At A Glance
Author	Jess
When	Six months ago
Artist	Myself
Studio	Bathroom

After becoming addicted to BME, there wasn't much to stop me from wanting more. Self piercing (with proper tools!! I have since purchased pre-sterilized needles, clamps, and much jewelry.) was something I enjoyed. My first non-lobe piercing I performed on myself was my tongue web. In fact, I did it twice. I learned from my mistakes and I hope you will to. It isn't a hard piercing to do yourself, but I do not recommend self-piercing unless you know what you are doing. Professionals are always best.

The first time was when I was still piercing-naïve. I was 14 years old and a freshman in high school. I think it was about mid-May of 2001. I had ordered needles from BMEshop (which are by far the best I've ever used) and purchased a 3/8" 14ga curved barbell from Hot Topic, and a bottle of Listerine from the local pharmacy. Friday after school, I decided it's now or never. I set up in my bathroom my needle, jewelry, and various other piercing essentials (paper towels, paper cup). I rinsed my mouth out with Listerine until I couldn't feel my tongue anymore (probably about a minute) and scrubbed my hands with Dial soap (didn't have gloves). I flipped up my tongue and stared at my web. After deciding on a place to pierce, I held the needle to my webbing and started pushing through. It slid in easily, but it was crooked. Tried it again.. and I don't know HOW I messed that up so badly. Took the needle out, and did it again. Perfect. Well, at least I thought it was ;P Slid the j ewelry in. *phew* By this time I'm drooling pretty badly, and my webbing is sore from being stabbed 3 times. And the drool... not normal spit. It's like alien goo. I was so surprised my salivary glands could produce so much! Anyhoo, the alien goo made it extremely difficult for me to get the ball on my barbell. I tried with my fingers for about 20 minutes. At that time I got the brainy idea to wrap tweezers with my sport band-aids for grip and try that. Well whaddya know, it worked. I rinsed with Listerine (full strength again) and cleaned up.

For aftercare, I used Listerine diluted 1:1 with water. The balls on the barbell were big, and it made me lisp a lot, however no one noticed until I pointed it out. That night I tried eating tortellini. Take my advice and eat before you do it, just like any other oral piercings. My web was sore for about 2 days. The day after I went to a family party and my cousin, also orally pierced, noticed. She saw it when I yawned. My biggest downfall with this piercing was that I played with it. A lot. It ripped, and stretched out the hole. 2 weeks after piercing, I took it out because the hole was so big.
Mistakes:
1. Used Listerine for aftercare.
2. Curved barbell with balls that were too big. The jewelry wasn't suitable at all.
3. Played with it.

Second time around. It was August of 2001, and the only remainder of my previous web piercing was a little bit of scar tissue. I was itching for it to be repierced. This time I ordered a ¼" 14ga straight barbell. It was very comfortable and EXTREMELY difficult to play with. It reduced the temptation greatly and I only caught myself playing with it a few times.

I prepared to pierce the same way as I did the previous occasion. The only difference was that I could not hold the needle to my web correctly, so I curved it. Was much easier to hold. This time I could see where I wanted to pierce (right behind the chunk of scar tissue). I lined it up, and pushed through. The first bit of web wasn't previously pierced, so it went in easily. My other piercing must've been angled back, because where it exited it went through the scar tissue. It was a bit tougher to get through, but still not very difficult. After fully getting the needle through my web, I inserted my barbell. Again I had alien drool and couldn't get the ball on, so right away I used the tweezers-band aid method. Got it on within a matter of minutes. Oh how lovely it looked.

Aftercare was the same diluted Listerine in the beginning, however I switched to salt rinses a few days later. I don't remember so much lymph on the first one, but the 2nd time it lymphed a lot. I got a bit scared and didn't know what was happening, but I used a toothpick and pulled it off. It was pretty nasty.

Even though this piercing is very discreet, it can still be seen if you're chewing gum with your mouth open wide, putting on lip balm/gloss/stick with your lips open, or yawning, so be cautious of that if you're trying to hide it. My mom saw it when I was putting on lip balm and thought it was the grossest thing ever, but she didn't really mind it.

In the end, it healed quite nicely. The pain and swelling were very minimal this time (I'm guessing because it was less fussing during the procedure). I took out the piercing about 3 weeks later. Actually the barbell fell out and I didn't put it back in. It was fun while it lasted but wasn't something I truly wanted.
I still like this piercing, just on other people. It just wasn't meant to be for me ;P

Last words of wisdom: if you want to do it yourself, use proper tools, and STAY FAR AWAY FROM SAFETY PINS AND BUTTERFLY BACK EARRINGS or any other earrings meant only for your ears. They're even bad for them. Be careful and take your time. Also, I highly recommend BMEshop as a source for needles & jewelry. Good luck and happy piercing.