This is the terrible story of my bridge piercing. It actually took me awhile to submit this because I was kind of embarrassed that I'd gone through with the piercing despite the giant, flashing, neon warning signs. And granted, mine turned out ok...well, sort of ok, but this is still a story of warning. Go to a good piercer, seriously!
At A Glance Author lordhumongous666 Contact lordhumongous666@bme.anon When Six months ago Artist don't remember his name Studio Forbidden Arts Location New Orleans, LA So my bridge was my second piercing. I was in sort of a weird mood that day, so I took off without telling anyone and went to read in the park. After a few hours (and falling asleep on a park bench only to wake up to concerned joggers staring at me), I decided to catch the streetcar downtown to get a cup of coffee. I ended up at the now-dead downtown Zotz and continued to read, but something was creeping up on me. I could get my bridge pierced, I thought. I only had thirty-five dollars on me, but I decided that I could at least check out some places and see what their prices looked like.
I was only a few blocks away from Electric Ladyland, so I headed there to inquire about getting my bridge pierced. It turned out that their piercer was gone that day. I was disappointed, but I had not lost hope. The more I thought about the idea, the more I realized that I really, really wanted my bridge pierced, and I knew of another place not too far away: Forbidden Arts.
I had gotten my lip pierced at Forbidden Arts, and the guy there had done a decent job, though he definitely lacked bedside manner, or really, any sort of warmth at all. But what the hell, I thought, let's do this today. When I arrived at Forbidden Arts, I discovered that the old piercer had been fired, but the owner would be perfectly willing to pierce my bridge for $30, an amazing price, I thought at the time. I asked to see a portfolio, but was told that he had just moved from Alabama and his portfolio hadn't been moved yet. Alright, I thought, fair enough. So I asked if he'd had any experience with bridges. 'Oh, sure,' I was told. 'I've done millions.'
Dubious, I followed him to the piercing room. He had me sit down, and cleaned my bridge with an alcohol wipe. Then he handed me a Bic pen. Understandably, I was a bit confused. 'Go ahead and mark it where you want it,' he told me. Then he says something about making sure his customers walk out with exactly the piercing they want. What the fuck?! First of all, it's not really my job to mark the piercing, and secondly, I think it would be a little difficult to mark my own bridge piercing, being as it is in the middle of my face. I handed him the pen and told him to mark it, and I would check it. So he marked it, I checked it, and was satisfied it was reasonably straight.
Then it was time to pierce. He clamped my bridge, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and the needle was through. All of a sudden I hear, 'Fuck!' Apparently someone had handed him the wrong size of needle for the jewelry. So it had to be pierced again. It didn't really hurt that badly, but I was a little pissed, understandably. Not to mention that this guy was seriously unprofessional. He asked me if I was attracted to women, remarking that his girlfriend was too. It was seriously creepy.
At that point, I finally got to see my new piercing. It would have looked pretty good if not for the fact that it was tilted at some odd angle. It was real crooked. But at this point, I was so ready to get out of the shop that I was like, whatever. It's fine. Thank god he only charged me thirty bucks, otherwise I would have been a little more upset. He gave me no aftercare instructions whatsoever. Didn't even mention it. Luckily I knew what to do, and started sea salt soaks on my poor, abused bridge. Considering the trauma and crookedness of the original piercing, it healed really well. Maybe this is a little unusual, but it actually healed almost perfectly straight. The only problem I have with it now is flaky skin around the piercing, but some emu oil that I got from another piercer clears it right up. Surprisingly, it hasn't rejected, but I still wouldn't call it healed, it definitely has some crusties still. I ended up being pretty pleased with the way it looks with my face, and at this point I think I'll really miss it when I have to take it out.
So that's the horror story of my bridge, and I definitely learned something from it. For my next piercings (vertical hood, nipples) I went to Elayne Angel at Rings of Desire, and couldn't have been more pleased with her work. I absolutely learned the importance of quality regarding who you choose to pierce you, and realize now that it's worth it to pay a little more for a great piercing and a pleasant experience.