I can't remember if I thought a sternum piercing aka cleavage piercing would look cool before I knew it was an actual piercing, but I'm pretty that was the case.
At A Glance Author sosaidh Contact sosaidh@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Damien Studio Off Ya Tree Location Adelaide, South Australia Since the beginning of the year I've gone rather mod-mad, getting a new set of lobes, a labret and an industrial as well as my sternum in the space of about six months. This a far cry from the two sets of lobes which I've lived on for the five previous years, but its just something I've really enjoyed doing. To placate my best friend who has been watching my continuing body mod obsession with dismay, I waited a good month or so after deciding before going in to get it done, doing extensive research here on BME in the mean time.
The studio I went to is the place that has done both my labret and my industrial, Off Ya Tree in Adelaide. The people there are the nicest bunch and are always patient with my paranoia about making sure my piercings are healing well. Plus all my friends who have had a piercing done anywhere else in Adelaide have eventually had it screw up, so Off Ya Tree it was.
For my piercer I wanted Damien, who I hadn't been pierced by before but I'd talked to him a lot about my other piercings and found him to be a really nice guy, plus a friend of mine was pierced by him and said he was really good. So when I went in a week exactly before my 17th birthday with my friends Lisy and Jess and saw him working I knew it was time.
He was finishing up with another client, so when he came out I asked him if he would be able to pierce my sternum. First thing he did was make sure I knew it wouldn't last, and that even using the surface bars the longest he'd heard of one lasting was about 18 months. I told him I knew that I was aware and that I still wanted it. I filled out forms and paid for it, and he decided to forgo calling my parents considering I had already been pierced there on multiple occasions.
My friends and I wandered around the store, looking at band shirts and jewelry while he set up in the piercing room. Then he called us through. It was as clean and neat as on previous visits, which is always comforting. Luckily I had worn a low cut top, so all I had to do was remove my jacket and we could begin.
After cleaning the area thoroughly, he spent about quarter of an hour getting the dots lined up perfectly, consulting us constantly. We weren't much use really, considering that every adjustment just looked better and we kept saying so, but eventually he was happy with the placement and I was directed to lie down on the table.
I held Lisy's hand as he spent a few minutes getting the clamps just right, which pinched and were a bit difficult as the skin there is rather tight. He warned me that he preferred to go slower with these piercings as it was important to get them as straight as possible, so to expect a few extra seconds of pain while he got through the inch or so of skin. After telling me to breathe in and out deeply he lined up the needle and on the out breath he put the needle through.
He didn't lie, it took a bit to get the needle through all the way and it hurt, but certainly not as worse as the cartilage for my industrial. It was a sharp pain rather than a blunt one, which I like, and he was pulling the tube through and easing the clamps off I was starting to think I'd gotten off pretty easy compared to some of the experiences I'd read. Then he started to pull the jewelry through.
I would like to remind readers that the surface bar that was used does have a right angle on it, so it was by no means an easy thing to be shoving through a small, long hole. This was highlighted when he stopped trying to push the bar through, as it just was not working. I wasn't able to observe this but from what I was told by Damien and my friends afterwards, over the next half an hour I was repierced twice between repeated attempts to push the bar through, a steel taper and some random bits of curved wire.
I won't lie and say it was a breeze, the repeated 'piercing feeling' and stretching started to build upon itself after a while but I managed to keep my cool and only make a few small 'oww' sounds, though afterwards Lisy's hand had almost no blood left in it.
It got really intense, and eventually I was reduced to staring up at the ceiling and focusing on everything from the feeling of Damien's hair on my face to the fabric of my shirt to distract myself and remain as still as possible, though the both of us were sweating and shaking by the end of it.
Eventually it was finished and after he cleaned up the small amount of blood and screwed the balls on I was told to just lie still for a few minutes and drink some water. It was at this point I was told that it was probably the most difficult one he'd ever done and that numerous times he'd been that close to just giving up. I was worried that I'd been a pansy about it, my pride peeking out, but he told me I had been very brave and that he was very proud of me, a sentiment echoed by my friends who reassured me I was most definitely not a pansy, and I felt better.
Eventually once I was allowed to stand up and go over to the mirror I was swamped by the most amazing wave of calmness and happiness. It was perfect! I had two small, silver, perfectly straight balls suspended vertically between my breasts and they were just the most beautiful things I had ever seen. Apart from the area around them being red from being irritated so much there was no swelling whatsoever and hasn't been to this day. I ogled it in the mirror for a few minutes while Damien instructed me on aftercare, then he had a look at it to make sure it was all good. Seems in addition to being one of the hardest he's ever done its one of the best, so he asked me to come back in a week so he could take a photo for the wall, which I of course accepted.
After finishing up and thanking him profusely we eventually left, heading to this place down the road a bit for our traditional post-piercing gelati. Nothing beats the adrenaline from a new body mod and a large cup of frozen sugar and milk, nothing.
I went back again a week exactly on my birthday to get the photos done, and a check up. Apparently I'm taking good care of my baby and it should heal fine, though I still go in often to make sure. Better paranoid than infected, right?
For after care I've done 10 minute salt soaks with a shot glass pretty much every night, cleaning with a cotton bud soaked in salt water morning and night and a wash with Palmolive Disinfectant Softwash in the shower. This has done nicely for all my other piercings and has worked well for this one too.
At first it hurt to move my arms around drastically, not good considering the next couple of days I was at work wielding mops and brooms for five hours straight, but after a few days it stopped twinging entirely. I also have to be careful when hugging people and had to buy a bunch of new, lower cut bras to avoid bumping the balls constantly, though they have proven useful as I can't get enough of showing it off, I just love it.
Apart from about half a week where I had some really late nights and didn't salt soak for a few days its behaved itself wonderfully and has not once swelled up or been red at all. Compared to my industrial which I got about five months ago and is still playing up, as cartilage piercings do, its quite undemanding and many people I show it to are surprised its as new as it is.
Its also a piercing that gets a lot of comments, I guess because it looks a lot more extreme than it really is and from what I've seen in personally in my area isn't as common as some other piercings. Though be prepared that this means if you lunge at a male friend with a crazed grin on your face while pulling your top down they're not going to be thinking, 'Oh how nice, a new piercing.' I forgot this on several occasions and made some male friends slightly uncomfortable.
Damien was just awesome. Friendly as all hell and really professional, he made the difficult piercing experience comfortable and enjoyable and I couldn't be happier with the job he's done. Whenever I go in he'll always smile and say hi, sometimes chat for a bit, and is extremely patient with my paranoia, as mentioned above. If ever you're getting a piercing in Adelaide go see these guys on Hindley Street in the city, the whole lot of them are just stars, and the shop is absolutely wicked.
To anyone who might be reconsidering getting a sternum piercing because of my experience, please be aware that not only is my case an extreme one, I assure you it's the most fantastic thing I have ever done. I can peek down my shirt at any time of the day or night and feel calm, happy and at peace with myself. None of my other piercings have made me feel this beautiful or whole, none of them.
I know I'm not going to stop. I'm planning a couple of tattoos, one for when I turn eighteen next year, hopefully some scarification if I can decide on a design. If nothing else I'm still interested enough in having bits of metal shoved through my flesh to know I'm going to keep getting pierced.
But for me the experience of my sternum piercing has been one of the most intense, personal and worthwhile things I have ever done.
Happy piercing, and remember that there is no such thing as too much aftercare!