Four days ago , one of my best friends killed himself . I was devasted , but kept on telling myself to be strong and move over . That was as a good moment as any to get my cheek piercing .
At A Glance Author InkKing Contact c_scala@rocketmail.com IAM InkKing When It just happened Artist Manu and Anna Studio Il Negozino Location Siena , Italy My friend had suggested it some time ago and it felt right to do it : it would have been my way to remember his idea and , although I didn't need a piercing to keep him always in my mind , the stud would have been like a companion , there with me night and day .
The piercing itself went smoothly . Being a piercer myself , I discussed technique and placement with Manu , the girl who has done many of my mods and we agreed to go freehand and with clamps only .
I have a rather high pain tolerance , but I like to know what to expect . When she told me that this would have hurt more than the labret and more than the Madonna , I was ready to be punched in the face by the fat needle . I admit I was nervous , but tried my best to relax and make myself let go in Manu's professional hands .
Nothing happened . No pain at all , just a little pinch . At this point I felt like I was melting inside , relieved it was over and excited for the new piercing . Moreover , the adrenaline kept pumping into my bloodstream forever .
After a quick goodbye chat , I thanked Manu and went home . In my room I put on "These are the days of our lives" by the Queen and cried a river of tears . All the tension , all the grief over my friend's death exploded after the cathartic power of the needle had kicked in . I wanted to scream but I sang –oh my , not a good look, with the piercing and my tremulous voice- instead .
The piercing had been fine until this morning : the stud , a labret stud, long but not long enough , was obviously too short . It was clear the moment I had it in my cheek for the first time that we should have used a tongue barbell instead , but couldn't do anything about it then .
As Manu had suggested , I waited to see what would have happened . She didn't have anything longer of the gauge of my stud , so tapering was to be needed .
Tapering a fresh piercing is always a no-no , I know (don't try this yourself unless you really,really have to) but this morning I decided to take the risk anyway . Due to excess laughing (what the hell was I laughing at ?) my cheek had got sore and swollen and I had begun to experience some mild to medium disconfort .
I phoned my studio and Manu's friend , Anna , another piercer , told me to come in .
She agreed with me to try and stretch the hole to insert a longer barbell , otherwise the piercing would have got only worse with time . Anna also suggested a Teflon barbell because it's more "elastic" than steel and it would have healed fasted and felt better in a part of my body that's under constant pressure –eating, talking , laughing , of course ...
Manu wasn't in so Anna had to do it : she decided to use the usual piercing needle and push it in my hole,then insert the barbell through it .
She unwrapped it and pushed it in. No success . Pain was beginning .
She tried again , with the help of some Vaseline . It began to enter . More pressure ,but not much more , and I felt it coming inside , going through and past layers of thick, swollen skin . This hurt far more than the piercing itself . This was a bitch compared to it .
But it was over quickly and the barbell was in .
It got more swollen on the way home , but now , after three hours , an Aulin and some ice-cream I can already talk properly and eat fairly well – i.e without having more food on my chin than in my mouth - .
I still can't smile , though . This piercing it's a metaphor of my inner feelings : the pain hasn't vanished , it is still here with me , anytime , but I'm finding ways to cope with it . My smile is more a distort grin , but it will heal . Time cures everything , but memories never fade . Nor do scars , or piercings , either .