I'm not sure when I started thinking about a second tongue ring, but apparently I did at some point. My first tongue ring was already at a 6 gauge and I was considering stretching it to a 4 or bigger. I had even considered splitting my tongue, as I said I don't remember deciding to do a second tongue ring but I did.
At A Glance Author cerrebus23 Contact cerrebus23@bme.anon IAM cerrebus23 When Six months ago Artist Chris Dean (Apprentice) Studio Alterations Body Piercing Location South Glens Falls, NY
I had just opened my own shop a few weeks before, and I had an apprentice who wanted to try doing his first tongue piercing. So I figured I'd let him try it on me first so he didn't make a mistake on a customer, and with me I could walk him through it step by step, and double check him in the mirror. He was fairly nervous but we talked for a while and I told him what he was going to be doing step by step, and calmed him down some.
The shop was fairly slow that day, it always was on Tuesdays. So we wouldn't have any interruptions and he could take as much time as he needed. Before we actually got setup and ready to go we went across the street to the store for a drink, and had a smoke before we went back in to get to work. Then after a good rinsing with Listerine and one last time going over what needed to be done we were ready to go.
I tried to let him do as much as possible by himself, so when we first started I told him to select the jewelry by himself. Which he did right on the first try, with a ¾ inch 14 gauge barbell. This piercing was to sit behind my first tongue ring, so the barbell needed to be a little longer than normal. My apprentice (Chris) had a little trouble marking my tongue, but by the third try he had it right, I just had to tell him to ignore the hole already in my tongue because it is slightly off center, and I wanted him to make this one straight like it was my first one.
Chris had a little bit of a problem clamping my tongue, because like most people I tried to fight, even though I didn't realize I was doing it until he told me to stop. After he got me clamped he had a small problem keeping his fingers out of the lube when he picked up the needle, so when he dropped it (his nerves were kicking in again) we had to start over.
So the second time around went a lot more smoothly he got me clamped, and picked up the needle with no trouble. He was a little shaky but I knew he was nervous so I didn't say anything about it. He pierced my tongue with no problem, and he relaxed a lot once he got the needle through. Inserting the jewelry went smoothly as I expected it would. He did have a little trouble putting the ball on but that was the only real problem. I've pierced a lot of tongues, and I still have problems with that occasionally. It usually happens when some one drools more than usual, or if I get some lube on my fingers when I put the jewelry in.
Now that it's healed it looks straighter than my first tongue ring. I think Chris did a really good job piercing my tongue, and he's done several since then with no problems. I'm still glad I let him try it on me first rather than letting him try it on a customer. He was nervous with me, but I think he was more comfortable than he would have been with anyone else. Which I think helped him a lot.
For anyone out there thinking about a second tongue ring, I say go for it. I've had no problems with it, in fact it healed easier than my first one. I had no problems getting used to it being there either. I think the only down side is that I can't stretch my second one, and my first one can't go past a 4 gauge because it causes them to pinch the tissue between them, and makes it really uncomfortable to wear them both.
Also if you walk into a shop and an apprentice asks if he can do your piercing let him, but be patient, and understanding. Apprentice Piercers need all the practice they can get, and they aren't going to get it by practicing on their Piercers. Most of the time apprentices have already gone through a lot of training by practicing on leather and watching Master Piercers work. All in all I'm happy with the second tongue ring, and glad I got it done. I would recommend it to anyone thinking about it.