Way back in March 2004, I took a friend to get her VCH done. She had done loads of research and determined that Tom at Stainless Studios was the best person in the city to pierce her incredibly important bits. So I went with her, held her hand, stared at the Dali print on the wall, and listened to her grunts of pain when the needle went through. Before all this, though, we had wandered into various piercing places and had chats about getting various things done. When I discovered surface piercings, getting one on the back of my hand was totally fascinating to me. I originally wanted it on the outside, pointing up towards my pinkie, but the girl at the counter of whatever parlour we were in wasn't sure if it was a good area. She told me it all depended on how much the skin and muscle moved.
At A Glance Author allana Contact allana@bme.anon IAM allana When A month ago Artist TomBrazda Location toronto Fast-forward two years: I have just joined BME and am poring over the piercing galleries relentlessly, looking for some examples of decent surface work. Mostly I only see handwebs, which really repulse me, but a few knuckle jobs, and one or two surface bars embedded between the thumb and forefinger on the back of the hand. This one reminds me, and I resolve that since I've got some cash to blow, I may as well start asking around.
I want to get an apprentice to do it, because I'm not very rich, but understandably it's a very unique piercing, and since this is my first piece ever (not even my ears! nothing!) I decide to go to the best. That's Tom. He's no longer running Stainless but he's still doing plenty of work. I contact him shortly before BMEFest, then run into him there, and book for the following day. A bit hungover, but pretty healthy and prepared by 6pm, my friend Greg and I head to the warehouse/loft where Tom does his work.
I get the long speech about personal care, LTMFA, knowing how your body reacts to chemicals, the importance of sea salts, et al. He makes the bar for me twice because the first one is a bit big, and we spend a good twenty minutes deciding on placement - first aesthetically, then adjusting for veins and movement. It seems that in terms of movement, most places will be fine - since this is a small half-inch bar, there's not much worry of it being pulled two ways at once.
He pokes a hole in my skin where each end will come through - this hurts like a bitch and I get a bit pale in the face. Apparently my lips have gone grey. He asks how I feel and I wonder if I can get some water - he looks at me and suggests we take a moment to relax. Then he pulls the taper through, which I hardly feel, and suddenly it's done. He screws on the balls and I take a good fifteen minutes to sit and marvel at it before paying and leaving. I spend the whole walk home with my hand in front of my face, and stare at it for the rest of the night. I go out and buy Spectro-Jel and sea salt the next day, do my first soak, and goes well.
The piercing seems pretty happy with me for the first while. Typing is hard for a few days, as is bike-riding, but my hand adjusts amazingly well. A few weeks go by and it seems almost healed - crusting is minimal. It bled once when I got rough with it but I doctored it pretty well afterwards. At the one-month mark, though, I have to get a job.
I get hired at a bakery, and have to wear a vinyl glove. By the first 6 hours of my first full day, the area's swelled up and it's oozing yellow. I rush home and message Tom - he says it's the powder inside the glove and I should either find powder-free ones, wear an alternative under the glove (another glove, or bandages) and give it an alcohol soak to kill the pus. All of which I do.
I'm still baking and the piercing still doesn't like being rubbed around under a glove each day, so I'm afraid it might start to act up. Plus I just moved and I've been pretty active/stressed lately, so I've not been the most careful. But when I get a few days to relax it seems to be pretty healthy. Although it's raised a bit under the skin, and I fear it'll reject, I think it'll last at least for a while longer. It means enough to me to be able to keep my very first piercing healthy and happy, that I'd probably try to find a job that doesn't involve gloves. Baking tempts me to eat cookies too much anyways. :)