Once, I was content. After getting my lip done, the thought of shoving another needle through my flesh had not entered my mind – the occasional cartilage piercing was enough for me. But then the day came that my friend Cah pierced her tongue web. She showed me. I was aghast. I was envious. The intense desire to be pierced once more welled up within me; I needed something done.
At A Glance Author Azelma Contact Azelma@bme.anon When N/A Artist Nick Fletcher Studio Illicit HQ Location Auckland NZ
It took me months to find something I wanted. Nipples aren't my thing; navel was out of the question as at the time I felt, with my witch tattoo, that my belly would be too cluttered. I was running out of bits to pierce, it seemed. I was saddened. But then: Joy! I came upon BME.com. I fell upon the surface/unusual section with joyful abandon. The Madison piercing in particular appealed to me, but I was somewhat put off by the difficulty many people had in healing and how prone surface piercings were to rejection. Still, I had to get something pierced (I know many of you will understand my feelings there) so I continued my research.
Weeks past. I continued my BME education. Exams came and went, and I flew up home to Auckland for my holidays. This, was the time I had to get something done, as I knew the Illicit piercer, Nick Fletcher, was very good (and a surface-piercing specialist) and I trusted him based on his reputation, whereas I knew very little about piercers in Dunedin. I had more or less decided on a low-positioned Madison at this point. I decided not to ring ahead and see if he would do it, but instead just turn up and ask. It meant an excuse for a trip into central city anyway, and I wanted a couple of books and CDs. So I rang my friend Tim and asked if he'd drive me in and take some photos the next day. He agreed readily, and I went to sleep excited.
I awoke in the middle of the night to find myself in tears. I fell asleep again quickly, but when I awoke the next morning the memory was fresh in my mind, along with a negative, disturbing feeling that I did not like. I decided this was a sign: I wasn't to do this today. I called Tim and told him I was postponing. He seemed confused but didn't press the subject; I wasn't much in the mood to talk about it.
A few days past. I was wrestling with myself, trying to work out why a part of me had felt the Madison excursion so repellent. I decided, eventually, that I wasn't meant to have someone with me. Always, before, someone had been with me – often May, my mod-buddy – and this time, apparently, I was meant to go it alone. The very idea of getting such a major piercing (to me) alone made me feel brave, so it was decided. The following morning I got on a bus and made my way into the city and Illicit HQ.
It so happened that I got off the bus near the place where I'd had my lip pierced, and decided to drop in to ask their prices. The guy I met there was knowledgeable, but not at all helpful, and he gave me the creeps. It was only after I left that I realised why: the piercer had no piercings. I was less than eager to be pierced by someone who appeared to not have experienced it himself, so I hiked all the way up the hill to my beloved Illicit.
Once inside I flicked through the piercing portfolio that was there, but could find only nape piercings, none of the low madisons I so desired. I went up to the rather cute guy behind the counter and asked if their piercer was in. "That's me," he said, so I asked him if he did Madisons.
"Sure do, but they have – "
"Let me guess, a high risk of rejection?" My BME education came to my aid. "Yeah, I know."
He gave me a smile and said "Well, I'll go and get the jewellery to show you, and then I'll try to talk you out of it."
We discussed the piercing for a while, and he was much happier about it all when he realised I wanted the piercing just below my neck, as opposed to on the neck itself. He suggested a "sternum piercing", which is probably a bit lower than even a low Madison usually is. He told me he would sterilize the jewellery and to come back in half an hour.
I busied myself around the store for ten minutes, bought myself a new bag, then amused myself in a comic book shop, playing with Tim Burton figurines. Time passed quickly, due to my nervousness that always occurs with me just before a piercing. Soon I was back at Illicit and greeted by Nick's smiling face. He lead me to his room at the back – clean, with lots of Living Dead Dolls and Burton stuff to look at. I lay down on the chair as Nick cleaned up. I was then subjected to about half an hour of drawing on my chest with a toothpick as Nick marked, remarked and reremarked my chest. "You know how I said I had a special technique for making surface piercings work? This is it: I spend so much time marking it out your body won't even notice when I actually pierce it," he joked. Even more marking time past, but at last we were both content and I lay back down on the chair.
Then the clamp trouble began. Apparently my skin is quite thick – which works to my advantage most of the time, but is a pain in the butt to clamp, and it kept slipping. At last, when Nick was about to give up and try another clamp, it stayed. He positioned the needle and started me breathing – in, hold, out. After about the forth breath he said "Alright, I'm going to pierce on the next breath out." This was it, this was it, this was it – but I remained calm. I breathed out, and the needle went in, paused, and out the other side. The pain caused any air remaining in my lungs to rush out all at once, and the crunchy sound my skin made was rather interesting. I lay there with a needle in my chest, still breathing as I was instructed, filled with endorphins and elation. I'd done it. I'd done it alone. I was big and brave, it had hurt but I had done it.
Nick regained my attention by telling me that on my next breath out, he would insert the jewellery. I mentally prepared myself for more pain, but I barely felt it; Nick was amazingly quick about it. He handed me a small hand mirror so I could take a look at my newest adornment. Beauty itself! I adored it! I lay there grinning like an idiot for another ten minutes as Nick mopped blood away from the piercing with gauze. After a while it was still bleeding sluggishly, so he put a bandage over it just in case.
I stood up, gratified to find I wasn't the least bit dizzy. Putting on my coat proved somewhat uncomfortable as the skin across my chest pulled. I was given my aftercare instructions and free soap and told that for a while I should try to avoid extravagant gestures or anything that pulled at the skin for the next few hours so the piercing could settle. I paid up – it was expensive, but totally worth it – and promised to be back the next week so he could take a photo of it for his portfolio. It hurt on and off for about an hour, but otherwise it was fine. It did feel a bit odd having metal under my skin, though. Two weeks later I no longer feel it and it appears to be healing okay. I'm a little worried about it, because of all the similar piercings I've heard reject, but at the moment it's fine, and I hope it stays that way.
To anyone considering this sort of piercing I would fully recommend it. Yes, it did hurt, and I recommend you fully research it first and make sure you get a piercer who's good at surface piercings.