I got my nape pierced about 6 months ago, and it was my first body piercing. The only piercings I had were 5 in my ear. I knew that I wanted a body piercing, but I wanted something different. Many women are getting their belly buttons pierced, and now nostril piercing is very popular. I searched on-line for a while, but it wasn't until I saw the fourth George Romero zombie flick, Land of the Dead, that I saw a nape piercing. I thought it was beautiful, and knew immediately that that was the piercing I wanted.
At A Glance Author Joanna Contact Joanna@bme.anon When Six months ago Artist Brandy Jean Studio Trigger Happy Tattoo Location on Whittier Blvd. in La Habra, Cali I waited about two months after I first discovered the nape piercing. During that time, I researched it on-line. I was worried about the 50% chance for rejection, but in the end, I decided to go for it anyway. I moved to La Mirada, California 2 years ago, and was unfamiliar with the area's tattoo and piercing shops. So I pulled out my trusty yellow pages, and began calling, asking for prices and the shape of the bar.
In my research, I had discovered that there are 2 shapes for the bar: rounded and flat. The verdict on which bar is better was hard to determine, as it depended on the piercer's opinion. Some said that the rounded bar is better because it fits the curve of your neck better and has less of a chance of rejection, while others said that the flat bar rejects less and is more comfortable. As you can imagine, this was very confusing. I called all of the tattoo/piercing shops in my neighborhood asking this question. One of the last places I called was Trigger Happy Tattoo in La Habra. I thought the name was cool, albeit a little scary, but when I talked to Brandy Jean, one of the piercers, I felt that this was the place. She patiently answered my questions, and, as fate would have it, she only carried the rounded bars because she felt they were a better choice. Plus, the price was great--$45 with the jewelry.
I drove there with my husband that afternoon, and I was terrified. Some of the articles I read had described it as "the worst pain on earth." I figured, though, that the pain would be brief, and that the pleasure of having this piercing would outweigh the pain. Brandy was incredibly sweet when I got there. She talked very calmly, describing the procedure. I decided where I wanted the piercing on my nape—I picked about half of an inch above where the neck and back meet. She drew the dots and asked me if this is where I wanted them. I was so nervous that I hardly saw where she drew them. She tried to show me the needle and clamp, but I did not want to look at them, saying that I trusted her. She clamped my skin away from the bone, had me take a deep breath, inserted the needle really quickly, and then put in the bar. When she finished with the needle, and told me that she was just going to put in the jewelry, I was shocked. I asked her, "Is that it?" She laughed, and I explained that I expected the worst.
Then I had my beautiful nape piercing. I was bruised from the clamp, but I didn't bleed. Apparently, I'm not a "bleeder." Because of the bruise, it looked more painful than it actually was. To tell you the truth, the clamp hurt worse than the needle. This is perhaps because Brandy is a fast piercer. I was relieved and happy, and told Brandy that I would come back for my next piercing, which I did recently.
It's been 6 months now and I've had no problems with it. My hair or clothing occasionally get stuck on it, but after the first week, it doesn't happen very often. I only had puss coming out once, when I was trying clothes on at a store and accidentally yanked my piercing. Sea salt cleared up the problem. I have long hair, and it doesn't get tangled in it much. In fact, when I wear my hair down, it doesn't get tangled at all. The only times it has happened are when I'm wearing a regular pony tail, with my hair hanging down.
I've heard a lot of stories about the best ways to take care of this piercing, and Brandy warned me of those. What she told me to do is very simple: soap and water. The soap should only be the antibacterial, clear, liquid soap. Do not use anything with scents or dyes. I use SoftSoap, and I clean my piercing once a day when I shower. Like I said, I've had no problems at all. In fact, I got another piercing yesterday at Trigger Happy, and I had Phil, one of the piercers, look at it. He said it was healing fine and that I was ready for a smaller bar. I have the longer bar currently, because it's easier to clean the piercing.
I will go to Trigger Happy for all of my piercing needs. It's very clean, affordable, and the two piercers I've had there were awesome.