It was about 6 months ago that I decided I needed yet another piercing. I was getting a little antsy in my own skin, so it was about time that I got poked. At the time, I had both tragi done, a rook, 2 upper cartilege piercings in my ears, a horizontal and a vertical eyebrow peircing (one in each eyebrow), a navel,and I had taken out my venom piercing in my tongue. I was trying to decide what to get, and the owner of the studio in my hometown convinced me to try the tongue web-and that is how it came to be.
At A Glance Author Christina Contact tina_bina_888@hotmail.com When Six months ago Artist Kristina Studio Bad Apple Location Norfolk,NE The studio was busy that day, so I had to kill about an hour before the actual procedure started. It turns out that I had to watch my 8 year old nephew that day too, so he got to experience this as well. (I don't recommend taking kids with you to get pierced by the way- the poor boy turned green.) Anyway, my turn finally came around, and I got set up in the back room. All the familiar tools were taken out, and I rinsed with the nasty blue shit that burned for all 30 seconds I had it in my mouth. I then was asked to stick out my tongue and lift it up as high as I could. This was a little uncomfortable, and slightly difficult. You see, I have a very short tongue- so much that I was advised against getting my tongue pierced in the regular fashion because it would have been uncomfortable. So, I held my tongue in the wierdest position for what seemed like ever, and they clamped me up. This was the most uncomfortable part even though there isn't a lot of feeling in this g eneral area. They got the needle through with no problem, and then inserted a 16 gauge curved barbell. The hardest part for them was getting the ball screwed on- with the lack of space in my mouth for two hands, and the small, wet ball that kept slipping out of place. This must have taken two people trying for about 10 minutes until it finally was on and tightly in place. When all was done, and all the drool was mopped up, I looked in the mirror and LOVED my new piercing. I couldn't take my eyes off of it.
Aftercare was a breeze. I rinsed with warm sea salt water two times daily. I experienced no puss oozing, crusties, or anything. Ever once in a while, I got a little bit of puss around the hole, but I just had to soak a q-tip in the sea salt water and wipe it away. Other that that, there were no problems, pains, or inconveniences. Every so often, I would also get some food stuck around the barbell, which felt kind of gross, but shit happens.
The one thing I didn't like about this was that due to a slight oral fixation, I played with the barbell constantly. It was long enough that I could hook it over the top of my bottom teeth. I later switched the barbell to a shorter one on my own. That was pretty frustrating, since I have no tools to help myself out- just two hands and a pair of tweezers, which came in quite handy. But even with the new short barbell, I still played with it too much. (I gave up smoking, and found myself playing with the barbell without even realizing it) This inevitably led to the damn hole stretching, and I now have no more piercing to love. It did last me about 4 months though, and I was very glad that I had it. The tongue web does have a high migration rate, but the hole does stay permanently, so if migration can be avoided, this is the perfect piercing- it's hideable, show-off-able, and fun to have. Just try not to play with it like I did.
Everyone I have showed has never seen anything like it before- and not many people around here (in Nebraska) have tried this piercing. But for those who are interested- I highly recommend this! There was virtually no time needed for healing, and right afterwards, I went out to eat with virtually no problems. It felt a little weird at first, like food was stuck under my tongue, but I never bit down on anything, like when you eat with a new tongue piercing. After a few days, you get used to the sensation, and may even start to like it!
I must say I truly miss having this piercing. I still have the hole, but it is too large to hold a barbell- the entire ball slipped through the hole. I thought about putting a ring in the hole- possibly a tragus ring, and see if it stays then. I guess we will see what happens!