Well, 41/2 months have passed since my nape was pierced by Tim at HTC of Phoenix. Healing has been relatively uneventful minus a few scares here and there. For a brief overview, my nape was pierced using a steel surface bar at around a 12ga. Anyways, as I am sure many of you know surface piercings are infamous for their tendency to reject. Well, this is my follow up experience (the original experience being Nape Piercing-Step by Step) and it will be an attempt to shed some light upon life with a surface bar during the beginning months of healing.
At A Glance Author Cocu Contact Cocu@bme.anon When Six months ago Artist Tim Studio HTC Location Phoenix, Arizona The first weeks were moderately difficult because it always seems to take a little time to get a handle on the aftercare and learn how to minimize any sort of stress being placed upon a fresh piercing. For me this phase consisted of learning how to not catch the piercing while changing clothes, taking a shower without getting soap or any other irritant near my nape, and pretty much the little things that people take for granted before they pierce their neck. My preferred method of aftercare is sea salt soaks and needless to say the back of your neck is pretty tricky area to perform soaks. During the first weeks I experimented with several different methods in an effort to discover the most effective way to soak. I tried to use a shot glass to create a vacuum seal around the piercing, but this typically ended up with me spilling hot water down my back. I then went on to try soaking maxi pads in my salt solution and then placing them on my neck. The maxi pad experiment w asn't a total failure, but it tended to be costly considering I soak upwards of four times a day (i.e. Buying maxi pads in bulk was not something I wanted to do for the next 2-3 years). My final method is the one that I have been using to date. I place a small measuring cup on the floor and fill it with my hot salt water mix, and then I get two hand held mirrors so I can guide my nape into the cup. It sounds complicated, but I have found it to yield the most successful soaks. The first weeks always seem to be the most difficult, but once you get a routine down you just blindly go through the motions everyday and it becomes less of a hassle.
Well, all was going fine until I introduced Provon (a high quality surgical soap) into my aftercare mix. After using the Provon for a few days the skin around my nape became very red and irritated. I am admittedly a bit of a hypochondriac, especially when it comes to my modifications, as a result I immediately jumped to the conclusion that my nape was rejecting. In a frenzied panic I rushed out to HTC to get it checked out. Well the diagnosis was not rejection. Apparently it was a combination of an allergic reaction to the soap and of to much suction from soaking had created a "hickie effect" around my nape. Well this was a relief and I immediately discontinued the use of the Provon and reduced the amount of pressure I used while soaking. After about two weeks the skin cleared up and started to look significantly better.
After my rejection scare I became even more religiously devoted to my aftercare. To date I try to soak a minimum of four times a day with one or two hot compresses thrown into the mix. This kind of soaking tends to make my skin very dry, as a result I have started putting a non-pore clogging moisturizer around my nape before I go to sleep.
My advice for anyone getting or thinking about getting their nape pierced (or for that matter surface work in general) is to realize these piercings tend to be temperamental. Healing definitely has its ups and downs, by this I mean some days it may look fabulous and then others it may be irritated for one reason or another. In my opinion a nape piercing is certainly one of those piercings that really needs to be babied in order to even have a chance of successful healing.
I do not mean to be discouraging to anyone thinking about getting this piercing, but to be honest the aftercare is a time commitment. If you want to have a nape piercing for the long haul, strict adherence to your aftercare is a necessity. As ridiculous as it may sound, my policy is to treat your nape like it is a child. By this I mean that you can not just one day decide you are too tired to take care of it and just blow it off. I wish the best of luck to all those out there trying to heal their surface piercings!
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions/comments/etc.