My name is Scott, I am 34 and I have never had any piercings or tattoos in my life before this experience getting my tongue pierced. To tell the truth I was quite nervous going into this and was not quite sure if I could go through with it. My biggest concern was getting it right the first time (straight and in the right spot) and that the place was sanitary and steril. A friend recommended "2 Extreme" because she got a navel piercing and said that the lady that did it was very gentle. Another friend recommended Tarius down in the Montrose/Westheimer area and they are a very high respected piercing facility however "2 Extreme" was closer and open on Monday. As far as what my parents thought, well, I have a bigger house than them so I could really give a crap. I did tell them and they were a little reserved to say the least. Mom with the stories of how I can get disease and die was expected. I just told them to get them used to the idea and the next Christmas I won't have to deal with them freaking out at the Christmas ornament that I am going to put on it. On to the experience..
At A Glance Author Scott Contact rsh1967@hotmail.com Artist Mike Studio 2 Extreme - 9577-A FM 1960 Location Houston Texas I called ahead to do the usual questions, what is the procedure, does it hurt, does it bleed, who does the piercings, how much is it. As it were Mike, the guy that answered the phone, was one of the one who does piercings. I had gone in there before just to look at the place and I remembered him. He was pretty tattooed up and has the loops in his ears with a tongue piercing a pierced lip (right in the middle of the front) and a scruffy goatee. At first I was about to forget the whole thing, I didn't want a barbarian getting anywhere near me with a needle, I wanted someone that would be nice and gentle. I thought that I would give him a chance and see how he answered the questions. He really helped me relax. He was polite and very willing to answer any questions I had (I asked a few). It was contrary to what I was expecting. So I decided to go ahead and get it done.
I picked a Monday because they have $20.00 off piercings so it was only $40.00. Before going to the shop I went to get something to eat because I have heard that you can't eat much after. When I got there I introduced myself to Mike and he remembered talking to me. He was with a guy that was going to get an addition to a tattoo on his back. After they got the details sorted out he offered to go ahead and do my tongue first since it was a faster procedure. I declined. I figured I could see how he is with a customer and then I would have a chance to back out at the last minute. He was great, I think he changed gloves like 10 times. If he touched anything that was not steril, off with the gloves and on with a new pair. I was really impressed. If only fast food restaraunts were as sanitary...
After he was done it was my turn and he told me that it would be a minute while he prepared. I was curious so I just walked back to the room where he was preparing, he welcomed me. I told him that I was curious about the room and the "getting ready" process. He told me to have a seat if I wanted. All the equipment was laid out and in that packaging that you see in doctors offices. The first thing that he had me do is rinse with antibacterial wash. After that I had to stick out my tongue while he dried it for the mark. I was visibly nervous so he told me to relax and assured me that it would not be that bad. The whole time he was good about talking to me. He now held it with the tongs and told me to take a deep breath. On the exhale he put the needle through. It hurt for about 2 seconds and like everyone normally says, it felt like I bit it afterward. It was not too bad overall. After that he put the bar in (it might have gone in with the needle, I was not sure). Then he screwed the ball on which did not provide any more pain than I was already feeling. It is a dull pain and I really didn't have any difficulty talking with the new piercing. It did bleed a very small bit on the bottom. He said that it would stop in a few minuted and he was right. I have never had a piercing in my ear much less than my tongue so I have not comparison but I am sure that ears could not be much more or less pain. When we were completely done (with the aftercare info and stuff) he told me that I did it right by asking so many questions so I felt even better with my decision.
After, I went straight to Sonic and got a big cup of ice. I heard that this helped but for me I was better not doing anything. It stopped hurting less than 20 minutes later except for when I talked a lot and the ice is really cold on the new hole in my body. I bit the bar twice when I was eating ice and got the bottom one caught on my teeth (twice) when I was looking at it but there was no pain and it didn't bleed or anything. I will be sure to keep it clean and I am sure that soup will be the food of choice for a while since I will probably bite the bar until I get used to it. I am taking ibuprofen and have had a very little swelling (might get worse but considering that it does not bother me at all now it might not). All in all, it was a really cool experience and I am glad I did it.