Being interested in tattoos, one cannot help being confronted with piercings as well. I'd think them moderately pretty at best, and most certainly not something I'd want for myself. When I saw a back patterned with surface piercings though, I was stunned. Was that possible?? Apparently it was. They looked gorgeous to me, and the thought nestled itself in my mind about getting one, somewhere, sometime. I started looking for information on them.
At A Glance Author Krynn Contact Krynn@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Ilja Studio Body Sign Location Alkmaar, the Netherlands One big thing was the rejection rate. It's pretty high with surface piercings, and some of the scars left after the piercing has been taken out looked pretty ugly. I considered it, but in the end accepted that risk. I reasoned I could take out the piercing any given time I wanted to, and that that time would be way before any wild growth of red, angry scar tissue. But even if I would get stuck with scar tissue, that's what wounds give, right? Right. I also found out a few things about procedures and jewelry. Nobody seemed to agree on anything, so that was going to be something I'd have to trust my piercer with.
There was something no amount of information would help with though. The mere thought of having a needle put trough my flesh made my stomach do summersaults. I had a fear of needles. I know it's silly, and I've told myself that too, many times. Didn't help. Every time I'd had to have my blood checked I got sick and light-headed even before the needle got in. That light-headedness even got so far that I've fainted three times when I tried to donate blood. However, since no big amount of blood would be leaving my body, and the piercing procedure would be quick, I figured I could do it. Maybe.
The placing was an easy one. I've always loved my hands, and if my future profession wouldn't lie in the field of education, I'd already have them tattooed. The upper side of the wrist, then, is the closest spot that has any real chance of holding a piercing for more then a few months.
Having thought everything through, all I needed at this point was a nudge to actually get it done. That nudge came from a friend, Sara. She wanted to give me something for having stood by her in a past difficult time, and she really would not be talked out of it, so when she brought up the piercing I'd talked about as a gift, the decision to actually have it done was made. I'd gotten two recommendations on a certain shop, so I checked out their website. It looked good. They did not work with appointments, so one bright morning, Sara, a second friend called Sonja, and me walked in to check them out.
When I told the girl at the counter what I wanted, she lifted her own wrist and showed me what a rejected wrist surface looked like. It had been taken out a few days before, and it was red, and with very though balls of scar tissue. "Are you really sure you want this?" She had held hers for 8 months, and it had never once during that time quieted down. She told me she sure as hell wasn't the only one, that the rejection rate was really high. She told me that the healing would take months n months. I had found the shop that would do my first piercing J
When I told her so, she took out a sheet with aftercare instructions, sat me down n talked me through it. She also made me sign a waiver, and copied my drivers' license. Wow. I'd never had to do that before, and I don't consider the shops I got my tattoos shabby. Anyways. The guy that was to pierce me came out. His name was Ilja, he had silicone implants across his forehead and on his hand, and turned out to be an active practitioner of the art of body suspension. If he could put hooks trough others and himself and walk from it, then surely one little piece of titanium wouldn't go amiss? Ofcourse not, he had been piercing for years. And if he could keep such a large piece of silicone under the skin of his hand, surely I could keep that little piece of titanium on a meatier spot? That's not really sound reasoning, but by then the nerves I'd kept under control most of the morning decided to spring up, and I needed something to smash all those little doubtful voices with.
Ilja made sure I'd been talked trough the aftercare instructions and got his stuff ready. I then told him for the fourth or fifth time this was my first piercing, and sat down. He told me in a very calm n even voice whatever he did, and why. He cleaned the area where the piercing would be with a tonic, but did not shave it. Better to pierce through any hairs then to have them grow in later. 2 Dots were marked on my wrist while it was lying on the bench. Then I had to stand up and let my wrist hang. That gave 2 different dot markings. Some measuring. Then the 2 final dots for the entrance and exit points were applied. Then the needles came out of the plastic they'd been kept in. When I saw them, my heart rate shot up, and my stomach knotted itself tightly. When Ilja clamped my skin up, and held the needle in place, I turned my head away. When the needle went in, the pain was intense and relatively drawn out, but not so bad I couldn't keep still or cried out. When I looked again, what I saw reminded me of a barbecue stick. You know, a pickle, a piece of meat, a bit of onion, another piece of meat, and so on, with my skin being the meat. My head got very light at the sight for one moment, but it passed the next. The jewelry got attached to the piercing needle, and through it was pulled. The exiting did make my hand jump up a bit this time, it stung. It also drew a few drops of blood. Then the balls were screwed on. I barely noticed that. The putting through me of needles was done! And after drinking some water, my head and stomach were fine. I almost felt cheated; the whole thing can't have lasted more then five or ten minutes, while I had been getting worked up over it for days.
The piercing was beautiful. I couldn't stop looking at it.
Off me n my friends went, shopping. The day was still young. The pierced area felt a bit battered, and whenever I moved my arm a lot the feel of the piercing moving around would make me feel queasy. I blamed it on what had just happened to it. I got home and had dinner. The queasy stomach feeling stayed. When I tried to give the piercing it's first wash before I went to sleep (aftercare instructions had told me to wait with that for 12 hours) the queasiness became sickness, and the light-headedness returned. It was the damned fear of needles again. I told myself to calm down and get used to this, and did finish the wash, but very quickly. The next morning, it didn't go much better. I'd move the piercing once, and I would be sick and light-headed again. The queasiness had kept me from sleeping. Or maybe my own fretting had. I really did not want to have to take the piercing out after a day already. I went to work, and there the miracle happened. Work had been demanding my full attention, when I reached for something and checked if I had gotten the right thing. Seeing the piercing surprised me. I had somehow forgotten I had one. The same wonder I had felt so long ago when I saw that back full of surface piercings filled me, and something clicked. After that click, I didn't get queasy anymore when I felt it. Washing that evening was no problem either.
So, aftercare was washing 2x a day with a ph neutral soap only? Not really. The true aftercare for this (or any, I'd imagine) piercing is making sure it does not get infected. No touching it with unwashed fingers, no swimming, no sleeves hanging over it, no pets near it (I'd forgotten the piercing once while changing food, and one of my birds seized the opportunity to hop on my arm and check it out with a nice little tug...OUCH...and a redness around the holes for two days) Aftercare includes keeping it from harms' way. That means being careful when you pull on your clothes, being careful when you sling your bag to your shoulders, being careful with reaching into your pockets, being careful with oh so many little things. Banging it a few times has taught me to be very careful within a week already. Banging it hurts more then the actual piercing.
It's been almost a month now. I've had 2 or 3 bouts of redness around the holes, always after sloppyness in the hygiene area. They've cured themselves after a day or two without aid from disinfectants or salt soaks. Other then that, everything looks and feels just fine.
The reactions I get on it vary. A minority is disgusted by it. Most people shiver when they first see it, but love it on second sight. One imaginative guy compared it to frogeyes rising out of the water; another guy suggested I hang my handbag from it. Ha! The fierceness of some reactions has surprised me. I didn't think anyone would make such a big deal out of it. Ah well.
The last lines of this experience should be for thanks. To Ilja, for putting up with me :P To Sonja, for recommending him ever so strongly. And to Sara, for that last shove. This piercing would probably have remained a daydream if it hadn't been for you 3.