When I first considered a nape piercing, one of my friends (now a piercer's apprentice) had the guts to actually go out and get it done. It looked fantastic and I knew that I had to have it. The only thing stopping me was a slightly scarring nipple-piercing experience. The pain of that had made me a little needle shy. I even talked to my piercer repeatedly about the type of pain I was in for with the nape piercing and what kind of a pain scale we were talking about. Never even having considered pain as a factor for previous piercings, it frustrated me to experience fear for my newest endeavor.
At A Glance Author Lilly Contact lillypantsq@yahoo.com When A month ago Artist James Coleman Studio Flats Tattoos Location Groton, CT So I talked to a few friends and found a dear boy to accompany me and even get the same piercing. This boosted my morale and I was infinitely less likely to chicken out if I had someone depending on me for action. I had requested a certain type of bead to go on the 1" titanium surface bar, and once the bar was in I was bound to my decision by the simple guilt of requesting a special order of my piercer and then not even using the jewelry. After a failed visit to Flats, the second visit proved the moment I had been dreading.
James, being the clean freak that he is, sterilized everything including the pen he used to mark my neck. He's also a perfectionist, so the marks had to be perfectly straight in order to proceed. Don't get me wrong, I love these things about him and hopefully he is passing them on to my friend, his apprentice.The whole marking process probably took more than five minutes, but finally he pronounced the marks even. He never fails to warn me that the clamps are going to get tighter, even though I'm aware of this fact. These were the least uncomfortable clamps I'd ever been pinched with, which turned out to be a very good sign. Though I would never, ever go to another piercer, James always uses the same breathing pattern, which means when I'm going to get stuck with a needle is never a mystery to me. So as usual he said "Take a deep breath for me, let it out. Good. One more. And a really deep breath...." (Here is the part in which he begins to pierce my neck.) "Now let it out. Keep breathing...Are you still breathing?" There was an initial pain at the entry of the needle, but it was only momentary. The most uncomfortable part was the sensation of the needle sliding through my skin and then there was an accompanying sound with the exit of the needle on the other side of the clamps.
On the video of my piercing, there is a stunning moment in which a 6 inch needle resides entirely through my neck. But in truth, there wasn't any pain after the actual piercing. I was feeling like the whole thing never happened. James then attached the bar to the end of the needle and slid the jewelry though, producing a strange tugging sensation but again, no pain. The only tedious part of the piercing was the attachment of the beads. Since James has large hands, the most difficult part for him is getting the beads to screw in to the tiny holes they belong in. After dropping the bead once or twice, he successfully screwed it on. I had ordered discs instead of balls for the bar, so the result is far less catching of the piercing.
Cleaning was tricky at first, because you obviously can't really see what you're doing. The trick ends up being to mostly function one the way the piercing feels, so cleaning requires clean hands, because you will need to move the bar slightly in either direction to clean under the beads. Tags on clothing can be painful, so make sure to tuck them in. Also, occasionally a hair or two would get snagged in the thread of the beads and break off, forcing me to screw off the bead and remove the stray hairs. It takes a great deal of patience and complete serenity to get such a tiny bead back on, but don't get frustrated is the operative tactic. All in all, the healing is going excellently since this is the type of piercing that you don't really need to change the jewelry on unless you want to change the beads. I sleep on my sides or stomach, so laying on it hasn't been an issue, but occasionally I find a position in which its uncomfortable to put pressure on the bar. And like I said before, there really hasn't been much pain associated with this piercing and I haven't even had many problems with redness.
As beautiful as this piercing is, many people have a negative reaction to it, mostly adults and the squeamish. So if you work in a professional environment, try to clear it with your boss, or cover the piercing adequately at work. (Collared shirts work extremely well.) Other than that fact, I would absolutely recommend this piercing to anyone who adores it. It is beautiful and the pain level (at least for me) was minimal. After care is simple once you get the hang of it.