"Between your *eyes*? Wouldn't that *hurt*?"
At A Glance Author Jess(ie) Contact inhuman_perversion@hotmail.com When Six months ago Artist Aaron Studio Tribal Ways (on Mass Ave) Location Boston, MA And thus, fueled by other people's doubts and the fact that this would really piss my parents off, I had come to the decision that my next piercing should definitely be the nose bridge.
After tossing and turning it over in my mind for a couple of weeks, I finally decided on a date and a nearby place (Tribal Ways on Mass Ave). I gave them a call and set up an appointment.
I, of course, did my research. The stories on BME were mostly comforting, up until the morning I was going to get pierced, when I managed to find all sorts of scary information. I began to worry about things such as bad placement, migration, rejection, bad scarring... things that didn't even cross my mind before because I was so excited.
But, I decided to go through with it anyway. Ya only live once.
Went with an entire group of friends (I think there were six of us), and the Tribal Ways people were kind of surprised that I was the only one getting pierced. I laughed, said "I need moral support?" and then held out the money for them. Steven (I think) sat me down and told me about the procedure and the aftercare instructions. His entire speech made me trust these guys more, and I felt better. And then, after about ten minutes, I was ready.
Walked into the room with my friend Will(iam), while everyone else waited outside. Once in, I sat down in the chair and that's when I started getting extremely nervous. Aaron spent about five minutes just sizing out things. He then applied the clamp (which actually hurt, I'll admit), and said we were all set. According to Will, this was the point where I started cutting off the circulation in his hand. Aaron told me to close my eyes and take a deep breath and I thought, "Here we go...".
It was over as soon as it started. No pain that I can remember, minimal bleeding, and absolutely perfect placement. I didn't open my eyes until the barbell was in and Aaron told me it was over. Looked into the mirror and was incredibly happy... then was sent on my way.
I didn't go straight home -- my friends and I actually went to Bed, Bath & Beyond directly afterward, because they needed to shop for something. In retrospect, it was a really bad idea to go shopping directly afterwards, because a huge headache had set in, and every time I kept walking by the large mirror section, I kept seeing the dried blood on the ends of the piercing. This is also the place where the strange looks from other people started.
The healing period was alright for me, albeit six months long. Did my cleaning and salt soaks on a constant basis, because I wasn't all too ready to risk an infection in the middle of my face. I didn't experience any noticeable swelling, and thankfully there was no migration or rejection. It was difficult to get used to the idea of it being there, so I'd frequently forget when, for example, I'd be drying my face with a towel. That hurt like hell. My greatest fear was waking up one morning and finding it slanted (I constantly asked my friends they were sure it wasn't crooked)... but thankfully, none of that never happened.
The only problem I encountered was about three/four months into my having it, it just randomly started to bleed again. (I figured I must've harmed it in my sleep.) I went back to Tribal Ways and they gave me good advice (extra salt soaks and Cort-Aid); in a matter of days, it was cleared up.
Generally, the biggest issue I ended up having was other people, with questions and comments such as:
No way! Is that for REAL?
Didn't that hurt?
Are you sure?
No, it must've hurt. It hurts me to look at it.
But it goes through bone, right?
Can't you *see* it?
So, in response to some of this: No, the actual piercing *usually* does not hurt. And if you're careful in avoiding it and taking good care of it, you should go by the healing period just fine, too. It's very superficial -- just goes through the flesh over the bone (i.e., I can pass my finger over my nose bridge and *feel* the bar). This can present a problem in regards to rejection/migration, since it *is* so shallow. But that also depends on body chemistry; I managed to go through it just fine. I could sort of see the ball ends (especially in direct sunlight), and it has gotten me cross-eyed on occasions, but after a while, I didn't notice it anymore.
I did get a couple of compliments, however. Apparently, this piercing isn't one that just anyone can pull off... and I suppose I have a pretty special nose bridge.
So, now my bridge is almost nine months old and I recently got the bar ends changed to little spikes. I absolutely love this piercing, because of it's uniqueness and the fact that it worked out so well... and would encourage anyone considering it to go for it. Would also highly recommend Tribal Ways for anyone living in the Boston area -- they might be more expensive than other places, but the guys there are all really nice and experienced. I trust them with all my "special" body parts. (Besides that, any questions you want to ask, feel free to contact me at my e-mail, or my AIM: mypo0rbrain.)