So here's a story about the return of the safety pin in my body modification world.
At A Glance Author ModifiedCanadian Contact iloveswingdancing@juno.com IAM modifiedcanadian When Three months ago I just can't help myself, no needles, no jewelry, and a burning desire, no, NEED, to modify.
And a complete disregard for my own safety in terms of sterilization.
Do you think I wore gloves or happened to have an autoclave lying around? Nope.
Here's how it goes. Once again, it starts with my mother being out-of-town. I've had a long, bad day at school, I'm frustrated, and all these emotions build up inside me. I'm not in the mood to cry, I gave up cutting, and so : what to do, what to do? Piercing. I've been wanting one of those for a while.
I forage through the messes in my room, nothing. But lo and behold, the bathroom drawer is once again at my service. There amongst the make-up and various hygienic items is a safety pin. Shining in the bright bathroom light, do I hear it call my name? Yes I do.
I hop up on the counter and stare at myself for a few moments, mostly just examining my face. I have my septum pierced, though with a retainer in, and that was my main goal for facial piercings. Another ear piercing? Not with a safety pin, that's just asking to get screwed up. Ah the lip, the one I've wanted second-most of all. And the one I told myself I'd never even dream of piercing it myself. That's the one I'm going to pierce, and I bet it won't be particularly pleasant.
Nothing to mark it with, it'll probably be off. I push, quickly, slowly, and I can't decide which one feels worse. Nothing unbearable, though I'm sure a professional would have made it quick and a pinch. Eventually it starts to slide through the inside of my lip. And as always, gets caught at the end and has to make it difficult. Safety pins just never want to break through the other side for me. And when it finally does, it's a strange pinching pain that feels a bit worse than the rest did. But it's over, and that's a relief.
I slip off the counter, and stand back, and lean forward. The center of my lip is now pierced. Decent, but awkward... at about a thirty degree angle. Well that's alright, nobody's perfect, it gives it... uniqueness. I like it. I smile and text my boyfriend of the new metal in my flesh.
Then I call my best friend and we decide to go out for dinner. Talking is awkward as hell, as I haven't closed the safety pin and my lip has already began to swell significantly. I was nicely surprised that the waitresses and workers at Barnhills were neither shocked nor rude towards me at any point. I acted as a lesbian with my friend, we both wore Tripp pants and all black, and heavy make-up, I had a Mohawk, and to top it off I sounded stupid and had a safety pin jutting out of my face. Now let me tell you, running into my teacher there was humorous, she freaked out a good bit. But eating was the highlight of dinnertime. Constantly pushing the safety pin into my lip and trying to hold it while eating. Eating was hard but fun, and I now appreciated how simple it was before.
Off we went to the football game. I was stared at, pointed at, and talked about. A few of my friends that the piercing was awesome and asked questions. A little girl told me her friends were afraid of me. And a female cop decided to be a bitch to me on behalf of my piercing. So I suppose reactions are something to consider when getting a piercing, if you're one to care what others think. I don't mind the attention, though I don't quite seek it either. Even with the certain disgust of some, each modification gives confidence and euphoria.
Before I went to sleep, I closed the safety pin so that it wouldn't fall out. I informed my mom, and she was neither shocked nor angry like the previous times I had pierced myself. When I woke up in the morning, the safety pin had dug into my lip and the swelling had gone up again. I chewed and sucked on ice cubes and drank cold water and took some Ibuprofen for the swelling. It helped a bit, or at least it made me feel better.
By day three, my bottom lip was two or three times it's normal size, though not too terribly noticeable like a busted lip, and not bruised or bleeding. The inside wasn't looking good. I had tried Bactine, but figured it probably wasn't best for oral piercings. My sister had taken the H2Ocean with her, so I was left with no cleaning agent. I could see dead tissue, and it didn't look very good. By nighttime the fourth day, my piercing was gone. Though the swelling was down, I feared an infection, and the limits it put upon my speaking and eating were bothersome. I looked a bit silly with a safety pin in my lip, anyhow, and if I had my tapering materials, I could have put a friend's 14 gauge ring in. But I didn't, and so I didn't feel the need to keep it in if I couldn't have something more comfortable and normal to put in it's place.
In the end, really, I'd have to say that using a safety pin for piercings is well, stupid. It's my last resort, though I think I shouldn't have it an option at all. Oh, and a small dot of a scar is still visible on the outside of my bottom lip, even with make-up. But I don't regret the scar, because even a temporary piercing is worth the trouble to me.