This was, by far, one of my most anticipated piercings. Every other piercing, I've always just done it, without any thought, planning, preparation, or concern. I'd just wake up one afternoon, look in the mirror, realize something was missing, and 2 minutes later, I'd have a new ring. But not with this one! I actually thought about it for a full 2 weeks beforehand. Those two weeks were the most confusing of my life, honestly. One minute, I was all for the piercing, the next, I was rethinking it. And just when I'd convinced myself it was a good idea, something would come up and I'd talk myself out of it again.
At A Glance Author Synner Contact Synner@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist Me Studio My Apartment Location West Lafayette Well, after about two weeks of fighting with myself, I'd researched enough and convinced myself that I didn't care what I thought, I was going to do it. So it's off to the shop for a new needle and some jewelry...I used a 14 gauge straight bar first, but it was changed to a 16 gauge curved bar rather quickly. Anyway, back to the piercing. So there I am, standing in the bathroom of my apartment, looking in the mirror...and I chicken out. I walked out, told myself "No way" and sat down. That lasted a full five seconds. Beyond that, it was just "Hey, let's go pierce!"
Of all the piercings I've done, this was one of the least painful....even less painful than the outer eyebrows. The needle slid through without a problem, and came out perfectly. Getting the spike onto the straight bar was awkward at best, but it was eventually on. I took a deep breath, wiped off the blood, and went into the living room for the first reactions...which weren't good. My roommates were all concerned with the redness, despite the fact that the piercing was less than 2 minutes old, and told me it looked infected. I told them there was barely enough time for bacteria to grow, and to give it a few days. They agreed, and said despite the redness, it looked good...and I was happy.
Now, across the hall for a female opinion....Let me say that there's nothing quite like being shot down without even hitting on someone. The girls opened the door, and at first, didn't notice, just invited me in for a drink, as they usually do. I come inside, tell them I can't drink, I've got a fresh piercing...pull the hair aside a little, show it off, and find out that not only do they hate facial piercings other than earlobes, but they think this one looks HORRIBLE. I was crushed...until I realized I didn't care what people thought. Again, I was happy.
The next morning, I had completely forgotten it was in...getting dressed was an accomplishment after the pain subsided. I almost considered walking around campus without a shirt just to avoid another snag. But the 40-degree early fall weather convinced me otherwise, and I was on my way out the door, shirt and all....and the looks began. I swear, EVERYBODY ON CAMPUS noticed. People were stopping and staring, turning around and walking backwards, everything, not even attempting to hide the fact that they can't take their eyes off me. People would walk up and ask if it hurt, or where I got it done, then comment on the fact that "It must've hurt, I could never do something like that." Occasionally there was the odd person who didn't like it, but for the most part, it was generally the big thing around campus...and again, I was happy. I think most of the negative reactions were professors, thinking that kids were going overboard with piercings these days...if only they knew.
The healing process for this piercing was rather quick, even for me. Usually I'll heal a piercing within a month to the point that I can leave it out for a full-day's work. This one was fully healed within 3 weeks, with almost no aftercare (I got lazy after the first few days). There was no infection, no redness, no crust around the piercing, nothing, just a fresh, healed hole. By this time, the 16 gauge was already in, and it was nowhere near as noticeable...so I went out to get some longer spikes for it. $20 later, new curved spikes are in, and it's back to day one, everyone's noticing again. Again, mostly good reactions, but I think this time, someone actually called me a Devil Worshipper. I smiled, said "God Bless (though I'm Wiccan, just thought I'd mess with them)" and went on with my day. The campus "freaks" were noticing me more and more, and making an effort to talk to me...and I was happy. I felt complete, I'd actually found a social clique that I could associate with. New friends from a piercing, it can't get much better!
I plan on doing this again sometime soon....I'm going for full facial symmetry, so I'll have to do this and 2 more lobe piercings. I can't wait to get a new needle and do this again; I loved every second of it!
...Well, there were a few seconds involving a t-shirt that didn't feel so great. Other than that, though, for anybody without an inner-eyebrow piercing, GET ONE! Although, I must suggest, get it done professionally unless you're REALLY comfortable with sharp objects near your eyeball. I was more than a bit nervous...you're probably better off seeing a professional.