At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon IAM DrLouLou When It just happened Artist Me Studio At Home Location Australia I decided that I really wanted my dimples pierced. They all looked so damned cute on other people and I needed a new piercing fix. The only trouble with my new obsession was that no piercer in my area would do them. This gave me the perfect excuse to conduct my next home-piercing. I am a fan of self-piercing for those who know what they are doing and are able to sterilise their equipment properly. I am a veterinarian so I have access to an autoclave, which makes my extra-curricular pursuits all the easier. The thought of hiding these piercings for work was bothering me but I decided that it was something I really wanted.
Once I decided I would do the piercing on myself I read up as much as I could about technique, appropriate jewellery, and aftercare. I also made myself well-aware of the risks of cheek piercing such as prolonged healing times, puncture of the parotid salivary gland or its ducts, infection, scarring and so forth. Given my good understanding of anatomy and physiology I felt that I was fully prepared to avoid common traps for young-players. The main issue regarding the cheek piercing is the swelling that occurs post-puncture. The piercing will swell considerably during their first three weeks of life. It is essential that a piece of jewellery of suitable length is chosen to allow for this swelling.
I decided that I would use 16guage (1.2mm) bioplast labret stems of 30mm in length. I have pretty chubby cheeks at the best of times so thought it would be wise to allow for a chipmunk-style sequelae. I chose bioplast because I have had success with it in the past with previous piercings. I also love the fact that the stems can be trimmed down as the swelling subsides.
I did the job this afternoon – it is a quite Sunday evening and my partner was having a nap so there was no-one to disturb me. I arranged my autoclave packets containing two16 gauge needles, a Pennington clamp, and a sterile surgical marker. Once everything I needed was layed out, I applied a dab of emla cream to each dimple. Yes, a cowardly action, but on all my self-piercings I apply emla to dull a portion of the pain so that I can maintain alignment of the piercing and not flinch. I knew the anaesthetic cream would only dull the very outside of my skin, but I was happy about this because I was keen to experience the sensation that so many cheek-piercee's describe – the needle travelling through the layers of the cheek tissue.
I waited 30 minutes for the cream to take effect then cleaned my cheeks. I proceeded to mark-up the position of my soon-to-be dimples. I used my thumb and forefinger to gauge the position of the thinnest portion of my cheek just behind the Orbicularis oris which is the muscle which completely circles the mouth. I checked on the inside of my mouth that there were no major vessels or salivary papillae (which are the little lumps where saliva leaks). I dotted each cheek.
Next was the skin prep. I cleansed the skin first with chlorhexidine detergent, rinsed then applied a spray of 70% alcohol. I opened my autoclave bags and proceeded to glove up.
Clamping my right cheek first I made sure my dot was in the centre. The clamping was not at all painful compared to past piercings. I assume this is due to all the padding in my cheeks! I pulled my cheek to the right with the clamp so that the clamp was sitting 90 degrees to the cheek. I lifted the first 16 gauge needles and placed the point of the needle at the top of the dot like I'd been taught. This ensures that the needle slices through the dot and not above or below it. I could feel the tip of the needle against my skin, I took a deep breath and then pushed the needle calmly through my cheek at 90 degrees to the clamp. Indeed, I could feel the needle travelling through every millimetre of my tissue but it didn't hurt at all. The feeling resembled a firm pressure held over the area.
Once the needle was through to the inside of my mouth, I threaded the bioplast stem into the needle and pulled it out the way it came.
I repeated the procedure on the other side of my face until I resembled a catfish with 2 great big whiskers sticking out of my visage. Very unattractive but I was filled with pride at having accomplished quite a scary piercing. I was enjoying my little high.
I trimmed down the stems by a little and applied an o-ring over each. I figured that I could easily adjust the o-ring depending on swelling and comfort. I am going to be at home for the next 4 days so figured I wouldn't bother screwing balls on the end until I needed to and my piercing was more comfortable. I can't wait till I can trim these suckers down and wear some gorgeous gemmed balls in my new dimples.
Again the thought of work is bothering me. How to hide such an obvious piercing? Especially one that entails a lot of swelling... hmm...Clear acrylic 3mm balls will have to do.
I shall now try and concentrate on intensive aftercare involving ice-packs, ibuprofen and saline soaks. Wish me luck!