Some may not agree, but I feel that piercings and tattoos are a way to make
our bodies even more beautiful than they already are. I wear make up, wear clothes
I like, put on jewelry, and colour my hair. One day I decided to take it a step
farther, and get pierced and tattooed. Well, I wouldn't say it took me a DAY
to decide... I thought about it for many years. I was, for one thing, afraid
of what others would think (HA! Like I care what small minded people think now!),
and I admit, even with the self injuring and all, I was scared of the pain being
to intense. But, I jumped in, and I am ready to tell the world that I like the
way I am, but I will improve myself every chance I get!
I will have pics of my tats as soon as I can get some scanned!
I have a few piercings, and two tattoos. I will tell you about them in the order I got them.
My cartilage: December, 1997 I wanted my nose pierced, but Curtis did not like the idea. So I went to a jewelry store and had my cartilage pierced. Curt got his ear done at the same time. It hurt A LOT. And it was infected for approximately one year. I suggest that anyone who wants to have this done should go to a proffesional piercer. I still have it in, and I wear a gold hoop in it.
My nose piercing: April, 1999 Well, I did a big OOPS getting this one. I went to a hairdresser's to get it done, like one of my friends did. NEVER DO THAT! It is extremely dangerous, I found out recently. The woman who did my last tattoo told me that you can get a serious infection of the nasal passages, which can go into your brain. I was lucky and had no complications, so I still have that piercing. Anyway, I went in with my friend Elizabeth. She let me hold her hand, LOL and the woman put the stud into the piercing gun. She did not use a backing for it and she pulled the handle and it was in. My eye teared up and it stung. The funny thing is, I did not know there were nostril screws for nose piercings until recently. My nose ring fell into the sink 2 weeks after I had it done, while brushing my teeth. Then, a few weeks ago, the other one went into the toilet when I was getting ready for a shower and had removed it. I now have a surgical stainless steel nostril screw in my nose and it will not come out unless I remove it. Please, if you want to have anything pierced aside from your ear lobes, go to a proffesional piercer. It is more expensive, but worth it, as you can have many complications otherwise.
My first tattoo: January, 2000 Well, I did not look into the tattoo parlours in the Sault before getting a tattoo, and I wish I had. The woman who did my first one was not what I would call proffesional. She DID NOT show me the autoclave (which they use for the equipment) or the different bars on the packages. I wanted a butterfly on my ankle, so I had shaven my legs that morning. She drew the butterfly for me and then used a piece of paper with ink on it to mark where I wanted it. It took about 40 minutes for her to do the tattoo. It stung as though I had cut my leg shaving, so it wasn't what I would call painful. The woman did not give me proper after care instructions, and did not do a very good job. I had excessive scabbing, and much of the colour wore off, so I am unhappy with it, but will be getting it redone soon.
My second tattoo: May, 2000 I wanted a tattoo that would represent my deceased daughter, Jessica. I decided on Chinese writing that spelled "Angel". I went, of course, to the other tattoo place in town. She did a complete demonsration of how the equipment was cleaned, the new needles, etc. She put the tattoo on my right shoulder, and it only took about 30 minutes. This time, I really didn't feel anything. Then she told me I had a lifetime guarantee on my tattoo, which is great, but I am sure I won't have any problems, as the tattoo healed well, and looks absolutely beautiful.
Re-do of my butterfly: April, 2002: I went and had the butterfly fixed by the woman who did my "Angel" tattoo. It looks great now!
My eyebrow piercing: July,
2000 A couple of weeks ago, my friend Debbie was getting a tat at the same place
I had my last one done. I have wanted my eyebrow pierced for a few years, so
Curt made me an appointment to get it done there. Her piercer is a registered
nurse, and has a good reputaion as a piercer, so as scared as I was, I trusted
him. I went in just shaking. When you have anything done there, you must fill
out a release form, and a health questionnare. I could not write properly since
my hands were shaking so bad. I handed the papers to him, and he asked me to
sit down. He explained everything to me, and I made some smart ass remarks,
as I use humour to keep myself from freaking out, haha. He asked another person
to come in and put the clamp on my eyebrow after he had used water and two other
things to clean the area. He took the needle and put it through. It was very
painful, and I bled quite a bit. Most people don't bleed he told me, but I am
a bleeder so I wasn't surprised. He put the ring on the needle and brought it
through as he was taking the needle out. He waited, then put the ball on the
loop. He had to use a sort of pliers to do that. He explained how to care for
it, as I drank a juice box he gave me to bring my blood sugar up. I was given
a sheet with instructions on how to care for my piercing, and that was it. It
was, and still is, two weeks later, swollen, but it does not hurt at all, and
I like it. A lot of people think I am too old, or that a mother shouldn't do
such things, but I like the way I am, and piercings and tats are part of me.
Tongue piercing: July, 2001.
Didn't think I would ever do it, but I had my tongue pierced. It didn't even
hurt. Well, the recovery was Hell, but now I like it. It was a spur of the moment
thing. I was over in Michigan, and a friend said he didn't feel any pain when
he got his done. He dragged me to this shop, and I got my tongue pierced. I
am so used to it now.
