Like many people who have submitted their experiences, I, too, have been interested in piercing (and other forms of modification) for quite some time now.
At A Glance Author Morwenna When Six months ago Artist Moon Studio Mana Ink Tattoo Location North Carolina Last year, I started to stretch my ear lobes. They are currently 00g - which I'm quite happy about. Other than that, getting my tongue pierced was the first professional piercing I have had to this day.
My obsession started about a year ago when I had a dream about piercing my tongue. I woke up that morning with a passion. I was going to get my tongue pierced!
The next day I asked my mother if she would sign the papers for me so I could get it done. She said "no". After that response, I decided to ask my father.
His response was, "Not while you're living under my roof!" I thought that was it; I was never going to get it done now. Time went by and every week I'd ask one of my parents if I could get it done.
All the begging lasted up until one month ago when my father actually gave in. I was ecstatic! I quickly looked up some tattoo and piercing parlors in my area and made an appointment at Mana Ink Tattoo for the following Thursday afternoon at five o'clock.
The next few days went by very slowly and I spent most of my time researching tongue piercing online. I looked up aftercare solutions, what to expect, complications that may occur, etc.
Finally, it was Thursday! After school, I went to the mall with my friends until my mother came to pick me up. We went to an early dinner at Taco Bell so I could fill my stomach up for the night (I knew I wasn't going to be able to eat much after the procedure).
As we arrived at Mana Ink, I saw a man getting a tattoo and we were told to wait upstairs in the waiting area. Some lady met us up there and asked me exactly what I wanted. I told her I wanted a large gauge center tongue piercing. She said the biggest they would pierce would be six gauge.
I agreed and sat back down on the couch while my mother signed the agreement forms.
After she was finished, the lady escorted me downstairs where I met the piercer, Moon. He seemed very friendly and I felt pretty comfortable around him. Moon had about one-inch ear lobes, a bridge piercing, a large gauge labret piercing, multiple ear piercings, and some surface piercings on his wrists. He also had extensive tattoo work. By the way, he was also pretty cute, so that made it even better!
Moon sat me down on the special chair and first examined my tongue.
I'm assuming he was checking if there were any veins running in the center of my tongue. Moon said I was a perfect candidate for this piercing and went on with the aftercare instructions. I thought this was a bit strange because I was expecting to be told the aftercare instructions after the piercing was actually done.
It was time to pierce my tongue! The dot was made on my tongue and I was given a mirror to be sure if I was happy about the placement where the barbell would go. It was perfect.
Moon instructed me to stick out my tongue and then he put a clamp on it. He told me to take three deep breaths and on the last breath he would stick the needle through. That was one fat needle! I was so excited I started to shake. Moon started talking to me; trying to calm me down. That helped.
I took some deep breaths and he stuck the needle through. I kept my eyes open the whole time. Wow! That wasn't painful at all! I was surprised. Moon then got out the jewelry and lined it up with the needle. He slid it through my tongue and then screwed the remaining ball on the bottom.
He gave me a mirror to see the piercing and I almost fainted. I can't believe it! I have my tongue pierced!
When I got home, the pain was pretty minor and I spent a good thirty minutes eating some good ice cream. I went to bed that night with curiosity of the next day with my new tongue ring. I awoke to extreme pain in my tongue and it was very swollen. I managed to take some Advil and drink some ice water and the pain subsided.
The next few days were all right and it actually healed quicker than I thought (or I was told) it would.
It's been almost six months with this new piercing and I love it. I think it was well worth it. Hopefully my parents agree to let me pierce something else someday. This experience was great!