I first saw a pierced tongue web on one of my coworkers. I was strangely fascinated by it. I forgot about it for a while, then came across some tongue web pics here on BME. For months, I kept coming back and looking at them, and reading the experiences of some people who had theirs pierced. I loved the way this was a private piercing - kind of like a little secret. I also loved the way that it was not very popular.
At A Glance Author Cristina Contact Cristina@bme.anon When Six months ago Artist Pierre Black Studio Black Sun Studio Location Montreal, Quebec Anyway, so after a few months, I had my nipple pierced in the meantime, but I decided that I had to have my tongue web pierced. It had become a crazy obsession and I just had to satisfy the urge. Since I had read that it can be a tricky piercing to do because it's a hard place to get to, I decided to go to the best studio in town - and that is Black Sun studio. I convinced my boyfriend to have his done too, as a symbol of our relationship. It didn't take much convincing though because he loved the idea too. We made an appointment for Sunday at 4:30.
I had never been to Black Sun before, and when I called for an appointment, I was struck by how professional they sounded over the phone - it almost seemed like a doctor's office. It was actually pretty reassuring.
We were running a bit late, so we called to say we'd be about 15 minutes late, and she said it was cool. When we got there, I was really surprised at how clean it looked. It really was a lot like a trendy doctor's office, with blue leather couches, cool lamps, an aquarium etc. The girl at the front had us sign the forms, then we sat in the waiting room for what seemed like an hour (it was actually about 5 minutes). Then Pierre came and introduced himself and took us into a little room, with what looked like a dentist's chair (but not as scary). My boyfriend showed him the jewelry that he wanted to use for his piercing (a 12 ga CBR that he had from before), and Pierre said he wouldn't recommend it, but he would still do the piercing with it if my boyfriend really wanted to. He decided to go for it, but the jewelry had to be autoclaved first, which meant that I would have to go first (since I didn't have my own jewelry).
I wasn't really nervous, but I was kind of hungry (very stupid of me not to eat before coming). Anyway, I sat down, Pierre recommended a cute little 12 ga CBR, so I was like 'go for it' (to myself) and then we proceded.
He got all his tools ready, and told me about how he wished the other piercer was in that day because he was better with tools and Pierre is better with his hands. Well - I would have been kind of scared at that moment, but hey - this guy was the best in Montreal, and at least he was being honest with me. Anyway, I was still pretty relaxed at this point because he had a way of making me feel pretty comfortable.
He made me rinse my mouth out with mouthwash (which wasn't bad like a lot of people say it is) for thirty seconds (if I remember correctly). When I saw the needle he was going to use, I started to get nervous because although it was short, it was really really fat - probably the biggest needle I have ever seen in my life. He held it with a pair of forceps (sorry if I'm using the wrong terminology) and told me to open wide. He told me to hold my tongue up (and being the loser I am, I had been practicing at home at holding my tongue up in such a way that my tongue web was really prominent) and before I knew it, the needle was through.
Honest to God, I didn't feel a thing.
I did feel a little pressure, but it definitely didn't feel like anything penetrated - not even a pinch. I was pretty happy with myself. My tongue was already starting to feel a little tired, so he told me to close my mouth. It felt really weird to close my mouth and have a needle under my tongue - and have absolutely no pain at all.
But the crappy part was yet to come - trying to get the ring itself in was pure hell. Everytime it went in, it would pop straight out. Apparently I had some sort of minute pulse in my tongue that kept pushing it out everytime it went in. After about 10 minutes straight of trying, I started to feel a little light headed. It wasn't from the pain because there wasn't any - but I'm thinking that from keeping my tongue up for so long, I had stopped breathing regularly or something, and the fact that I hadn't eaten anything didn't help. I had to lie down, I felt almost like I was going to pass out. I had the chills but I was sweating at the same time. My ears even felt funny. I remember my piercer kept telling me that the longer I waited to get the ring in, the harder it would be, but I just couldn't sit up yet.
Finally, after about what seemed like hours lying down trying to get a grip, I sat up and told him I was ready. After a couple more minutes of fiddling around, I finally felt the ring go through – and that actually hurt a little because I felt a lot of pressure – I think it was mainly because he was trying so hard to get it in that the hole was getting irritated. He apologized for not being able to get the ring in right away and for what happened, but I knew it wasn't his fault. I got up and looked in the mirror and fell in love! It was totally worth it.
Then it was my boyfriend's turn. Same procedure, only I could tell that he felt some pain because of the way he gripped the arms of the chair as the needle went through.
Pierre explained the aftercare to us, then we were on our way.
While we were leaving, I still felt a little woozy – nothing like I felt inside, but nevertheless, I didn't feel too great. Plus I was starving! So, we were pretty stupid and we went for sushi. It was IMPOSSIBLE to eat! The rice from the sushi would get caught under my tongue and in the back of my mouth, and my tongue was kind of stiff so I couldn't move it around a lot. Later that night, I just bought some soup and decided to forget about complicated solid foods for a couple of days.
The piercing itself healed perfectly. There was absolutely no swelling, and after about two days, I didn't even know it was there at all! The only discomfort I had was the fact that my tongue always felt 'tired'. Basically, I could feel something was different in my mouth, but it wasn't necessarily discomfort. I hardly had to change my eating habits except for the first day.
All in all, this piercing was pain-free and really easy to heal. I think it's so cute! Don't let my 'woozy' experience discourage you, I'm positive that it was almost like a freak accident – I unconsciously stopped breathing properly. It's been about 6 months now, and I've had no problems. I have nothing but good things to say about this piercing experience. People always say "shit, that must have hurt", but they never believe me when I tell them that I didn't even feel the needle go through.
I also recommend Black Sun Studio to anyone considering getting a piercing in the Montreal area.