| At A Glance | |
| Author | Kris |
| Contact | Kris@bme.anon |
| When | It just happened |
| Artist | DJ |
| Studio | Alternative Connection |
| Location | Melbourne, FL |
I've spent the last month at my parents' here in my hometown of Melbourne, Florida for the winter break; after moving to Madison Wisconsin over the summer, I wanted the warmth. :) I decided to get my eyebrow done while I was home, figuring if I force my parents to allow it and see it, then maybe it'll help them be a little more open-minded about it. They weren't going to stop me - they just think the idea of sticking needles through your body is gross. Not their fault, just the way they were raised, and while I respect that - I did wait three years to get these done because I wasn't going to do that while they were still feeding me and giving me all the money I had - at this point, it's time to be my own person and just do it in a way that won't disturb them too terribly, but without hiding it from them entirely - if that makes sense.
So - I asked around and nobody really knew much about any of the places in town. (The few friends I have left here are of the decidedly not-pierced persuasion.) I knew the Alternative Connections store had been around for ages, and knew some people had done their eyebrows there with no problem, so I went - well, my mom drove me (I hate not having a car down here, and I'm not on my parents' cars' insurance!). A bit embarrassing to drag Mommy with me, but I love her, so I didn't care. She said as long as she didn't have to watch, she'd take me. ;)
So I got there, and I was a little close to closing, but the guy said he'd do it - last one of the day - yay! Filled out the forms, went over aftercare, yada yada. Picked out my jewelry - a 14ga SS curved barbell. Plain polish, with two teal/blue balls. Internally threaded, which made me quite happy to see.
Back to the room we went... I was trying sooo hard not to show that I was nervous! *grins* The guy was cool, joking around, which of course puts anyone at ease a little more. I basically just adopted the mindset of "quit trying to anticipate, just go with it!" I had originally imagined myself with it near the end, but in trying placements, he tried it a little further towards the center, and I thought it looked really neat. So, I said to do it there. I only have one life, right? May as well live it up.
Measure - mark - swab - clamps - needle. It was about as exciting as that. Of course having a needle stuck through any part of your body stings a bit, but that was about it. I really couldn't tell what he was doing, but eventually the jewelry was in (I didn't feel any other particularly sharp pain, just the dull ache of having stuff stuck through your flesh). Unfortunately, the dumb little bead did NOT want to screw in correctly, and it took a good 10 minutes of fussing with it to get it to screw in properly. As a result, it was a little swollen and tender for about an hour afterwards, but not that big of a deal. And I loved the placement! It gives my left eyebrow an appearance of more arch, giving me a permanently cynically amused expression. Which is absolutely perfect, considering my personality. *grin*
And that was it! I paid ($56), gave him a $10 tip, and we left. My mom refused to look at it at all last night. My dad just looked, amused, and said "I'm just not gonna comment." (I don't care if he sees me as a silly kid, as long as he's not mad!) I washed it, did my first sea salt soak (wow... does that ever make it feel better), and went to bed.
First lesson upon waking up - my habit of rubbing my face and eyes when I first wake up is going to be broken REALLY quickly. *grins* Except for my rubbing it pretty hard this morning, there's been absolutely no pain - not even a pressure sensation - this and it's not swollen or red at all. My mom finally looked at it and said it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. Pretty much everyone who's seen the photo liked it, although I've gotten a few "It's different..." about the placement, which pretty much means "I don't like it, but I'm not going to be mean about it." Oh well. :) I love it, and that's what counts.
I don't see any reason not to recommend doing it if you want it. The pain's minimal, and although it's a bit of an awkward place to soak and stuff, if you're diligent about caring for it, then go for it. It looks good! And don't be afraid to position it wherever you want - even more towards the center it didn't hurt.
