At A Glance
Author	zoe =]
Contact	zoe =]@bme.anon
When	A month ago
Artist	me
Studio	in my room
Location	in my house haha

I have my ears pierced once and I got that done when I was six and after eight years I have gotten pretty bored of one piercing so I did a bit of looking round for something I could pierce myself and hide easily from the parents [they are very anti me getting body mods], and then I came across the smiley piercing and I instantly had to have it.

So I did a bit of research about healing time and needle sterilization and after a week or so I got the courage to actually do it.

So I boiled some water and put a safety pin in it with a teaspoon of saline solution and left it for half an hour and then I got some of those weird latex gloves and went up to my room with the safety pin.

It took me about ten minutes to have the guts to do it and once I shoved it through I realized it did not hurt in the slightest but then I stupidly removed it to check out the hole and surprise surprise I could not find the hole! So I re-sterilized the pin and did it again this time shutting the pin and leaving it alone for ten minutes.

Then I realized I did not have any suitable rings for the piercing so when I saw my mate later that day we went to the mall to look for some simple sleeper earrings but I couldn't find any within my price range that weren't cheap plastic metal from the two dollar shop, so I was stuck with the safety pin for even longer!

Then a few days later I was with my other mate and she asked why I didn't put a ring in and I explained I didn't have one so she gave me a pair of sleepers that she never wore, so I went and cleaned them then sat in front of the mirror and tried to remove the safety pin but opening it proved more difficult than expected as it was a tiny safety pin I couldn't open it without pulling the skin down [which hurt like a b****], so my friend asked if I wanted her to try and well she tried and it wasn't anymore successful than when I tried, so I went and got some ice and numbed the skin and quickly opened and removed the safety pin [painlessly] so I found the hole and put the ring through and was quite pleased with how it looked.

And as for preventing infection I use mouthwash after every meal if possible and dilute about 20ml in half a cup of water about twice then brush my teeth to keep any food or anything out of it and to kill any germs or bacteria, and I try not to touch it unless the hinge of the ring is in the piercing as this is uncomfortable so I try avoid it by giving it a slide one way with my tongue.

I'm also scared kissing with my new piercing as on the web pages I researched on it says to try avoid contact with the new piercing for two months which sucks seeing as I just got a new boyfriend [who won't be pleased about the no kissing] so I guess I'll just try it and see what happens [I'll re-submit any warnings on here for anyone interested/worried]

However I'm so pleased I did this piercing, I have had it for about two - three weeks now and surprisingly my parents still haven't seen it unless they've just kept quiet like they're waiting for me to tell them or something but for now I'm just a bit scared of how they'll react and I really don't want them to make me remove it as I love it so much!!

So some advice for anyone planning on self piercing:

1. ALWAYS disinfect and sterilize the needle/pin whatever you use because you don't want any nasty germs getting into the fresh piercing.

2. If you can't get hold of gloves wash your hands thoroughly with a good soap.

3. If you have touched the needle too much after cleaning it, just give it another quick clean [just in case]

4. Just do it =] [but be careful where you're piercing as some things should really be left to the professionals]

5. Make sure the ring/barbell is clean as well because dirty barbells/rings are a common cause of infection.

6. Avoid playing with a new piercing [especially with unwashed hands] as bacteria from your hands can be harmful.

7. Reduce healing time by using a good mouthwash as often as possible after eating etc. keep in mind anything you put in your mouth will come in contact with this piercing so just be smart with what you eat [or do] =]

And yeah... good luck to anyone getting this or any other piercing.