Ok, first a little background on my current piercings. I have both ears stretched to 6 gauge. My lip, eyebrow, nipples and cartilage were all pierced, none were very painful. I also have 8 tattoos, so I wasn't new to the body mod thing.
At A Glance Author Cali Contact Cali@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Sean Vogel Studio Sick in the Head Body Piercing Location Zephyrhills, Fl So, I had been thinking about a surface piercing for quite awhile, several months, though never very seriously. I'm from california so I'm use to having decent piercing and tattoo shops around, but had recently lived in virginia in a very small town before moving to a town just as small in Florida. I was checking out a shop I had seen, getting some prices for a tattoo. The artist wasn't in, just the piercing artist, Sean...who was not your average back-water town ear and nose piercer. He himself had several piercings I had never seen before, at least not where I had lived. I figured it would be a good time to ask about some surface piercings, as he would obviously know about it. After getting some information, I had decided I was going to get my neck pierced.
We spoke for some length, and finally decided to get a small cross, like a sideway's X, with a longer (2 3/4") barbell, placed vertical underneath both. I set up an appointment for that day and left very excited. I returned later, a bit nervous, but again...excited. It started with Sean taking measurements, drawing dots and lines on my neck, and finally him making the bends in the bars that were soon to be placed in my neck. When all was ready, he started. He told what to expect, but there was really no way to explain it. The needle went in, and then out for the first barbell. Now I don't want to say it didn't hurt, because that would be a lie. It did sting a bit (though that time I had decided to swat down a very large wasp's nest with a broom handle, and got caught in the neck actually hurt more). He asked if I was alright, I said "sure" and he went on. I didn't really notice the needle on the second pass, and there was nothing when it came back out, or when he put the barbell in. By then the endorphines were running and I was starting to slip into a very heavy buzz. I guess it was kind of like passing out for a moment, but not. I didn't really black out or anything, more like the cool numbness dancing across my vision and finger tips was much more captivating then what was going on around me.
By the time the "buzz", as there's really no better word to describe it, passed I had two bars crossed on my neck. Sean had stopped to make sure I was alright. I told him I was great. We took a moment to look over his work. It looked great. He told me however, that it was starting to swell, so we'd have to wait on the third. He wouldn't be able to get it straight if I was swollen, plus there was a chance for injury with how deep the last one was going to be. So, I headed home with my new piercing and couldn't wait for the last.
Healing wasn't so bad. Washed once a day with antibacterial soap and used lot's of that band-aid foam (great stuff by the way). It was sore for maybe a week or so, and after that I really didn't notice it. It was healing nicely. It was maybe 2 weeks before I went back. I wanted to make sure I had time for it to heal, and wait to get paid. The last one was both easier and harder. It took longer for Sean to measure everything up and to bend the bar, as it was a much deeper and longer (from entry to exit) piercing. With everything ready, he started. The needle went in...not so bad. Then he started pushing, it was a very odd feeling to say the least. I could feel the needle pushing under my skin, it took about three pushes to get it all the way before he could bring the needle up. A needle pusher was needed to get it all the way through. I stung a lot more this time, but was actually easier as I knew what I was going to feel. The bar went through and I was done, then came the rush of endorphines. Not quite as strong as the last time, but still a great feeling. It was a little sore that day, but not bad enough where i had any trouble sleeping. At the time of this writing I've had it for 3 days now, and it's already healing nicely. This is by far my favorite piercing and has left me wondering what I can do next.