One night, I woke up at three in the morning. I couldn't fall back asleep, not for the life of me. So I logged on, and looked at all the nice pictures that BME has to show. I needed something pierced. My nape. That's what I wanted pierced!
At A Glance Author Hailshimmer Contact Hailshimmer@bme.anon IAM hailshimmer When Three months ago Artist secret! Studio another secret! Location Newmarket, Ontario I dragged my ass out of the house at ten-thirty, picked up a friend, and drove to Toronto. However, my piercer of choice doesn't work Saturdays. After walking around for four hours, I drove to a familiar studio in Newmarket, which I won't name, for soon to be obvious reasons.
I walk into the studio, made my request known, and talked to the piercer. We'll call him Frank. I knew that Frank was inexperienced when it comes to surface piercings, but he assured me that he was quite capable of piercing a nape. I was weary, but figured, 'what the hell, at fifty Canadian dollars it's not costing much, and I'd really like to get stabbed today'. So I signed the form and sat down.
When the autoclave finished up, I went into the back room, and watched Frank get out his equipment. He had all the typical piercing gear, and a somewhat crudely bent, 14g surface bar. He drew some lines, made some dots, and let me see his placement. It looked a little low, but I decided that it would be a neat place for a scar when the piercing decided not to be in me anymore. Little did I know how soon that would be! I approved his lines, and the fun began. Frank did the piercing freehand, and it was a really neat feeling. There was a little pinch where he put the needle in, then I could feel the needle sliding underneath my skin. Needle came out, jewellery went in, and presto! I was done. No pain, no discomfort, but it sure was a strange sensation.
Well, the bar was definitely not shaped right, or perhaps the piercing not deep enough. At least a half a centimetre of steel bar was hanging between the ball and my skin. When I asked Frank about this, he told me not to worry, that I could come back in a month to have the bar changed. "It's long to accommodate swelling", he said. This may seem reasonable, but no piercing I have ever seen has swelled enough to warrant this much accommodation. I decided to wait until I came back to tip him.
The first week, everything went alright. Calm before the storm. I kept my hair pulled far away, I didn't use any harsh cleansers, and I kept up with my sea salts. After the first week, I noticed that no matter how far back my hair was, I'd still get it caught in the piercing. There was no redness or swelling, or crusties for that matter, but something wasn't right.
The third week came around, and it started getting red. There were some crusties, and it was tender. There was more bar between balls and skin, and no matter how I had my hair, it would manage to catch. The slightest movement of my head would have me desperately trying to untangle the hair without pulling either the hair or the piercing. But I didn't worry, I just kept up with my sea salts, and waited until I could go back to the studio and get this thing changed.
Finally, the fourth week came, and there had been no more redness, no more tenderness, and no more crusties. The balls were hanging lower still, and the unquestionable knowledge that rejection was imminent was in my head. I decided that I wouldn't go back to the studio. I figured that there was no sense refitting new jewellery into this already rejecting piercing, I wasn't going to take it out and leave two small, awkward scars, and I knew that not going back would show my dissatisfaction.
It's been three months now, and I still do a sea salt soak every couple days, and I keep the piercing out of harms way. It's a healthy little piercing if you forget about the rejection factor. At least half of the surface bar can be clearly seen outside the hole now, and I'm just starting to see the silver metal through my skin. All was not lost, however: the beginnings of a cute little scar can be seen around the jewellery, and I plan on incorporating that into another nape piercing, done by a piercer with more experience than Frank. I never did tip that guy, either.
Best advice I can give is that surface piercings will probably reject. Hopefully not so quickly as mine is rejecting, but eventually, most will reject. Find a piercer who can show you that he/she is experienced, and never forget that you get what you pay for.