My 12 gauge Venoms have been a long process. It all started about six months ago. I was with my girlfriend IAM member skiwyz and I met her friend Brooks and he had his done. I decided then that I really wanted to get mine done. So later that night I got on BME and started researching all the information on Venoms that I could find. I learned the piercing goes through the muscle of the tongue and this would cause it to hurt more than a center tongue piercing. I also found out that they are very prone to keloid scars making the healing much harder. After learning as much as I could all I had left was to talk with my piercer about them.
At A Glance Author Trulypierced Contact trulypierced@hotmail.com IAM Trulypierced When Six months ago Artist Heather Belman Studio Mystic Realm Studios Location Georgetown, De. The next day I went to Mystic Realm Studios in Georgetown, De. Heather Belman is the piercer there. Heather has been a very close friend of mine ever since I got my first piercing from her. After asking her if she could do the piercings. She said yes but she did not have any 12-gauge 7/8" barbells in stock because she had just done a pair a day for few before. A little upset I decided to get my nostrils done. That is an entirely different experience. I made plans with Heather to return the next week.
After removing my 6-gauge center tongue barbell I returned one week later I returned to Mystic Realm very excited to be getting my Venoms done. I was worried about the center piercing bothering the healing of the Venoms. While I filled out the paper work Heather set up her workstation. After putting on a pair of gloves Heather proceeded to inspect my tongue to get the proper placement right in order to avoid my veins. She informed me that the piercing with have to been on an angle placing the balls on the top closer together than the ones on the bottom. I was fine with this placement. The next step was the rinse my mouth out with some Listerine. I had for gotten how much I hated the taste of it. Next was marking the piercings after drying my tongue Heather set to this task. With everything marked and ready to go it was time for the piercing.
Heather then once again dried my tongue off. At this time I had already been holding my tongue out for about 7 minutes. After putting the clap on and putting the needle next to my tongue she told me to take a deep breath and with a slight pinch the needle slid through my tongue. Replacing the needle with the barbell was a simple task no real pain involved. Now having my tongue out for 15 minutes with was time to get the second piercing over with. With the clamp in place the second piercing went very smooth a little more painful than the first but still smooth. Going over the healing was the last thing I had to before I got to leave. Heather let me know that I should buy shorter barbells after the swelling goes down. I left the shop feeling great.
The next day my tongue had swelled so much that it had filled the entire length of the 7/8" barbells. It was very sore but nothing I could not handle. After two weeks of rinsing my mouth with Listerine and salt water I noticed two keloid scars starting to form on the tops of my tongue. I tried the crushed aspirin, which made the scars shrink a bit not all the way. I returned to see Heather and she said that it would be best to get shorter bars. With the barbells I had bought when she pierced me I only had to buy the shafts because they are interchangeable. I decided to get a pair of ¾" shafts. A week after replacing the 7/8" barbells with the ¾" ones I noticed a big difference in the keloid scars but they still where not gone. I repeated these steps until the keloid scars where gone. I finally ended up with ½" barbells in my Venoms and no more keloid scars. It has been about six months since I got my Venoms done and I like them very much. Thought they do get in the way at ti mes. I would not trade them for anything.
Warning. As with all piercing you should know as much about the piercing, healing and risk before going into it. Following your piercer advice is a must. Piercings are a great way to express yourself but they can hurt your body if not cared for. The smallest keloid or infection can turn into a huge problem. If you develop any kind of problem or the smallest thing seems wrong u should seek help.