Well, it started out much the same as my double lip piercing: spontaneous and impulsive. I walked in to PIE after deciding to get my cheeks done within the sixty minutes. The first two piercings I got, centered lip and centered tongue(both taken out), I got nauseous afterwards because I hadn't eaten anything. Much the same as the other piercings I've gotten afterwards, I made sure to eat something before hand, something with lots of sugar to send my sugar levels through the roof.
At A Glance Author Jon Contact midian_16@hotmail.com When It just happened Artist Matt Cottrell Studio Planet Ink Extreme Location Ottawa, Ontario, Canada The guy who usually does my piercings, Josh, wasn't in that day so Matt was the one who did them. It was rather humorous how it happened. I walked in, said hi, they asked what I was up to. My reply was poking both cheeks and telling them that I wanted to get my cheeks done. Some guy who tattoo's their and Matt's eyes went wide with surprise(I still wonder why. My assumption is that not many males get cheek piercings, let alone too many people in general, especially in Ottawa). As he was getting the form to fill out, he put a condition to piercing my cheeks.
"You have to do something for me if I pierce your cheeks. You have to go to the other store and get pictures taken." By the other store, he meant Planet Ink itself. Planet Ink Extreme is another store they opened up down the street, basically. I had no problems with that, so I agreed.
Matt took off behind the curtain after letting me know he was going to be a few minutes setting up. It was fairly early in the day, so it wasn't busy at all. Anyway, Matt came out and motioned me in. One thing that I've always loved about getting pierced is that I always feel calm before, I rarely ever get nervous or anxious. It's almost as if I zone out and "come to" after it's done.
"One thing I hate is when piercers rush to get it over with to try to look more 'professional'"
"It's not how fast you get it over with, it's the outcome that matters. If anything, rushing is a sign of inexperience." Matt agreed and proceeded with cleaning my cheeks, checking the where my muscles were and marking them.
Matt had me sit up for both of them. He marked where he suggested they go and had me take a look at them. I noticed that one was higher then the other, so he fixed them up a few times to make sure they were straight and even.
Every time I thought about getting cheeks pierced before, it always brought a sense of lots of pain rushing to each cheek. He clamped it farther back than the mark and pulled the clamp along my cheek to meet the holes. I had never thought of that before, but I would imagine it would make the skin stretch the slightest bit more, therefor making the needle hit the spot intended a higher likelihood.
"Are you a 'one, two, three' or a "go ahead and get it over with' type of person?"
"Neither, really. So long as I know when the needle's going through, I'm fine."
"Alright. Ready?" I nodded slightly.
With all the anticipation that I'd be in agony, I barely felt a thing. I felt more when i got my lip done. The first one was over and i was hoping the second would be like the first. He clamped the other one and proceeded as usual.
"Ready?" And in the needle went. To my delight, it was the exact same sensation: little pain whatsoever. Matt stepped back a bit and smiled.
"I'm impressed at how symmetrical they are." I couldn't agree more with him at all. I didn't feel nauseous or anything, and I was off to PI about five minutes after they were done. After that, off to Shoppers Drug Mart to buy extra strength Advil I went.
It was amazing. A day and a half after having my cheeks pierced, they haven't swelled at all. My guess is it's either how they're pierced or the extra strength Advil. I went back to talk to Josh the next day(Matt wasn't in) to have him check on them. He said that if they haven't swollen yet, then they probably won't swell at all, and little if any. I was shocked.
Not only am I impressed with how they turned out, but I'm impressed with the work that Matt does. Though Josh is my usual piercer, I've had work done by all three piercers at PIE and the one that's turned out the best so far have been my cheeks.
I've plans that aren't engraved in stone yet to get my nape pierced too. To my luck, Matt's the only one who does any sort of surface piercings at Planet Ink. As well, I've plans that are engraved in stone to get my venoms pierced on my birthday(later in the summer).
If I was to suggest a place to go to get pierced in Ottawa, it'd be Planet Ink/Planet Ink Extreme. In suggesting this, I suppose I should support this with a reason why:
Because they're good at what they do, they know what they're doing, and they know how to do it properly.
If there's anything I can suggest to people who're getting their cheeks pierced:
1) Get extra strength Advil and DON'T follow the directions to take one every three hours and never exceed three within 24 hours. Take about two every three hours at least, depending on the pain and the swelling. If they start to hurt and it's been within three hours and you can't stand it, pop one and try to wait the extra hour before taking another two.
2) I didn't do this because I haven't the money to do it at the moment, but it was suggested that I double my intake of Vitamin C. That means instead of 500mg, take 1000mg. Since cheek piercings are facial piercings that include part of your mouth, orange juice may sting and irritate your piercing. Your only other solution to this if this is a method of aftercare you wish to use: take supplement.
3) MAKE SURE YOU GET SOMEONE TO DO IT WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY'RE DOING! In your cheeks, you have muscles around your mouth and close to where your jaw meets your ear. You've about an inch and a half of muscle free tissue between there. If you get your cheeks done in places where you've muscles, be prepared for some pain. Make sure you know what you're getting pierced, where it's going to go through and WHAT it's going to go through as well.