I've been wanting to get my eyebrow done ever since I first knew you could even pierce an eyebrow. My parents always said no (as most parents of pre-teens do.) So, I sucked it up and waited the 5 or so years to my 18th birthday. I talked a couple of my friends into giving me cash so I could get it done, since there wasn't anything else that I really wanted (besides an engagement ring, which I got as well.) Somehow I convinced them, and with cash in hand, my adventure began.
At A Glance Author Emy Contact Emy@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Chris? Studio Shrap Metal Piercing Location Colorado Springs, CO At first I was a little bit overwhelmed at the thought that I could actually do it. I took a week to do some research (which I guess I should have done awhile ago,) to find more out about the procedure and possible complications, as well as information on studios in my area (and there are a LOT of them). I compiled a list of decent studios around town and enlisted my buddy Mike's help (since he was paying for half of it, he wanted to watch me do it) in checking them out. I think we went to 4 studios (2 of which were closed) before we made it to Shrap Metal Piercing.
I hadn't planned on getting it done on the same day, but I felt pretty comfortable with the studio, so I went ahead and signed the papers. I was led into the back room by a really nice guy, I'm pretty sure his name is Chris. Mike was laughing because he couldn't believe I was actually going to do it, but very shyly followed me into the room and stood right next to the door while I sat on the "bed" and Chris got all the new things out and set them on a tray.
I watched out of the corner of my eye as Chris cleaned the right side and marked it for me. I double-checked it in the mirror, to make sure it looked good, which it did. I was getting pretty nervous at this point. I haven't gotten anything else done since I was five, when my mom took me to the mall to get my ears pierced. That didn't end well, so I was pretty worried about what was going to happen to my eyebrow, even though I knew the needle was so much more precise than the stupid piercing gun the person at the mall had mauled my earlobes with. He clamped it off, and pulled the needle out of its pouch. I started shaking as I watched him. He told me to take a deep breath and to relax, and as I released he shoved the needle through. I cringed a little bit, but I'm pretty sure Mike jumped worse (he was behind me, still at the door.) It didn't hurt nearly as much as I thought it would have, so that was a huge relief.
The worst pain was when Chris put the barbell in. I forgot to ask what kind of jewelry it was (he told me later, a 16g curved barbell) so I was surprised, I had originally wanted a ring. He asked if it hurt, which it obviously did, but I told him I'd had IVs put in that have hurt worse. We compared stories, and he told us about when he worked as an paramedic, and all the weird places he's had to start IVs. Meanwhile, my eyebrow was done and my nerves were calming down.
I got up and stared in the mirror while Chris printed out an aftercare sheet/receipt for me. Mike was still freaked out about the whole thing, and he kept explaining to me how weird it looked when the clamps were on. Hahaha... Chris went over the aftercare instructions as I payed him, and he said to stop by if I had any problems or if I wanted anything else done. I thanked him profusely and we left.
The first few days it was really sore and itchy, but I resisted the urge to touch it. The worst thing I did was, right after I got home from getting it done, my purse strap caught it and I thought for sure I'd ripped it out, because it felt like I had. Thank God I didn't! I cleaned it religiously for the first two weeks, until it didn't hurt when I moved the bar around. I'm still going to wait another month before I change the jewelry.
It's been 3 weeks and I haven't had any problems (except for that first day). Mike still comments about how weird it was to watch somebody jam a needle through my skin, but everybody else just says it looks really nice. I'm really glad I got the barbell, because I can't imagine how much trouble I'd have with a ring getting stuck on everything! The barbell is bad enough. Still, it's the best birthday present I've ever given myself.
Next year: an industrial.