At A Glance
Author	Anna
Contact	Anna@bme.anon
When	N/A
Artist	Joesph
Studio	Evolution Body Piercing
Location	Providence, RI

There are plenty of days that I get bored at work and decide to browse BME for new ideas as far as piercings and tattoos for me. Some times, I happen upon a picture or an experience story and say to myself, "I gotta get that!" So, it happened with a photo of a cleavage piercing. I decided that before I got my piercing, I should do some research on the subject of surface piercings and cleavage piercings in particular. To say the least, here wasn't much out there. I found a couple of stories that were somewhat discouraging based on the high rate of rejection with these particular piercings. So, then I decided to hightail it on down to my favorite piercer, Dave, at the Pin Cushion in my hometown. Before going to see him, I thought, "Well, why not give him a call to let him know I am coming?" It turns out that my hometown's Board of Health had decided to exclude cleavage piercings as something that could not be done by shops in town. My hometown, Plymouth, has a tradition of being conservative, so I wasn't overly shocked, but was slightly disappointed.

Armed with the knowledge that my cleavage piercing could not be done in Plymouth, I set out researching further into places that I could get pierced. I finally settled on Evolution in Providence and Joseph. I made an appointment to go for the piercing on a Saturday afternoon and set off. Evolution is a really nice place. Very clean, very nice atmosphere. Joseph was also very nice and professional. Both when I called and when I arrived at the shop for my appointment, I was warned about the high rejection rate for cleavage piercings. I decided I would go ahead, be daring, and tempt the Fates. I paid for my piercing and sat down to wait. For anyone who has gotten a piercing, the wait and the nervousness can be worse than the actual experience itself. As it turned out, I had to wait for a little while because the jewelery, I was being pierced with was plastic and that takes longer to sterilize, so I waited. I remember I read an issue of Rolling Stone while w aiting, and received a call from a friend who asked "Is it done yet? Is it done yet?" about my new piercing. I told her I was waiting and would be a little late for our get together that afternoon since I had also had to park kind of far from the shop.

Not too long after, Joseph called me into the piercing room and started to get ready. He asked me if I had ever been in the shop before and I said, yes, as I had been there and gotten pierced there before (other stories for other times). He asked if the desk staff had told me about the high rejection rate for cleavage piercings? Yes, I said, but I was going to insist on going through it. We went over cleaning procedures and got down to business. I took my shirt off and told him where I wanted the piercing to go, and he said okay. He marked the area, then had me lay down. After a brief examination, Joseph told me that he was going to go ahead and do the piercing free hand because he didn't think there would be enough skin to clamp. I said okay, let's do it. Several deep breaths in and he pushed the needle through. The needle going through hurt a lot. It had a relatively long way to go. Then he put the jewelery in, which also hurt but not quite as much. T hinking back on it, I have blocked it out almost completely, so I remember it as being completely painless. It bled a little at the beginning, so Joseph gave me a bandage. I put my clothes on and headed out.

I remember it feeling a little strange at first, very sore, but what it felt like was a weight sitting on my sternum and pulling down. That was a little odd. I was careful with my seat belt getting into my car, remembering the stories I had read and had a relatively pain free ride to my friend's house in, not too far off, New Bedford. Later that day, while changing my clothes and just moving my arms around, it hurt a lot. Also trying to sleep for the first couple of nights with the piercing was a challenge. About two weeks after I got my cleavage piercing, I went to see Dave at the Pin Cushion and have him take a look at it. He said it looked fine but that he never would have pierced with what looked like a 10 gauge barbell, but on the plus side, he figured my body would never be able to push it out or reject it. And, long story short, here I am three months later, still in happy possession of my cleavage piercing. It gets a little irritated from time to time and I still clean it several times a day, but no major problems thus far. Most importantly, no rejection! I am hoping to be the proud owner of a cleavage piercing for some time. Because you know it is a compliment, when a guy who has had just about everywhere on him pierced looks at you and says, "Now that's hard core."