I'd been thinking about getting a tongue piercing for quite a while, but only made a concrete decision a week ago. Normally I'd be quite wary of the permanency, and risk, of a piercing or tattoo, but a couple of friends at art school have had their tongues and ears done, and at a big University in London there are plenty of people with all kinds of piercings and body modifications, so I felt pretty safe doing it. The one name that came up a lot was Cold Steel in Camden...the fact that it was in Camden conjured up images of a dingy back room with an unshaven, unhygienic piercer, which couldn't have been further from the truth. In the end, so many people recommended it that I went along, despite a good friend having got his tongue and ears done at Chioko, another studio a few minutes down the road.
At A Glance Author Asterion Contact Asterion@bme.anon When It just happened Studio Cold Steel Location Camden, London By the time we chose a time to go along and get it done, I had an entourage of about half a dozen of my good friends, four of them with piercings. Walking up a narrow staircase to the reception, I did start to get second thoughts, but these disappeared as we waited briefly in a clean, reception full of racks of antique and tribal-looking plugs, tunnels and weights right next to UV and glowing balls and bars.
I had expected a long wait, or at least having to return later for an appointment, but I announced that I wanted my tongue pierced and it was all sorted out right then and there. I'd done a bit of research beforehand, and hadn't had any aspirin or alcohol, and had had a good breakfast. After filling out a few forms the piercer – in the rush of it all I've forgotten what piercings she had and even her name - went off to get the jewellery. She was thorough checking my ID and making sure I could come back in case of problems, and then I paid up - £30 for the piercing and two barbells. My two friends who'd had their tongues done were impressed by the place and how friendly the people were, which put me at ease. She came back, telling me that only one of my friends could come with me, and that he couldn't take any photos. My friends, that majority of them art students, had bulky cameras and were fairly disappointed at not getting an arty shot.
We went up to a very clean and well-lit studio, almost as spotless as a dentists room. She sat me down on the examining chair and marked out my tongue with a toothpick dipped in ink, after getting me to rinse thoroughly with mouthwash. Despite having been so ready to ask all the questions and watch carefully to see everything was clean and sterile, I almost forgot in the rush. My friend did check though, and reassured me afterwards that everything had been in fresh autoclave pouches or sterile bags.
I lay back and she told me to breath in and out and close my eyes, and then in a matter of seconds it was done, less painful than a normal injection at the doctor's. It was so fast it hardly hurt before it was done, just a second as she narrated "Breath in, and out...that's the needle in, and the bar, and the bottom ball is on. Done." She talked me through the aftercare and got me to sit up slowly after a while. A few sites I'd read on the internet suggested that alcohol and smoking should be prohibited, but she was a bit more lax, saying that I should cut down on smoking and alcohol, but a pint if I wanted one was fine, as long I didn't get pissed. I was curious to know if I could still roll my tongue – she said I wouldn't be able too, but I managed it, which pleased me and surprised her. When checking it out in the mirror, I forgot that my tongue normally twists slightly, and announced that it was a bit wonky. She actually jumped, panicking, and even though I realised it was straight, she carefully checked the placement.
Overall I, and more importantly my friends who'd been pierced at other studios, were highly impressed at how professional, friendly, and clean the studio was – I would recommend it to anyone wanting to get a piercing done.
It did hurt a little for a while, but I got the hang of talking quite quickly, and with a bit of concentration my speech was practically unaffected. We quickly went to get ice lollies and mouthwash and went to sit in the park. I succumbed to having a cigarette and a beer in the sun, and it did feel that I got drunk a little bit faster, something my friends had warned of. I didn't eat anything until the evening, soup was fine, but bread posed a problem, although not too bad. The next morning – this morning - when I woke up my tongue was very swollen, so much so that it had scallop marks in the edge from the inside of my teeth. It still doesn't really hurt, and I haven't bitten it yet. Ice and ice-water all the time has really helped, along with Nurofen. Solid food is hard, but not impossible, and so far the only issue is that I can't lick the outside of my teeth, but it feels and looks great, and I'm really pleased with how easy it was.