I first got a sternum surface piercing in October of 2005. The experience was great, and it healed well.
At A Glance Author Cecelia Contact Cecelia@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist Rebecca Studio Lark Vegas Location Albany, NY In November, I got very sick and was breaking out in hives with no explanation. I couldn't figure out what was wrong, and neither could the doctors, so I got rid of everything that I thought might be causing the allergic reaction, including my surface piercing.
Unfortunately, it didn't help, and a month later when the hives finally stopped, my surface piercing was healed shut and I had taken it out for no reason.
I had wanted to get it re-pierced for two reasons. One, because I missed it and I had liked the piercing to begin with. and secondly, there were two little dot scars on my chest that I wanted covered up. I kept the jewelry, and planned to get it re-pierced as soon as possible, but since it was an expensive piercing (it cost about $75) I had to save up money first.
I finally was able to get my sternum re-pierced in March when my 19th birthday rolled around. I went back to the same piercer, and she re-pierced it no problem. I really like Lark Vegas, it's very clean and everyone there is very friendly. Two friends came with me the second time, and they both came into the back to watch the piercing. I used the same jewelry as the first time (I had kept it after I took it out) so the piercing was cheaper. It only cost about $50 as opposed to the $75 cost of the original. I also had the piercing done in the exact same spot so that it would cover up the dot scars from the first piercing.
The hardest part of the piercing was the clamps, which took a while to get onto the skin. First I lied down on my side, and after that didn't work, I sat up and bent forward, and then she was able to get enough skin in the clamps. I ended up getting some small bruises from the clamps, but those went away fairly quickly. The needle had a harder time going through than the first time because of the scar tissue, and it definitely hurt more the second time. The pain was over quickly though, and getting the jewelry in took no time at all.
There was some bleeding afterwards, but less than the first time. After the initial bleeding from the piercing, it bled in the car for about 10 minutes before it stopped. I asked Rebecca (the piercer) about the chances of it rejecting through scar tissue, and she said that since scar tissue isn't healthy, it would be less likely to reject. I hadn't had problems with it rejecting the first time through, but it was only for a month the first time, so it was still a concern of mine.
It has now been three months and the piercing has been healing perfectly. There was a lot of secretion in the beginning, but I use h20cean to clean it every day. If I forget to clean it for more than a day it starts to get really gross and crusty, even after three months, so I'd recommend cleaning it every day. My skin is tan, and it scars pretty easily, so the area of the skin around where the jewelry goes in on top and bottom is darker then the rest of my skin. if I were to take the piercing out it would look like two little dark circles on my chest. This is partially the scar from the first piercing, but it's also partly because of the callous that forms from the jewelry rubbing against the skin. The dark skin isn't very noticeable though, and it would look even worse without the jewelry anyways.
Luckily I haven't had any problems with the piercing getting caught on clothing or getting pulled by anything. I'm very careful with it, and avoid necklaces unless i'm wearing them over a shirt that covers my piercing.
Another thing to note is that if you get the piercing done while wearing a bra, (especially a push-up bra) then the piercing will look differently when not wearing one. I was wearing a bra the first time I got it done, and later when I wasn't wearing one, I was concerned that it was rejecting because more of the bar was showing and I could feel the bar more prominently through the skin. After I realized that it was due to my bra, I slept in a bra for the first two weeks to keep pressure off the piercing. You can also sleep on your side, which kind of pushes your chest together and takes pressure off the piercing as well.
I'm very happy with my piercing, and would recommend a surface piercing, but only if you are willing to clean it diligently and if it is in a location where you can keep an eye on it and protect it.