Three years ago, when I was only 13, and in middle school, I was very anxious to have my eyebrow pierced. Though my mother consented without a problem and little-to-no argument, we could not find a shop, at the time, who would pierce a 13 year old, even with a parents' consent.
At A Glance Author anonymous When N/A
Since I was naive, and wanted to be the 'first girl at my school to have an eyebrow ring!', I was careless about how and where I had my eyebrow pierced, as long as it was done as soon as possible.
My sister's boyfriend, Mark -who I thought to have some credibility, because he had safely pierced his own ears multiple times, and mine, too- seemed like a decent enough choice for a piercer.
Though my mother was unsure of how hygienic the procedure would be, I pressed her into saying "yes" to our at-home piercing by acting very calm and sure about the process, and putting her at ease by behaving as though it was a totally safe and typical thing to be doing.
Because Mark, my mom, and I were all ignorant about what type of jewelry to use, we ended up purchasing what looked like CBRs at a store in the mall.
We set up shop in the bathroom. Mark wore sterile gloves, we soaked the jewelry in peroxide, and I believe he used a safety pin to do the actual piercing. It may have been a straight-pin. Regardless, it was sturdy and as sterile as we could manage.
Although I was nervous, I was also extremely giddy, thinking about how surprised everyone at school would be, to see me with a piercing!
We decided to mark my eyebrow with liquid eyeliner, and after finding what seemed to be the best position for the piercing, Mark pinched the skin and pushed the needle through.
I felt absolutely nothing, and I was very happy to have the actual puncturing over with.
It turned out that the jewelry we bought was quite cheap. Nothing more, really, than wire with a pink, blue, or green ball at the end. It was pulled open and then pushed closed. Because of this, and the amateur nature of the piercing, putting the jewelry in was pretty uncomfortable.
Over the next few days, I kept the piercing very clean, but I was ignorant enough to allow people to touch it, and in defiance from when I was told that it was a 'clip-on' by girls at school, I'd turn it and move it to prove it was a real piercing, throughout the day.
Needless to say, between the (what I now know to be) poor placement, very poor jewelry, and especially my poor habits, the piercing rejected after a month or so. It swelled a bit and had a lot of redness and discharge.
I was extremely upset about the scar it left. At first, it only looked like a pimple. But when it didn't go away, I had a lot of remorse about the piercing. At the first sign of infection, I should have removed the jewelry and allowed the skin to heal, leaving only a small scar that would have looked like two dots. But, because Mark, my mom, and I were so naive, I kept the jewelry in until nothing more than a scab was holding the ring in- the scar ended up turning into a crater. I think it was pretty traumatizing for me to see the piercing turn into a red bump, then a red scab, and then into a crater. It scared me to see my face look injured.
I was, in no way, old enough to make a decision, like having my eyebrow pierced, for myself. Despite my protests at the time, I only wanted the piercing to get a reaction from others. Because I knew my motives were wrong, I felt pretty guilty about the scar and I was upset with myself. I've always had clear skin and I was unfamiliar with scars and blemishes. I was overwhelmed by the permanence of a scar, especially on my face, and so pronounced.
Now, years later, I can really see the error of my ways, as far as that first home-piercing-ordeal goes, and hopefully any young girl reading this can spot the errors as well.
The most important part of getting pierced is to have proper motivation for your piercings. As I get older, I am having piercings done for the right reason, and I do not feel regret about any of the scars or problems I run into with healing- it is a totally different experience when you really understand the process and the potential outcome, and you are getting things done because you want them to be part of your body, not to impress or shock others.