It took a long time to convince my mom that I knew what I wanted. She barely let me gauge my ears, or get my navel done, and said my tongue would have to wait until I was 18, and I couldn't show it to her. At first she said if I ever got it done, I would be kicked out, but with some proof of research and a few friends telling her their experiences, she agreed. Although she said she didn't want to know when I got it done, didn't want to see it, and didn't want to hear about it.
At A Glance Author L-bomb Contact L-bomb@bme.anon When Six months ago Artist Mikey Studio Black Lotus Piercing Location Wilmington, NC So the day after my eighteenth birthday, I went to Black Lotus since a few friends worked there, and gave them my ID. They knew I had this planned, so they were ready. They're a very clean place and everything is auto-claved and opened before your eyes. If the piercer is at all mean or makes you uncomfortable, or if they don't clean or open their instruments right in front of you, be wary. You might also ask to see some ID or certificates if you're doubtful or have never heard anything of the place before.
Also, they should pierce from the bottom up, to better avoid the veins at the bottom and the lateral nerve. But, it depends on the piercer and their experience. Some pierce top to bottom, but don't let it be like that freezy commercial where the guy drinks the slurpee until his tongue is numb and the piercer just jams a needle through. Ugh.
So then I waited a bit for people before me to get done, and a few friends came with me to watch. They were all surprised at how calm I was.. but it was because I had wanted a tongue piercing for so long. I talked to the piercer's girlfriend and she was telling me how afterwards your tongue will swell and show teeth marks in it. Mine sure did, but it didn't really feel that swelled up. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
I went in and he explained it as he got the intruments out. The barbell they put in first is longer than normal to accomadate the swelling, so after the swelling went down it was a little aggravating. He had me swish with Listerine, and then marked my tongue with a marker. I looked in the mirror and told him it was good. He put the clamps on; they didn't hurt that bad, and kept my attention on them rather than the needle. He talked to me a bit, and told me not to kick him, or his girlfriend would hurt me when I got off the table. The needle went right through, and just felt like a pressure. I didn't even blink. A friend told me it looked like a hot knife through butter.
Afterwards, we went and got Listerine and ice water. I couldn't talk well, and the top of my tongue stung like I had bitten it or something. They say to drink lots of water to keep it clean and relieve the swelling a bit. So I did, and it helped relieve the pain. Also, leaving it as alone as possible during the first few hours will keep the swelling down. Get it done later at night so you're not required to talk as much.
When swishing with Listerine, I would mix it with water because Listerine is known to dry out your mouth, thus killing all bacteria, even the helpful ones. And yes, some bacteria is needed in your mouth to help the healing.
Other than that, my swelling was minor and almost no pain. I took Tylenol before bed just in case. I did have teeth marks in the sides of my tongue though, heh. The next day, chewing gum got me used to eating again, and pasta was the best thing because it requires almost no chewing but gets you used to food in your mouth.
I went home that night and talked to my mom, and she never even noticed it. Actually I went 2 weeks without her noticing, and I'm a momma's girl and talk to her all the time so I'm surprised. She gave me funny looks every now and then, but didn't notice until I stuck my tongue out at my dog, mocking her panting, and asked questions, but accepted it and moved on.
I recently streched to a 10, and love it even more. It swelled up a little again, but I kept up with the Listerine and cold water and it's fine. Although tongue rings have become terribly cliche.. there are ways to make yours unique and your own. Gauging, double-piercing, putting a deocrative ball on the end. But, it is definitely my favorite piercing.