The Life and Death of My Antibrows

I had wanted a pair of antibrows for a couple of years before I got around to actually getting them.  But, for various reasons, mainly money and working in retail, they took longer to get than I would have liked.  Eventually, however, I left my job at Zellers (which I hated) and got myself a job doing data entry.  Not only was I sitting behind a computer listening to headphones all day and not talking to customers at all, but I was also making more money than I previously had been.  These two factors combined to make it possible to check yet another piercing off of my list of piercings to get.

My sad failed stomach surface piercing

I got this piercing in summer of 2004, but I’m not sure whether I’ve already submitted the experience here.  I think now is the best time anyway, because I’ve learned a few lessons and hopefully can pass them on to anyone considering the same piercing.
In 2004 I was 19 and already had a few piercings and a tattoo.  I had been interested in piercings since high school, and I also had stretch ears at 0g.  By this point I already had 3 lobe holes, my rook, right nipple and nose done.  I wanted something a little unconventional.  I had looked into surface piercings, and was confident I could handle the pain.  I also knew they had a high probability of rejecting, but I thought I would do it anyway and see.

Wrist Microdermals Persnickety about placement

I had flirted with the idea of surface piercings in my mind for a while. At one point I was interested in getting my nape done, but saw the disaster of a “flexible” bar that my friend was pierced with and decided I wouldn’t trust anyone in this area to be able to properly do surface work (i.e. punch & taper)

When I moved to Norway, I had talked to my piercer there about getting a surface piercing on my wrist. I wanted a surface bar, but she told me that it would probably reject as the only ones she had done successfully were on larger girls with more cushion in that area. I had heard a little jabbering about microdermal anchors on BME, as they had been in testing/use for about a year, and discussed the possibility of them with her. She had done several before and even had successfully healed many on herself, and we decided it was the way to go.

17th birthday present my pretty nape

When I was 12, I announced to my mother I wanted to get my ear pierced – a ring at the top of my ear.

She talked to the guys at her tattoo/piercing place while getting her second tattoo done, and they told her to wait until I was 13. Mum didn’t want me to get it done, so she told me that they had said 14. I decided that would be what I did for my 14th birthday.

After getting a second set of holes in my earlobes on my 13th birthday, and plans for another ear piercing the next year, I decided to get a piercing (and maybe someday a tattoo) to mark my birthday while I was in my teenage years).

Surface Piercing and Scarification Don t Mix

At least not in the healing process. And yet I keep seeming to do it.

I had a madison start to reject two days after a very bloody scarification. I had spent months being oh so careful only to drag a towel hard across it just after that first wicked shower after you have been cut. Next day it swelled and nothing I did helped much. Mostly this meant sea salt soaks and leaving it alone. I showed the piercer a few weeks later as I was getting another cut. I said ” I think I killed the madison” He looked and just shook his head. I pulled it out and focused on the cutting. The piercing scar accidently got lemon juiced and vinegared and covered in plastic alot when I got cut sort of nearby and was irritating the wound.But no problems really. Just dots.

Our first Dermal Anchors

In November last year [2006] the studio I am an apprentice body piercer at received an email from Jonathon Loveless. It was telling us about something new and exciting called Micro Dermal Surface Anchors. It included a link to an article published on BME and their website, Industrial Strength, where we could purchase these Surface Anchors from.

My boss / head piercer, Mark and I were intrigued. Mark spoke with Jonathon and his wife Eva about buying some of the jewellery and also about how to insert them. They were already coming over to England from Europe to show some other piercers how to perform this new procedure and offered to pop in one day and teach Mark on their way to another studio. One cold afternoon in February they arrived and once we got a quiet moment they brought out their case of goodies and talked us through everything. They began by showing us the jewellery, telling us of the success over-seas and explaining the benefits versus surface piercings. We’ve been offering surface piercings at the studio for about 4 years with around an 80% success rate, it seems wrists are the most likely to cause problems because of constant use and being knocked and there have been rare problems with cleavage piercings on larger breasted women. Eva was telling us how they’d be amazing to use as facial piercings, removing all gum recession possibility when used as lip piercings.  

Wrist Microdermals

While on a break from stretching my ears I began researching different body modifications on BME and became interested in microdermals after reading Shannon’s article (http://www.bmezine.com/news/pubring/20061106.html). The way they could be placed anywhere while being (to me) more aesthetically appealing than surface piercings made them the first choice for my next mod. After browsing BME and other sites for information on the procedure and possible locations I talked to my friend Amy about placement. I decided I would like them either at the back of my lower calves or above each wrist. After seeing a photo and appreciating how small and innocuous they could be I decided on the wrist microdermals.

Land of the Nape

Approximately three years ago I saw my first memorable nape piercing. In the movie Land of the Dead I saw the main female actress, Asia Argento, sporting the curious adornment. At the time, my knowledge of body modification was far less than what it is now; basically I was intrigued by the two balls on the back of some woman’s neck. I was fascinated and the image has yet to leave my mind.

my gorgeous hip piercings

Ever since I got my snakebites (which I did myself), I thought about getting something more.  But being only 17, my options were really limited.  My Mom wouldn’t sign for a tattoo, and anymore facial piercings were out of the question.

One day, I was just looking around the internet at pictures of surface piercings, when I saw them.  Hip surface piercings. I thought they were the most gorgeous thing that I had ever seen, and at that moment I knew that I needed to have them no matter what.  I talked to my biological dad about it (im adopted), and he agreed that he would pay to have them done, so I could show them off when we went on vacation to Florida over spring break.

horizontal cleavage

I decided I wanted my second cleavage piercing a year after I took my vertical one out. It had started rejecting after the dog jumped up and caught it one day but the scars I had left were minimal and I missed it so much. I decided I’d have this one placed a little higher than the last as it had been a problem sleeping with it as I would roll over in the night and my boobs would squish it. I wanted as little movement as possible.