I had wanted to get my eyebrow pierced for some time, and seeing as how I was in college, and not under my parents' roof any longer, I decided to take the plunge.
At A Glance Author anonymous When Five years ago Artist sorry, can't remember his name; he was beautiful though! Studio someplace on Monroe Ave. that doesn't exist anymore Location rochester, ny I was home for a break, and grabbed a friend of mine to come with me. She thought I was crazy, but she was always a bit too conservative for my tastes, anyhow. So, we showed up at the piercing studio, where I picked out the size of the jewelry and all.
I picked out a fairly small, steel ring with a ball on it, and decided to place it on my right eyebrow. My choice of sides held no meaning whatsoever, I guess it just felt right.
The man who would do the piercing was quite burly, and he sat me down in what looked a lot like the chair at my dentist's office. He told me briefly how things would go down, but I wasn't paying much attention. You see, there were pictures in that little room that my 19 year old eyes had not yet imagined. Piercings that looked painful and embarrassing, some were just creepy.
Anyhow, as the burly man sat in front of me, I watched what he was doing in a mirror to my left. He marked the holes with a pen, and then got the "clamp". This, I would come to find out, hurt far more than the actual piercing itself.
He clamped this thing on my eyebrow, to keep the holes lined up, then put something through it. When I looked to the mirror, it looked like I had a bloody, miniature dagger jutting out of my eyebrow. After that, he placed the ring in, and closed it.
As soon as the clamp was removed, most of the pressure was gone, and it really didn't hurt too badly.
My friend told me I was crazy, and we left. As I walked back to the car, blood dripped down into my eye, and I wondered, "what have I done?" By the time I got home it was already looking a little puffy and very red. I tried hiding it behind my hair for a while, so my parents couldn't see it. A few days later, when my mom finally noticed, she freaked out. Luckily, I was getting ready to go back to school again anyhow. She told me I was lucky I was over 18, otherwise she would have "ripped that thing out" of my face. A mother's love, I tell you. Anyhow,I cleaned it, EXACTLY as I was told, and every time I turned it, it hurt and it got crusty and oozed frequently. But, time went on.
For a while, it seemed to be healing ok. But over time, I started to notice that the two holes (where it entered and exited my face) were getting closer and closer together. And, the slightest bump, or sleeping on it funny, would make it bleed.
Then, I got my haircut. I pointed out to my hairstylist to PLEASE be careful, my eyebrow was very sensitive, and she assured me she would. Five minutes later, paying no attention to my ringed brow, she snagged it with her comb while combing my wet hair. I screamed and everyone looked. There was blood trickling down my face slowly, but the ring was still in place. She looked back at my reflection in the mirror in horror, but silent. That stupid bitch. Needless to say, I never went back to her again.
I had spoken to the people at the piercing studio about my problems, and they insisted that I just wasn't taking care of it properly. But, I had continued to follow the directions that came with the little bottle of mystery pink liquid they gave me when I left.
Anyhow, the holes after about 6 or 7 months had gotten so close together it looked like the ring was trying to jump out of my face. Someone else I spoke with said that eyebrow piercings tend to migrate, as your body rejects the foreign object, that being the ring, of course. So, after much ado, I took it out.
A few months later, after the scar tissue had formed and the hole in my brow was gone, I tried again. This time, a gorgeous, man, whose name I can't remember, re-pierced me, behind the scar tissue, in hopes that this time it would stay.
It would only be another 4 months or so before my face started spitting out the metal again. I finally, much to my then boyfriend's pleasure, took it out. It has stayed out since. I wanted it so badly, but apparently, my body had plans of its own. I must admit, that I am nervous about trying anymore piercing again. (Perhaps I'll just stick to my tattoos.)