my corset piercing.

So I'm a piercing junkie, always been. For some reason, ever since I was a tiny tot, I've just been fascinated with body art. I started getting pierced when I was 15. My navel was my first piercing ever. After that, I just got hooked. I've pierced just about everything; my septum, sternum, lip, monroe, smiley, ears, hips, collar bones- you name it, I probably had it pierced at some point.

So when I was about 17, I decided I wanted a corset piercing. On my right side to be exact, around my rib area. My idea was that it would consist of eight piercing altogether. Four on each side, with enough room in between them.

I went to the piercing shop where I got my first piercing ever done & told them what I wanted done. Thankfully I got the same piercer, the one who had pierced my navel. She's the sweetest thing and makes you feel totally comfortable and she had lots of experience, which is always a great thing. So we talked about it and she gave me a day to stop by and I did. So the day of the piercing, she explained to me what she was going to do and what not, showed me the hoops and the clamps, cleaned the area, marked me up, blah blah.

She tells me to relax and take a seat, because it would be better if I sat up straight than if I stood up or laid down throughout the procedure. Which I believe she was right, because I really did feel more comfortable that way and I was seated high enough so that she could pierce me without having to bend down or reach up.

She begins by clamping the first one, which is always the part I hate, then she told me to take a deep breath, hold it, and let it out. When I let it out, she stuck the needle through. Luckily, the skin on my rib area is very soft & so the needles would slide right through. It wasn't that bad until we got to like number three. The clamping became unbearable. I don't know why, but it was hurting so much and I honestly couldn't handle it. Though I initially was going in for eight altogether, we ended up just doing six because the pain was becoming that bad. After we were done, she cleaned the area and gave me aftercare instructions and didn't lace me up because she said I should wait til they healed properly so that the lace wouldn't tug and bother me and what not.

So I went home and it was doing fine. Of course my side felt sore for the first few days and I couldn't sleep on that side. But I did clean them thoroughly when I showered with antibacterial soap.

After a few weeks, they started to hurt so bad. Sometimes even the shirts I wore would be a bother, just the fabric on my piercings would hurt. They would bleed and puss a lot and the pain was horrible. But I insisted in giving them a while longer to adjust, hoping they would not reject. But as I know now, hoops are NOT good for surface piercings and can easily reject. Also, the fact that it was on my side wasn't that much of a great idea. When people would hug me, they would rub up on it by mistake, and that was another thing that led to them rejecting.

I ended up taking them out; because of the pain and because one of them was beginning to rip and form a bubble. I really didn't want to remove them, I loved my corset so much, even if I had to endure all this pain. But I knew it had to be done, they were never going to heal properly. And it's not that I regret doing them, because they served as a good learning experience, but I wish I would've taken them out sooner, done more research, & been more cautious. Now I have six ugly scars on my side which are not very appealing.

Any kind of surface piercing has a high rate of rejecting. My hips and collar bones also ended up rejecting, and these were pierced with the staple bars. As for the hips, you know that clothing gets stuck on them, and all the movement around the hip area that is done when we walk or do just about anything doesn't help much. My collar bones rejected because one, when I wear my seat belt when I drive, it would tend to rub up on my left one, and two, I don't know, surface piercings are just that darn sneaky! As for my sternum, it's been my only surface piercing til this day that hasn't rejected. I've had it for about a year and it is doing just fine.

All in all, my whole point is that when doing surface piercings, especially in sensitive areas, one should be very careful. There is a huge chance that they might reject.