By Heather from Hope, MI
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My name is Mango (AKA Heather). This is my story: Ever since I was 13 years old, I’ve always wanted a tounge piercing. I thought they were the coolest thing ever. I never dared ask permission from dad for one, though, as I knew he’d NEVER let me get one. Well, now I’m 2 months away from turning 20, and I’ve decided I can get done what I want when I want, without dad’s permission. Wednesday afternoon, (May 5th) I discovered my boyfriend had been cheating on me, so I told him to bugger off. Since we’d argued a month before about my desire to get a tounge piercing, I decided the night of May 5th that the following morning I was gonna go to a tattoo parlor and get it done! As luck would have it, my dear friend Cam said he’d pick me and my friend, Cauldren, up from her house Thursday mid-day and take us out to The Electric Chair in Bay City. On the way to the parlor, I panicked, chickened out of the tongue piercing, and decided I’d ask about a very cool industrial ring I’d seen two weeks before whn I accompanied my friend there for her naval piercing. When we got to the parlor, one of the tattoo artists smiled at us and asked what he could do for us. I started questioning him about the different piercings there. He said the industrials were $45 cos they were two holes, but I was wondering about the spiral one I was eyeing, as it had 5 holes, but the artist said there’s a great chance for pulling, as all 5 would have to line up perfectly. So I questioned about my tattoo (it needs to be touched up) and about a small heart on my stomach. He said he’d do both at once for $60, but I only had $50 with me. I asked how much naval piercings were -I couldn’t remember from two weeks prior- when he said $25, I told him “sign me up before I change my mind!” So I filled out the paperwork, and waited while the piercer, Painter, got out the tools he needed and washed his hands. When he was ready, he called me back. Both my friends followed me back into the room. I knew where to go, what to do. Before he did ! anything , Painter picked up each tool and explained they had all been through the Autoclave as soon as they came in. Each was in it’s own individual bag, sterile, and sealed. He opened them, then told me to stand up straight. He made two small marks with ink on my skin with a tooth pink. He then pointed me to lay down. Cauldren panicked and looked the other way (she’s terrified of needles), but held my hand, and Cam watched the whole process. Painter was very gentle, and used tongs to clamp the skin for the piercing. He told me to take a deep breath, exhale slowly, I felt a slight pinch, and then Painter said “There’s your piercing.” Then he got the naval ring, put it through the hole, and tightened it on. Removed the clamp and said “all done! Check it out in the mirror.” It looked perfect 🙂 The studio itself is very clean, yet seems vintage as it’s an old building out on E Michigan Ave. but before we even left the piercing room, Painter was already cleaning things off and throwing away the needle he’d used to piere my naval with. He handed me an after care sheet with instructions and suggestions and even a list of “what to expect during the healing process” I can’t say how long it will take to heal, as this was two days ago, but I hardly bled. It didn’t hurt to get done like I thought it would, but then again I’ve got a high pain tolerance level. It’s slightly bruised as I bumped it yesterday, but I’m very happy with it and the studio gets two thumbs up from me! I’m going back in a week to get my tattoos.