I've always held a special place in my heart for body modification. Even as a kid, I was making plans for when I was "big". My fascination has followed me and I am now putting into action, the plans I had as a kid. My most recent piercing however was not some childhood dream. I didn't even know it was possible until sometime last year when I was flipping through a piercing magazine. The piercing I speak of is the tongue web, a shocking yet subtle piercing. It caught my attention initially just because it seemed so bizarre but the more I thought about it, the more it became a goal and then before I knew it, it was a reality
At A Glance Author Athena Contact indie_misfit_grrrl@hotmail.com When N/A Artist Me Location Pembroke, Ontario I had always wanted my tongue pierced and my mother had always adamantly said no. I knew there was no way out of it. I couldn't try to hide a tongue piercing so I gave up on that idea. This is where the tongue web piercing came into play. It was something even more unique than the tongue, yet far more subtle. I knew I could get one without my parents knowing. I started researching and talking to people who had it done. I knew I should probably take the matter to a professional piercer but I knew that wouldn't be possible. Besides, I was confident that this was something I could do and heal myself, successfully. (Note: I don't advocate by any means, self piercing! Go see a professional!)
All these ideas and thoughts started to take place maybe six months ago. I started to gather the supplies I figured I would need: hollow needle in the largest gauge I could get my hands on, a cork, non-alcoholic mouthwash) and of course the barbell. Getting the needle wasn't too bad. My mother is an in-home nurse so she has a big drawer of all kinds of goodies where I found a sterile 18G hollow needle that I figured would be quite suitable. Getting a cork wasn't hard either and I managed to get the mouthwash from a friend who's Mom works in the hospital. I went shopping and chose a small, 16G curved barbell. I was a bit concerned that the bar wouldn't go through since it was larger than the needle but I wasn't going to risk having jewelry any smaller than that and increase my chance of rejection.
Now I had my supplies. It was down to waiting for the right moment (a time when my parents would be away...preferably for a few days to provide healing time in case my speech or eating was affected) and the nerve to actually go against my parents wishes, knowing I would get into a lot of trouble if they ever found out. I did know that I really wanted this before I went back to school. After a few patient months of waiting, my opportunity came around and I knew that I had to go through with it. My best friend had invited me out to her cottage for a week at the end of the summer. Perfect. I could do the piercing there, get myself eating and talking properly and go home again with no one the wiser.
The moment came and I was surprisingly calm. I positioned my tongue in such a way that my tongue web was widely exposed. I held the cork on one side and the needle on the other and pushed. It went through great with very little bleeding but I didn't like the placement so I did it again. This time, getting the needle through was a little trickier but there was absolutely no pain. I was also surprised that I wasn't drooling like most people I had talked to had said I would. Instead I had dry mouth. This made getting the jewelry much easier, though screwing on the tiny ball took several tries. Still, I had done it! I looked in the mirror to admire my handiwork and fell in love. It was subtle and straight and looked great! I tried talking and you couldn't even tell. I waited a few hours and tried eating. That too I did with ease. It looked like I had pulled this off and even if I didn't, I had several parent-free days to get used to things.
My healing went perfect. I rinsed with my non-alcoholic mouthwash after putting anything in my mouth (except for water) for about 2 weeks and brushed my teeth and tongue frequently. I had no swelling, bleeding and very minimal pain. I couldn't ask for a more cooperative piercing!
It has been approximately a month now and I still love it! My parents haven't said anything although I suspect they might in fact know about it since it can be seen when I say certain words (especially those with "R"'s). I love the shocked expression people get when they see it. Sadly there have been a few copycats who went and pierced their own tongue webs (without research or safe technique) but that's alright. It was something I did for myself and I love it a lot and have no regrets.