At A Glance Author epocalize Contact epocalize@bme.anon When Six months ago Artist erin Studio chameleon tattoo ( & body piercing) Location cambridge (the garage in harvard square), massachusetts Finally, the day had come. I was eighteen and could get my nose pierced! My older (and much admired cousin) had gotten hers on her eighteenth, and I was instantly jealous. I was around ten or twelve at the time, and there was no way my parents were letting my pierce my nostril, even with a tiny stud. As I grew older, I fixated even more on wanting my nose done, and resolved that on my birthday, I would legally get the piercing. I debated doing it myself or trying to find somewhere that wouldn't ask for ID, but realized quickly that both those ideas were pretty stupid. An infection on my face was so not worth it. Additionally, I knew I'd be traumatized if I had to take my pretty new stud out! Since my parents would flip out, and since my conservative boarding school didn't allow visible piercings (and, to my horror and eventual rebellion, didn't permit hair dyed "unnatural colors!") other than ears, it was also a good choice to wait until my eighteenth birthday, a few weeks after I graduated high school.
A good friend of mine with more piercing experience recommended Chameleon as a friendly and safe shop. I trust her completely, and we made plans to head over there on the afternoon of the big day! I woke up early and had breakfast with a friend from Washington who was in the city, and then helped my parents prepare for the few guests, all family and close friends, who would be coming over for dinner and cake. I hate making a huge deal out of my birthday - I refused to even let me parents call it a party. Besides, my piercing would be the best present and all the celebration I needed. My parents weren't thrilled about the idea, but they agreed I was old enough to make my own decisions, at least regarding piercings. I definitely wanted them to support this choice at least a little, because I'd be taking a year off before college, living at home and working. Starting the year of together-ness with a fight was not a smart plan.
The only complication was that my friend, Anne, was babysitting two kids on my birthday! We decided to take the subway over to Cambridge and get them ice cream to soften them up for the wait to get pierced. The studio doesn't do piercing appointments, and on a summer afternoon we figured the line might be pretty long. Anne thought that the kids' mom wouldn't appreciate them hanging out in a tattoo parlor, albeit a clean, respectable one, which I understood. Luckily, customers went across the way first and bought the jewelry and filled out the necessary forms before heading into the actual shop. The kids seemed excited about looking at the jewelry, and happy about getting ice cream. The subway was very hot and crowded, but everything went fine until we stepped in to The Jewelry Gallery and I told the girl I wanted my nose pierced.
When she asked for my ID, I realized that, like an idiot, I'd left my passport at home. I didn't have a driver's license (I know, super lame but driving scares me) and my student ID from sophomore year wasn't good enough. It looked pretty crappy anyways. Nothing can compare to the shame I felt - I begged my mom to drive the ID over, but she was busy and couldn't. It would take at least two hours to get to my house and back on the subway, and we had guests coming over. Ordinarily, I would have sucked it up and gone home but Anne was leaving the next day and I really wanted her to be there -we'd talked about this experience so much! But there was nothing to be done. It was actually reassuring that Chameleon wouldn't accept a phone-in from my mom or a faxed copy of my passport - I knew that the shop was safe and clean. The people were all very nice about it, even though I was very embarrassed. I resolved to come back the next day - I wanted the piercing so badly!
Fast forward to Thursday, I had a doctor's appointment in the morning, and then met another friend, Daphne, in Harvard Square to get the piercing. I definitely had ID this time. I walked in, told the girl (I'm pretty sure it was the same one as the previous day) what I wanted done and studied the options for piercing jewelry. While my ID was copied, I picked out a simple nostril screw with a clear gem in a claw-type setting. I paid, and was wished "Happy Birthday" by everyone in the jewelry store. It was time to pierce, and I was nervous. I indicated on the form that I had no metal allergies or other health conditions, etc etc, and headed across the hall.
My only other piercing experiences had been with guns. Four lobes and one helix (I know, I know, bad call). I was pretty much a piercing virgin, and pretty naive. Again, I was reassured when I met the piercer, Erin, who also said "Happy Birthday!" before telling me a little about herself. It was good to hear that she worked as a nurse in the ER! She showed me that everything was sterilized and put on gloves before marking a spot on my nose. I hadn't completely decided on which side, and asked her which one she thought would look better. I'd read on the Chameleon website that Erin had ten years+ of piercing experience, so I felt pretty confident in her advice. She told me that my nose was "perfect" for a nostril piercing and that it was totally straight - either side would look good. I decided on the right side, and I must say I've been totally happy with that choice and never regretted it.
Erin cleaned my nose, inside and out, which was a little gross because she stuck a cotton swab up there, but it wasn't so bad. She then instructed me to take a deep breath in and out (no clamps!) and . . . I'm sure you know the drill. In went the needle, and just as I was thinking OUCH (kind of a sharp pinching sensation), it was over and the screw was it! I told Daphne that I was proud she hadn't fainted (she hates needles), but Erin thought that I was saying I was going to faint and told me to lie down on the table! I clarified things and pocketed the sheet on aftercare she gave me. My family is obsessed with H20 Ocean Spray, so I knew I'd have a huge supply available for cleaning. I thanked Erin a million times and headed off to show my boyfriend the new hole in my face.
I cleaned the piercing at least twice a day and it healed perfectly, with no complications. The location is also perfect - I love it. My mom actually said to me "Oh, I hardly even notice it anymore," which needless to say I was pleased about. I pierced (rather, Erin did) my navel about a week ago, and she's almost over that one too.
I do take the jewelry out to clean it, especially after wearing makeup or exercising, but so far I'm happy with the original jewelry and haven't worn any other. I did have some trouble putting the nose screw back in one time. It was random because I'd been getting it right for weeks and suddenly I couldn't get it in! I was a little paranoid that the hole would close (not a legitimate fear, it had been a few months and a couple hours wouldn't kill me) and dashed off the Chameleon, embarrassed once again but eager to avoid infection. Another piercer, Owen, bent the screw so it was a little easier to twirl in and told me not to worry, this actually happened rather frequently. Other than that little incident, everything has gone amazingly and I love my piercing just as much six months later. I've gotten lots of compliments (I'll try and get some pictures up, if anyone is interested), and I definitely HIGHLY recommend both this piercing and Chameleon Tattoo and Body Piercing. Next up is a story about my navel trials and tribulations (everything is fine now, just a little mishap) and my devilish gun-pierced helix.
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed my somewhat long-winded story and that you'll contact me with any questions. Happy piercing and tattooing!