Earlier this summer, I really wanted to get my nose pierced. I had quite a few ear piercings, and my naval, and I thought that a nose ring would look cute, so I decided to get one. However, I was in a wedding in July, and I knew that the bride wouldn't appreciate a facial piercing, so I decided to wait.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist Seth Studio Area 51 Location Crystal Lake, IL
Well, it's a good thing I did wait, because I ended up deciding against a nose ring, and opted instead to get my eyebrow done. At the time, what I really wanted to do was pierce my lip, but I was living with my mom for the summer, and she definitely would not have appreciated the lip ring. In fact, she threatened to kick me out if I did get my lip pierced, so I compromised with her and got my eyebrow pierced instead.
So, just a few days after that wedding, I went to get my eyebrow pierced. I went to the same place where I had gotten my cartilage pierced a few months earlier, because they were well-priced, and did a very good job. I was also happy to see that I was going to get the same piercer as before, because I thought that he had done a wonderful job, and was also incredibly nice and friendly.
I didn't have to wait very long in the waiting room, because it was around noon on a Thursday or Friday, which is not exactly prime time for people to get piercings and tattoos. I filled out a short form (I've noticed that most piercing places have just about the same form, with contact information and a release that says you won't hold them liable for problems, etc.), gave them my driver's license to make a copy of, and gave them my $40. (I really think that just about everywhere you go will make you pay in advance so you don't chicken out, which is probably a very good idea!)
I went with a friend, and Seth (my piercer) let him come back with me while he did the piercing. I wasn't really scared, and there was no way I was going to back out, but after I sat in the chair, I got a little nervous. I had been told that eyebrow piercings weren't bad at all, but when I started to really analyze it, I decided that a needle going through my eyebrow might not be the most pleasant experience in the world. So, while Seth was setting up, I started asking him how much it was going to hurt, etc.
"Well, umm, how does it compare to my belly-button, or cartilage pierces?" He assured me that it was nothing compared to either of those, and I would be fine. After he had everything ready, he made the mark where the piercing would be, and I liked it, and told him to go for it. He put the clamp on next (which, I have found with just about every piercing I have gotten, hurts more than the needle), which did pinch, then had me take a deep breath, and pierced it.
The procedure was, as I had been told, relatively painless, as far as piercings go. It was very quick, and there isn't a whole lot of skin to go through there, so it was a much easier experience than I had expected.
Because I have a kind of small face, he pierced my eyebrow with an 18g ring, which looks good on me, but it is hard to find barbells to put in, because most eyebrow piercings are 16g. But, in addition to the piercing process itself going really well, it healed wonderfully. The only problem that I had was when I got a little bit of makeup into it, but after cleaning it out with ear-cleaning solution (which I was told to use), it got better almost immediately.
I know that many people have problems with eyebrow rings migrating, and I haven't had mine long enough to tell if it is going to migrate or not, but I love it, and if I do have to take it out, will probably get it redone as soon as possible. It's very low-maintenance (you just have to clean and rotate it a few times a day), and like I said, it's very cute. Another great thing about eyebrow rings is that, while you can still express yourself with them, they are fairly commonly accepted in the U.S. Mine hasn't kept me from getting a job, and my parents, who are very conservative when it comes to these things, didn't really mind. Though it's obviously not something that most people worry about when getting a piercing, it is nice to know that it won't prohibit you from getting a job.