I never thought I would ever get something so... exotic. It may seem hardly extreme to piercers, but to me it was way out there.
At A Glance Author Courtney Contact marsdweller@hotmail.com When A week ago Artist Matt Studio Planet Ink Location Ottawa, Ont, Canada I got the idea to get my nape pierced four and half months before the fact from BME. I was looking around for something really different to get done and when I stumbled upon surface piercings, I got all excited and thought that it sounded great! So after much searching, I decided I either wanted my forearm done or my nape. My deciding factor was that as a nursing student, I could not practice in clinical with such a visible and prone piercing on an arm. So the nape it was.
A few months before THAT, I went and got a nice snowflake drawn for me by a friend to have tattooed on my nape. Now because of this new piercing I was going to get, I made a little project out of it. I was going to get a nape piercing with blue barbells (eventually) and my snowflake tattoo underneath. I had a plan, and I was ready to get into action.
So first I asked BME what I should do first...tattoo or piercing? I thought it was sort of obviously and after not getting a response (yep I know... BME gets tons of e-mails that they can't all answer) I decided that I would rather nurse a piercing than a tattoo during the summer. Easier for me... ha-ha. Not to mention the fact that I was strictly told by my father that if he saw another tattoo on my body I was going to have to move out! I figured since he didn't mention piercings, I was good for now.
So a week before I wanted it, I called up Planet Ink (www.planetink.ca), my one and only piercing/tattoo location and asked if they did surface piercings. To my great relief, they did, and they also used titanium surface bars. This was exactly what I wanted as it was - I noticed after reading SO many experiences here on BME- the one that offered the best results in napes. I was referred to Matt, who happened to be the "specialist" at Planet Ink for these types of things and he told me he was available on that Tuesday. Since I was squeezing this in between classes, I told him I could only say I was going to come along in the afternoon. He said fine.
So that Tuesday came along and boy was I nervous. EVERYONE knew what I was going to get now and there was no way I could chicken out. We walked into Planet Ink and the guy at the front called Matt in and said "Your Nape is here". I always find it funny how they talk about their clients not by name but by location of the piercing. At first Matt sort of scared me, he looked rough, but after speaking with him for a good 30 minutes about my knowledge about surface piercings, I was 100% comfortable. That is the main reason I have stuck with Planet Ink. They are incredibly nice, absolutely clean and professional and they try and make sure you positively want what you're going to get. Matt explained to me why he asked that his surface piercings be 18 years old or more, because of the responsibility and such. So after some chatter, we went into "The Room". I call it that because that is where I have been pierced every time and there's this cloth hanging on the wall with an Indian lo oking painting. That is what I always stared at, to focus on.
Matt told me to sit down while he pulled out all his equipment. He showed me the staple-shaped barbell and I became more comfortable with imaging how he was going to go about doing this. He then told me to stand up so he could mark my neck. This took about 15 minutes and all the way through we talked. He got my friends to assess if the lines were straight and everything seemed fine. Then I lay face down on the bed, with my head hanging over the edge. But because of the way I was placed, I couldn't talk because my chin would hit the bed and moved my head and thus my neck. So it was quiet from then on except for some random moans. He explained to me what he was doing at every step.
He showed me the needle he was going to use: not your typical piercing needle. They were from a company in Germany that made medical supplies. He asked if I knew what an Intravenous needle was and being a nursing student, I did. So he showed me that was what he was going to use since it created a better, cleaner cut and was easier to guide the barbell with the plastic tubing. (For those of you who don't know what an I.V. looks like: It's a hollow needle with a plastic slipcover. Once it goes into your skin, you remove the inner tubing of metal so only the plastic cover is left, which is also very flexible)
First were the clamps. I do not have very much skin back there so it was difficult to get a good grip with them, which meant clamping and unclamping several times. By the time he had them on right, my neck was sort of numb, but it was matter of seconds until I started feeling the discomfort of tightly squeezed flesh. By then I was, to say the least, freaking out. I was rethinking my decision.
But within a few MORE seconds, I felt the sharp end of the needle on my skin and then he was pushing. The first part was ok. It was painful, but manageable. It was the second part that hurt like bitch. Searing pain all the way down one side of neck and back. I put all my energy into breathing at this point and starred hardly at the ground, since my favorite wall ornament couldn't be seen from this angle. I could literally feel the endorphins rush into my blood. I was so close to asking matt to stop but he got through the other side, removed the inner metal part of the Intravenous needle, guided the barbell through with the plastic tubing left and then removed the clamps. An orgasm doesn't feel as good as this, people. The relief was immense. I could feel it right away, as soon as the clamps were off. No pain.
He told me I could get up slowly, but I was frozen. I had to slowly squeeze my fists and then gradually I pulled myself up. I was stuck in a zone of some sort. I was at the "flight or fight" stage and could do neither, so I simply froze. I sat up and was slightly dizzy but felt exhilarated. Then I started bleeding. He used a few dozen Q-tips and then eventually he just decided to add some Vitamin E to help it clot. I walked around, he looked at it again and finally it had clotted so he cleaned it up with some alcohol swab. A little sting but that's it. He finally gave me a mirror so I could see it myself. It was love at first sight. I could not believe how perfect it was. Right dead center. I almost reached out to give him a hug but suddenly realized what I was doing and just stuck out my hand to shake his. We came out front; he gave me his e-mail in case I had questions and told me to drop by in two weeks for a check-up. He also encouraged me to go by the larger shop (about two blocks down) to see his boss for a picture, which I will be doing in a week or so.
It has been four days now and it looking marvelous. A small bruised line of where the barbell is is starting to show, but I was informed that is normal.
I wash with Betadine. Although I have read that it is too harsh for normal piercings, Matt explained to me that it would help create scar tissue on the inside and lower the risk of rejection. I will soon be switching on and off from Sea salt soaks to betadine...every second wash, because it is harsh on the skin near the holes.
My biggest worry right now is rejection and infection. Hopefully that won't occur and I will have a nice nape in a few months, all healed.
Thanks to Matt @ Planet Ink, Ottawa, Ont., Canada