I mentioned a while ago now that I have been working on something and I'm so happy that I actually get to make and publish this post! A while ago now I signed up to take a course that has set me up and trained me in the art of specialist body piercing! I've always had a passion for body modifications, and I've always wanted to be a part of it. I pondered on the idea of becoming a tattoo artist, because I love how personal the service is and the idea of giving someone something they can be proud of for life - but unfortunately, I'm not a talented drawer. I looked into what's involved in the body piercing industry and fell in love. I took a while to make sure this fascination wasn't just a phase, and is something I can really commit to - almost a year later, it's still what I want to do, so I took the plunge and decided to just go for it!
I thought it would be fun to keep a little diary of what happened each day of my practical - keep in mind that I had been doing a month of theory work prior to this, and actually did another month of theory after my practical, so it wasn't just a quick 5 day wam bam, thanks fam. So yeah, without further ado, check out what I got up to behind the piercing room doors!
This morning was hectic. I got up super early to have time to fully get ready and be able to go out for breakfast, all before 9am so I could make it to Belmont by 10am for my first day. I had just finished my makeup and was zipping up my bag when a deafening sound filled the room. A voice bellowed from the walls and told us to evacuate immediately. All those years of school fire drills came back to me and told me to drop my bags and get out of there, but Cassidy was moaning something about not having any pants on, and my fully packed bags were already in my hands. I figured, fuck it. The judgement when I got downstairs to the reception area was unreal - and I can see why; a young girl coming down the stairs in full makeup, clutching her laptop to her chest with two bags slung over her shoulders kind of sends a materialistic message.
Fortunately, the evacuation was a false alarm. A group of kids had been smoking in one of the rooms enough so that it set off the smoke alarm. I was quietly thankful though, because it woke Cassidy up, which meant we could finally leave and get breakfast.
Breakfast was a poached egg on toast each at the coffee club and a banana honey smoothie that I gulped down as I checked the time. I don't trust public transport to ever be on time, so I always like to leave as early as I can. Cassidy and I parted ways and I made my way down to the bus stop, my shoulders already aching from the weight of my bags.
Fast forward 40 minutes and I had found myself exactly where I needed to be. I felt a little silly walking into the place with a massive bag and my clear backpack, but I found a place to set them down and met the rest of my classmates. I had a look around and of course, I was the youngest there. We all took out our notebooks and pens and shuffled into a cramped piercing room, clamouring around the full body chair that acted as a makeshift table in the centre of the room.
We met our trainer, Xianne, and spent the day doing all theory work. Today was all about infection control and how to keep a clean, safe and sterile work environment. I learned a lot, and Xianne explained everything in a way that can actually be applied to the real world. We had a run through of the proper order to clean things, and even how to work an autoclave. We finished at about 4pm, and although I had assumed for this whole week that I would be enduring the 2 hour long public transport route home, a friend I had made just so happened to live in the suburb next to mine, so she gave me a lift home, cutting the time in half.
It's only 6pm and I'm extremely tired, but I'm also really proud and excited. I've been waiting to do this for so long and I'm really happy that I'm finally here. I feel really satisfied with the things I've learned today and although I'm really nervous for tomorrow, I'm excited, too. Tomorrow I'm going to start piercing for real, let's hope it goes well!
I walked into our piercing room extremely nervous for what was to come. It was hard to believe that today, after waiting for so long, I would actually be piercing a real person. The models were set to come in at 1:30, so we had 3 hours to prepare. We watched Xianne demonstrate how to do a basic piercing, and we practised on sponges; not very professional sounding, I know, but it actually did the trick. I felt a lot less nervous now that I had actually gone over the procedure with my own hands.
We broke for lunch at 12:30 and I basically spent the whole time trying to distract myself with food. I met up with some girls from my class a bit before we were supposed to go in, and we all reassured each other that we were actually trained for this, and that Xianne wouldn't let anything go wrong.
From the time we opened our door to our first client until 6pm, everything was hectic. Clean and disinfect the room, set up the piercing station with new and sterile equipment, assist the piercer, clear away the dirty tools, clean and disinfect the room, set up the piercing station... over and over. I am grateful though that we did fit so many people in, because now I'm fully confident in how to navigate the piercing room for when I'm setting up for a client and packing away after them.
I was a little annoyed, because a few girls pushed their clients to be first... but all at one time. So with no regard for the line, some models could walk right on in, while others waited. The model I had asked to come and actually travelled to be there for me had been waiting for long enough that she decided to bail. Of course, I didn't have my phone with me in the piercing room, so I didn't know until it was almost closing time and everyone had done a piercing except me. I was a little annoyed, because I did say the piercing times start at 1:30 onward, but I can also understand why she left, I wouldn't want to wait that long just to be pierced by a trainee.
I didn't stress too much though, because I have another 3 models booked for tomorrow, so as long as they don't bail, I get to do some practical work. Thankfully, I didn't have to put all my faith in these models, because the final client decided she wanted two piercings: her nostril and her helix. Once the nostril was done, I was up. My anxieties about piercing had completely left me after 4 solid hours of being on my feet, helping others pierce. I'm kind of grateful I got to go last, because by this time, I was able to think clearly, and just get the procedure done. I hit the mark, got the jewellery in, cleaned up a bit of blood, and just like that, my first piercing was done with. It was just a little helix stud, but I feel so proud that I'm the one who put that there. Like, that girl is walking around with my art on her, it's such a great feeling.
After we cleaned up the piercing room, Xianne called it a day and it was time to go home. I'm so exhausted, but my partner bought me some Ben & Jerrys ice cream and is taking really good care of me. We're going to watch some Netflix and then call it a night I think. I have a big day tomorrow, wish me luck!!
I think my body is finally used to the early mornings, because I was a lot more awake and ready this morning. We went through a bit of theory for the first half of the morning, and squeezed in two piercings before we broke for lunch. Some girls in the class couldn't get enough models in, so they pierced each other, which was interesting to watch. I also got to see a male nipple get pierced, which was really interesting. I definitely prefer female nipples, because, well, they actually have something there to pierce. We broke for lunch and I was excited with the variety I had up ahead: a double helix, a daith, and two nipples.
My first model came in for her double helix. I got set up and it went really well - the only issue was that because it was a double piercing in the same area, there was a lot of blood. My model said she felt embarrassed, but I did my best to reassure her it was no problem at all. Honestly puddings, literally everybody bleeds. I put two needles through her ear, she was going to bleed. Never be ashamed of something that you can't control - especially when getting body mods, we expect people to bleed and are trained to deal with it.
My next model came in for her daith. Unfortunately, after I had a look, she didn't really seem to have one in either of her ears big enough to pierce. I asked her if she wanted something else done, and the only thing there was really any room in her ears for... was a helix. I couldn't help but laugh and I told her it was no problem - doing helix piercings is basically in my muscle memory now.
By the end of the day, I was so extremely tired. Our last client in was my final model, who came in to get her nipples pierced. I'm so thankful to her, because it took a while for me to mark them up perfectly straight, and she took it like a champ. I was super nervous for this, because every other client getting their nipples done had one piercer on each nipple; I was the first in my class to do two nipples on one person all alone. I did the first one and hit my mark perfectly, and there wasn't even any visible bleeding. But then, I'm not sure what happened to me; I think it was a combination of exhaustion and adrenaline, but my hands could not stop shaking. It was so embarrassing, because in my mind I was completely calm and knew what I was doing - and yet, my hands weren't getting the message. Xianne supervised every piercing that happened throughout the duration of the course and was always there to assist, so she helped me hold my hand still enough to keep the forceps in place and I was able to do the second one.
Luckily, it was home time straight after my final client, so I was able to enjoy the ride home with my friend, stop shaking, and get my shit together. I'm in bed now with my partner and I'm feeling a lot better. Honestly, I think the shaking was just the exhaustion mixed with the adrenaline that comes with piercing. For the double helix it was super quick and easy because it was almost in the same place - but for the nipples, I had to move around to the other side of my model and I think that gave my body time to freak out a little. It's not really a big deal, because I pulled off the piercing well, I just felt a little embarrassed. Anyway, dermals are tomorrow, which is the scary stuff so I'm gunna try fit in an episode of Bojack Horseman and then call it a night!
Today I came in bright eyed, bushy tailed and confident. We only had one model each for today, and turns out, only two of them were actual clients - the other girls were all going to pierce each other. We spent the first few hours going through the theory work for dermals, and then doing our practises on the rough sides of sponges - it's actually much easier to put a dermal in skin than it is to put one in a sponge.
A few girls in the class went first before the models were due to come in, and it really built up my confidence. Doing dermals is actually pretty easy, and there were literally no complaints about pain. There was obviously blood, due to having to literally screw a hole into the skin - but all the girls said it just felt like a prick when the dental punch went in and then nothingness. I like that, because although I love giving people body mods, you never want to put someone in a lot of pain.
We broke for lunch and I made sure to eat well. Before I knew it, my model had arrived and it was my time to shine. Drilling into skin is a lot easier than I thought. My only issue was actually putting the dermal in; because my model wanted hers in the back of her neck, it was hard to keep enough skin gripped in my hand while I put the jewellery in with the other. It didn't go in properly the first time, so I had to pull it out and try again. The good news is that on my second time, because I had isolated the skin so much with my pinch, there was no blood in the way, and the jewellery went in very quickly and we were all done!
I was really proud of my client and I'm super thankful to her for trusting me enough to do something like that in such a vulnerable place. It was actually so cool and satisfying to do - when the dermal is in properly, you can hear and feel a little 'pop'. Watching everyone get them and knowing it doesn't really hurt kind of makes me want to get a few. I also would really like to do more eventually, they look so good.
Today was a short day, so my partner and I are chilling at home right now and are about to grab dinner. I'm so happy I made it through all of my prac. Tomorrow is only brushing up on some theory and having a go at marking up some of the piercings we didn't get to do. I'm just so proud of myself and so thankful to so many people. I know I shouldn't be giving my oscar speech on the second last day, but I'm just really really happy with how this week has gone so far.
Today was interesting, to say the least. I woke up at 7am just like every other day this week, stretched, and suddenly there was a flash of pain and I couldn't move my neck. I thought I obviously pulled a muscle, so I gave it a few minutes and went to get up as normal. It didn't work. I literally could not move my neck at all. It started to get hot and sore, so I woke up my partner and we tried to figure out what was going on. He eventually ended up calling the hospital, and after being on hold for too long, we resorted to calling the ambulance. Fast-forward about 20 useless questions about if I'm aboriginal or not, and we were connected to a nurse just in case we didn't really need an ambulance for my neck that after half an hour now, physically could not move an inch. The nurse asked me the same questions again and to be honest, was more of a pain in the neck than my actual neck pain was. Eventually, she just told me to put some ice on my neck and see a doctor when I can. I was so annoyed because I told her over and over I literally couldn't move to even get in the car to go to the doctors.
My partner held an ice pack on my neck for an hour, and after repeatedly moving my neck back and fourth about a centimetre at a time, I was eventually able to rotate my neck all the way to the left, and about half way to the right on my own. By this time, it was 10am. I gave Xianne a call and let her know what was going on. She was more compassionate than the ladies from the ambulance line, and told me all I needed to do today to complete my prac was scrub a few tools, so I could come in whenever I was ready; if I couldn't make it, she let me know that I'd have to wait until the next course was running in my city and finish my prac then - this course would be in 2017. I'd be damned if I was going to let a stupid pulled muscle ruin my week.
My partner helped me to sit up and eventually stand, get dressed, apply minimal makeup, and then head off. I got to class 2 hours late, but just on time to be present for marking up the piercings we missed out on this week, and even practising tongue piercings on our sponge friends. Before I knew it, we were all done. We took a group photo, and after everyone left, I quickly did my scrubbing prac.
I've just gotten home now and I feel a lot better. The right side of my neck is still in constant pain, but I have a bit more movement and it's only getting better, which I guess is a good sign. Tonight I have family dinner with my partner, and then tonight I'm seeing Suicide Squad with my sister. This was such a crazy end to the week, I can't help but laugh. This week has probably been the most stressful and happy week of my life. I'm so glad it's over, but at the same time, I'm going to miss it. Now all I have to do is complete an online theory test, and I'll be 100% certified to stab people professionally! But for now, I'm going to have a nap. Thanks for reading, and I'll be sure to let you puddings know what's next for me!
Thank you so so so much to my trainer Xianne and the friends I made this August ♡
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