My friend Anna had gotten her tongue pierced about a month ago and told me about this clean and cheep place. So when she called me up today we decided to go there. Her brother picked us up and we drove there. It was raining when we got there so we rushed inside.
At A Glance Author Connie Contact Connie@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Kaitlyn Studio Goldenland Aces Studio Location St. Louis, MO We walked in and they asked us what we wanted done, we were both getting the same thing. In between while we waited I looked around and there were portfolios of things you could get tattooed and pictures of cartoons all over the walls for sale. They also had a snake, a cat, and a bunch of birds. Then the man had us fill out cards with our license number, name, address, and phone number along with a questionnaire on if we had been drinking, taking blood thinners, etc.
Afterwards they called in the piercer who was talking outside. She was a young girl in her 20s to register our piercings and have us pay. On the way to the back room a woman was just starting to have a tattoo done.
After we followed her into a small back room and there was a low doctors table, a sink and different cleansers to disinfect the skin. It was white and clean looking. The lower drawer was full of clamps(in their original packages), I couldn't see where the needles came from but I trusted that they were new(because where else would they come from??)
I was scarred so my Anna volunteered to go first, she was so brave and didn't wince or show any major signs of pain. I asked if she wanted me to hold her hand and said that it didn't matter so I went ahead and did it. I held her hand tighter than she did, I defiantly was more anxious. While I was watching her procedure I was surprised at how tiny the clamp and needles were, I guess I was imaging working tools and needles for hospitals. Her first hole bleed quite a lot before we got to the second hole.
When it was my turn sat down and took off my glasses, she marked the holes and due to the fact that I was not thinking clearly from being scarred I nodded ok without really looking. While she was taking out the tools we talked about Harry Potter and she was really friendly which made me feel better. When it got time to the needle she counted down for the first one and put the barbell through then did the second hold. It wasn't as much of a blur as I thought it was going to be. She just put the needle through the second hole without counting, thank goodness, I just wanted it over with. Then I could feel the barbell going through replacing the needle. When she showed me the finished product I thought the angle was too steep but since it was more out of the way of my head and my glasses I figured it was better anyways.(so be careful and really check where the dots are!!)Overall I couldn't feel the clamp both times, the first because I was nervous and the second time because the first hole hurt too much. The barbell was a stainless steel one with balls, 14g. It looked like it was about one and a half inches. On the way out I saw the woman still getting her tattoo, I was surprised at how fast the whole thing went.
She told us to clean the piercings with dial soap, which I thought was weird, but she said that sea salt dried out the skin and that she had no problems with the soap for all of her piercings. (She had a fair amount, more than the average person so I trusted her.) When we went outside it was pouring, really hard. I was worried about my ear and tried to keep it covered with my hand.
Afterward we went out to eat and at first it was burning and wasn't that painful but then after half a hour it wasn't burning but stinging painfully like a bad headache. I took two Advil and it made it feel better. Overall afterwards I felt weird and kind of shaky, but I think it was because of the pain. Now it is just a stinging sensation(about 4 hours afterwards.)
I took a shower and attempted to clean the piercing when I got home. It was difficult because the bar was in the way and I was scarred to touch it. Although when I did and ran my finger along the bar it felt nice to know that I got an industrial. Tomorrow I'm going to figure out a more thorough way to clean it.
When my mother saw it she thought it was gross and could only look at it for a second before turning away. My sister helped me take pictures of it to show to friends.
Now I really can't wait until it heals so I can buy different barbells for it. Next time I go back I am getting a conch piercing in the same ear, and I can't wait.