Before I start, I would just like to say that getting your eyebrow pierced is totally worth it.
At A Glance Author Glen Kirkham Contact glenkirkham1985@hotmail.com Artist Some ginger bird Studio Enigma, Blackpool Location Blackpool, Lancashire, England It was a usual day at college when my friend walked up to me and we talked about the usual, women, the night before, the usual a 16 yr old talks about. I noticed that my friend has had a new eye ring put in so I questioned it and thought it might be a good idea. So, getting many experiences off many different people, I thought, "Now is the time to get it done" not only did I think it looked cool, but the ladies thought it was sexy.
Before
After nagging my mum for four months, she finally stopped refusing me and said okay, I was very surprised as she thought it looked thuggish.
Her friend came round one night and we got into the conversation of piercing. She told me her daughters boyfriend had it done and he was in pain for ages, they had to call the ambulance to the clinic to take him away, this put me off a little but her daughters boyfriend was a weed, not that i'm a strong guy. Id say i'm 5'7, and medium build.
Any way, I finished college at 3:15 on the Friday night and started work at 6:30, I walked into work to ask people of their opinions about piercing and many said it was painful but one girl who had both eyes done said it wasn't that harsh. Taking her words into consideration, I went across head held high and announced to the nice lady " I'd like my eyebrow pierced ". Unfortunately I don't look 16, more like 14, the lady denied me, as I didn't have any id. I walked away gutted, and at work that night at work, my stomach was churning just thinking about someone looking like Mr metal shoving a big pointy piece of metal through my eyebrow. Nice.
That night, when I got home, I was gutted; I got so psyched up for this only to be let down.
On the day
I rang my friend as we usually go to town on a Saturday so I rang him and told him I was getting my eye done, he wanted his done. He's built like a tank. So I thought he would get it done along with me, he never really thinks.
I walked past the studio over and over caught in two minds, should I shouldn't I? 10 minutes pain and loads of girls. I decided to go ahead but decided to make an excuse to put it off for a while. I went and nursed a McDonalds milkshake while I thought about what to do.
The Studio
I walked in the studio and it seemed really clean, metal floor, clean walls and it smelt really fresh. No matter how much I liked the place, I still couldn't get out of my mind what they were going to do to me in there.
I can't believe I was going to actually pay someone to hurt me. I gave the money to the girl and sat down, she said that there would be a ten-minute waiting list. I was relieved, as I might have still sneaked out without anyone knowing. The second my backside hit the chair, my number was called out, there was about 7 people in the waiting room all sat down before I arrived and yet I was to see my fate before them all.
The piercing
I walked up a stair case, past a number of rooms where people were having tattoo's and people were screaming behind closed doors, my stomach by this stage really was in my mouth, I felt like I could vomit (I hope they have a bucket in this place I thought to myself).
I sat down on what looked like a comfy bench that was padded, kind of like a hospital bed. I sat as far away from the implements of pain that were led on the bed next to where I was supposed to be sitting. The lady asked me to move up next to the implements and so I did. My stomach felt like a washing machine now. I asked the lady some questions about the piercing. I asked if she could count 3.2.1 before she did it, I asked if it would hurt and she made me feel really easy by saying that she had hers done without anaesthetic or numbing cream. She got some towel and she opened the needle in front of me, which eased me a little to show that it was really clean. She held the paper towel to my face and sprayed some cold/almost freezing substance on my face, this stinged a little kind of like a mild case of when you put aftershave on a cut. She added this three times and put some cream on the needle. She asked me to close my eye; I knew this was it, no turning back. She grabbed a kind of pair of scissors but they were flat at the end, kind of like a cross between scissors and barbecue prongs. She held my skin in place, I needed to change my underpants by this stage, I was terrified, 3.................2.... HERE WE GO.... 1 I felt the needle, but it kind of felt weird, no pain apart from a little pinch, a little kind of nip. And the bizarre feeling of something moving beneath my skin.
IS THAT IT? I asked the lady, yep she replied. Feeling very proud of myself, I started to go dizzy, the room started to spin, my throat went dry, next thing I know, I was dreaming about something that felt like 5 minutes, it was so weird, I cant explain, like a rapid set of slides flashing before my eyes that had nothing at all to do with my piercing. Next thing I know, I had a set of hands under my arms saying C'mon love, I was so scared, I didn't know where I was, I struggled to my feet and I was so embarrassed, I must have apologised about twenty times. She told me an interesting fact, that 90% of her male customers faint and she hasn't had one woman faint on her. Maybe she was just trying to make me feel better or whether us English are all week
The Aftermath
I led down with a glass of water in my hands and my eyes closed and hotter than id ever been, but I wasn't in pain, just shock. I turned my head to the right and there was a mirror, I looked in the mirror and sat up with a shock, my shock turned to delight as I had a new piece of shiny metal hanging from my eyebrow, I forget about my dry throat and heat and admire my new look I the mirror, I led back down and spoke to the woman for ages asking if she'd ever pierced a cock or anything, only something a teenager would ask. I was speaking for what must have been the best part of quarter of an hour as she told me how to look after it etc. I didn't want to outstay my welcome so I left and thanked the lady many times. She said if I had any troubles, just go back and see her. As I passed through the waiting room filled with a sense of pride, my friend looked and said wow, did it hurt and my answer was NO, not at all. I walked out onto the cool sunny street with my head held high just as a group of beautiful girls walked past and do you know what, they ALL looked at my eye and smiled and winked at me. Maybe the myth about attracting girls is true
In Conclusion
No Matter what, don't reject the idea of getting your eye done due to the though o pain. It is all in your head, people will fill your head full of rubbish about friends whose eyes have fallen off or their piercing has gone so wrong, the pus has filled up their whole head and caused a brain hemerage. Do it, swallow your pride, their is no pain, I fainted cause I am a wuss and hate needles, it doesn't hurt one bit. Just don't be scared, people will tell you otherwise, get it done,
IT DOESNT HURT ONE BIT, JUST DON'T FAINT LOL