My parents hate piercings and tattoos... and I mean hate. When I was 14, I managed to talk them into letting me have my navel pierced – and they agreed, on the basis that it was going to be well hidden, and that I wouldn't ask to get anything else done. Ever. However, I managed to go through 6 or 7 other piercings – all done by guns, which is a) unsafe, and b) just plain stupid. This past summer I took things to a new level, getting my industrial (which I lost a job over!) and a large tattoo on my foot within the span of 2 weeks. Needless to say, my parents were unimpressed – but they dealt. "At least it's not on your face," my Mom would say.
At A Glance Author Ashlie Contact maci_ashie49@hotmail.com When A week ago Artist Kristine ...? Studio Utility Location Halifax, NS I still remember when my best friend Katie got her Monroe ... I was in love. My parents, not so much. When I casually mentioned, two years ago, that I wanted to get a Monroe piercing, I thought my Mom would knock me out. After two years of wanting it SO badly, I finally gave in – much as I did with my industrial and my tattoo. I knew the longer I waited, the more I'd want it. So, on Tuesday, January 23, 2007 I skipped class with my new-found, best University friend and future roommate to head to Utility on Blowers Street in Halifax.
The bus ride down was fun, as our anticipation and nerves grew to an unreasonable level. Em was getting two more navel piercings, to complete her amazing navel project (she had the top and bottom done previously; the bottom 2 years ago, the top, 3 days ago). We discussed back and forth our excitement, as I began to second-doubt my choice.
When we got to Utility, we walked up the long stairway leading to the reception room. I'd forgotten how it was there, since I hadn't been in since my navel piercing 5 ½ years ago. Two guys and a girl were hanging out behind the counter in the pristine room, and all three acknowledged our presence. We explained what we wanted to have done, and the receptionist and tattoo artists told us what our options were for jewelry. Em had lots of choice; I could decide whether I wanted a plain ball on my Teflon labret post, or one with a gemstone.
After we filled out the forms, Kristine came in and introduced herself. We headed down to the piercing room, armed with a camera and a deep desire to get pierced. We chatted, joked around and decided on the placement for Em's two new, horizontal navel piercings, while I took pictures of the whole process. When it was finally my turn, I hopped on that table like it was my job. Kristine and Em kept making me laugh, which unfortunately made the whole process a little bit more difficult – especially with cleaning and placement.
After checking the placement a few times in the mirror, I decided I was happy with it. Kristine dried the inside of my mouth, made another dot, and then dried it again before telling me to lie on my back. She got the clamp out and got herself ready for the piercing. She instructed me to take one deep breath in, and began to push the needle through the inside of my mouth. She'd clearly underestimated how tough my skin was, and actually had to ask me to take another deep breath in order to push through the outer layer of my skin.
With the needle through my face, I opened my eyes only to see the point of the needle right above my eye. Kristine got the jewelry ready and started to pull it through, but just my luck, the jewelry didn't go through. Kristine explained what had happened and said she'd try to get the jewelry through first before resorting to the 16-gauge taper. After her initial plan didn't go through, she got the taper, which proved to be more difficult than originally planned. Finally she decided pushing the needle through all over again would be the quickest, most painless option.
So we started from the beginning all over again, and she pushed the needle through. This time, thankfully, the jewelry went through as well. She clipped the Teflon so it wouldn't be quite so long and obvious, and advised me to come back after a week or so to have it clipped again, as she left some extra length there incase I'd swell.
It's been 3 days since the piercing, and so far everything's going well. There's a tiny bit of redness around the hole, which I expected. For the most part, there's no pain but I've started to notice a bit of itching, which means my body is slowly trying to heal. I wash it three times a day with Tersaseptic, soak twice (morning and night) with a salt soak, drink water after everything I eat... as well as try to make sure that I brush and rinse with antibacterial mouthwash after every meal.
My parents still don't know about the new piercing, and I expect they won't know until they come to pick me up for Spring Break in 3 weeks. With any luck, they'll have a positive, or neutral reaction as opposed to trying to rip it out. In any case, I'm confident that once they realize how much I love this piercing, they'll be cool with it. It's delicate, and feminine – and if you ask me, it's sexy as hell.
If you're ever in Halifax, NS I definitely recommend Utility. It's such a great spot, when 5 years later I still remember how well I was treated. The staff is friendly, everyone really knows what they're doing, and it's a chill environment.
*** Also, I feel terribly that I can't remember the piercer's name. She's awesome though, I'm just a mess and lost my aftercare sheet which had her name on it. ***