I was never allowed to get a piercing, but in the summer of 2001, I got my navel pierced. My father wouldn't look at me for weeks, but I was moving out of the house to go to university anyway.
At A Glance Author inkiemouse Contact inkiemouse@bme.anon When A year ago Artist A hair stylist Location Campbellton, NB Flash-forward a year.
It was the blistering summer of 2002.
I had decided quite some time ago that I wanted another piercing, but it couldn't be anything you could see, or else my parents would cut me off financially, and I didn't want that.
So, I decided on a nipple piercing. It seemed so sexy to me, and my ex-fiancé was all for it as well.
My friend Candace and I went to the mall a few towns over and saw that a hair salon was doing piercings. I knew I didn't want to get pierced by a male because I was too embarrassed, so this seemed perfect. Candace wanted to get her tongue pierced, so we made an appointment for myself, her, and my then-fiancé, Charles, who would be visiting the next week and wanted some new piercings of his own.
I had settled on getting my left nipple pierced, while my ex-fiancé decided on navel and left nipple. The appointment was made for 10:30 AM on a Wednesday, so we drove down at around 9:30 AM for mental and physical preparation.
Candace went to get a slushie for her tongue piercing, while Charles and I went to get some food in our stomachs so we wouldn't faint, as we had heard some people do. The three of us were all nerved up and so excited, but also a little scared, since it was the only non-traditional piercing for the two of them and the second non-traditional piercing for me.
Charles went in first. I went in with him to see how it was done. I had read up on it, but still didn't know all the details and how everything was supposed to go exactly.
The "piercer" took about 45 minutes just to get the stuff ready and the clamp on, which would be fine if she knew what she was doing. Right then I could tell she was inexperienced, but for some reason I didn't turn back. Probably because she was already halfway done with Charles...
I asked her a few questions and she seemed very annoyed with having to answer them. I asked her what training she had, and she answered that she had taken a day course and complained that she had to miss a whole day of work for it. This should have been another clue to get out of there, but I really wanted my piercing and wasn't using my head correctly.
The piercer made me leave the room when she was putting the clamp on my ex's nipple because I made her nervous, what with my wincing and squirming.
Finally, about another half hour later, it was my turn. I stepped back into the room with Candace to hold my hand. Charles stayed outside.
I was told to take off my shirts and bra, and to lay down on the chair. It took her ANOTHER half hour to sterilize everything and get the clamp on, but by then I was far less nervous and ready for the needle.
Firstly, she did nothing to make me feel comfortable, which I know now is part of a good piercer's job. Secondly, she stabbed the needle in crooked. Instead of going in on the left and coming out on the right, it went in on the left and out in the middle. Oh, the pain! Forcing the needle though, she shoved the ring in after it, but it got stuck a quarter of the way. She then had to basically ram it in the rest of the way, but it got stuck in the middle again. I couldn't help but scream a little bit because it hurt so much. She told me to be quiet because I might have been scaring her other clients away, which is another thing I know that isn't appropriate for piercers to say.
It bled more than it was supposed to, too. The piercer muttered "Great, this just HAD to happen, didn't it?" I was wondering if I should apologize for her mistake or not.
When the whole ordeal was over, she gave me a little cotton puff to put over my nipple and sent me off on my way.
It was the most horrible piercing experience in my life, and I see now that she was very unqualified, so now I warn people not to go to her "studio" because she is the devil. From then on, I got my piercings from real professionals instead of insane women doing business out of their cheesy hair salons.
Thanks for reading. ^_^