercing he was doing and called my name. He grabbed my information and the jewelry he was going to insert into my skin.
I was pleased that I got to be in the gold room for this particular piercing as it is my favorite, not to mention the most calming.
Girl Jesse was working the counter that day and had also had her cleavage pierced not too long before I was to get mine. She loved the piercing and had to watch mine get done to see just what she went through.
I had heard that the piercing itself takes about a minute! I wasn't so scared about that though, with 27 piercing I was quite used to pain, and I had (have) a very high pain tolerance.
All four of us entered the comfortable gold piercing room and I sat down on 'the dentists chair'. I then watched as Jacob got all of his tools set up on the table by the sink. He got lube, a twelve gauge needle, a one inch twelve gauge surface barbell, clamps, a rubber band, gloves, a pen, some cleaning swabs and soap etc etc...
He was well prepared, we were planning on doing this for a little while and I'm sure he was excited, as was I!
First I stood up as he marked the position of the bar, it was jumbled, but you get the idea once it's pierced. I was happy with the placement and we laid me down to begin the procedure.
Jacob put on some new rubber gloves, got the clamps and a rubber band to make sure it was on there nice and tight! The clamp was most definitely the most painful part of the entire procedure! For about two weeks after the piercing I had bruises on either side of the balls of my piercing. Not a big deal though.
First, Jacob took the needle and forced it half way through my folded skin, that was a shock. But then he took the clamp off and continued to navigate the needle under my skin to line up the next hole. Imagine a pen underneath a t-shirt, that's how he did it. I remember this next hole very well... It seems odd, but I remember looking up at the light on the ceiling of the room, which has some purple velvet lining around it, as Jacob so gently pushed the needle through the second hole I let out my breath, just as I did so, that purple velvet fluttered! It was amazing; I don't know why it happened because there is no vent up there!? It was definitely an interesting moment, and I'll never forget it. I can't even remember the amount of times I have laid down on that chair and stared up at that light and just wondered why it did that. But never mind, as soon as that piercing was done, Jacob cleaned me up, no blood!! And I looked at it for the first time in the mirror beside the door.
I was ecstatic! It was the single most beautiful piercing I had ever experienced! I loved it so much and of course we took a bunch of pictures, I just could not wait to get home and show everyone I knew!
Leaving the piercing shop that day was great. I had a new piercing, and the top I wore was unbuttoned so that the world could see it! Unfortunately in November it was somewhat cold... but I didn't care one bit!
Everyone I knew loved it... well, almost everyone. My parents were a little less than pleased...
but that's a whole different story! :)
*Edit*
~ Cleavage retired September 5 2004~
I had it for almost a year, and about the 90% rejection rate, I had no rejection what so ever! The reason I retired my favorite piercing is the fact that it never fully healed, it had its good days, it had its bad days and I thought I just had to do it. I miss it, yes, but I think I had it long enough; I didn't want to risk rejection as I do play many contact sports. It was a beautiful piercing and I have many fond moments of it.
Goodbye cleavage, maybe some day we will meet again!