Before I start into my experience, here's a bit of my body mod background. I've been extremely lucky with my piercings. My body seems to be an excellent healer, no matter how dumb the things I do to it are. My bellybutton was pierced when I was eleven (I lied and said I was fourteen, my parents were with me) by a piercer who's name I can't remember at a location I choose to forget. Afterwards, I had my labret (now removed due to gum recession) done at a horrible, unhygienic place on Rideau Street, renamed several times since.
At A Glance Author Amanda Contact xx_stitchxmexup_xx@hotmail.com When Six months ago Artist Matt Cottrell Studio Planet Ink Studios Location 306 Rideau Street; Ottawa, Ontario. Following that, I've had many more piercings and a tattoo.
My positive piercing experiences began when I discovered Planet Ink. More specifically, when I discovered Matt Cottrell. I'm a person that likes to do as many things as possible at once, which might be why two-thirds of my piercings were done this year. As such, when I found a piercer I could actually trust, I brought forth all of my projects that I had kept in the back of my mind.
I've always found surface piercings particularily sketchy, but it was something I've always had a bit of an obsession with. Matt had already done my nape, and after it healing beautifully and me falling in love with it, I knew it was time to bring up the piercing I had been secretly craving for about a year and a half: my madison.
I had seen the madison on someone here at BME and I could have been crazier about it. The moment I saw it, I needed to have it, it was so beautiful.
Being totally pumped for it, I brought my friend, Katie, along. Katie is the kind of person that will follow you anywhere if you tell her there will be piercings or tattoos involved. She's not too heavy into the mods herself, but she loves the look of them. Anyways, Katie and I showed up at Planet Ink, and the girl (damnit, she's so nice, I forget her name) asked me what I wanted done. I told her that I wanted to get my madison pierced, and Katie decided on getting her left tragus pierced.
Matt was waiting at the counter and took us both into the back room. That room is so sexy. It smells so good..I don't know, like piercing goodness. The way his piercing room is set up is excellent: there are two black couches to sit on as you enter the room, and further down in the room is his working area. Just before that is a giant, beautiful, lime green motorcycle.
Now, I know there was amazing music on at the time, I just can't remember what it was. Point being, having music on that I actually liked definitely helped to ease my now semi-jangled nerves. Matt did Katie's tragus first. It looked like it hurt quite a bit, and there was a nasty little sound that followed it. Eugh. Anyways, I was next up and I'm pretty sure I had about ten billion butterflies in my stomach.
After the usual 'I've sterilized everything' etc. that Matt goes through each time, he had me stand up while he marked my neck. I was wearing big, stompy boots so I was standing crooked the first time, so one side had to be moved up. He clamped it and my body froze up. When the needle actually went through the front of my neck, it was so weird that I forgot about the pain. It didn't even hurt that much, really. Not more than other piercings.. probably less. Anyways, I left there a happy girl and thanked him profusely.
My madison was done on Sept. 1st, 2005 and I had to see Matt and take it out on Feb. 2, 2006. I'm following his orders and applying vitamin E liberally at the moment, as it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life, and, scar tissue or not, I would love to have it pierced again. As it was rejecting, people pointing out the obvious "it looks red around the balls" really pissed me off. I know it will be the same when I get it pierced again (since there will, undoubtedly, be scar tissue around them) but I think that might be the only downside I can see at the moment.
I wouldn't recommend this piercing to anyone who isn't willing to devote quite a bit of time to fussy piercing, but it's so worth it.
As for the piercer, I would highly recommend Matt Cottrell to anyone. It's hilarious, no matter what kind of person goes into his piercing room, no matter what the piercing, they always seem to come out 100% satisfied. I have many projects to take to him in the next months, I'm looking very forward to them.