Ear lobes: My mum wouldn’t let me (or my sister) have them pierced until we could be left alone to deal with the aftercare ourselves, and I think the age she set was 13. I went to one of the local jewellers and had them pierced with a gun. I think I looked after them ok, but they still got gunky and while giving them a rest they healed up. I was 14 or 15 when I got them redone, and 15 or 16 when I got another set (I’ve got two earrings in each lobe). All were local jewellers with guns again, which I don’t recommend. Guns are harder on your flesh than needles, and the jewellery that proper piercers use doesn’t trap the gunk like those gold-plated studs do.
Helix (top of the ear): I was 17 and should have known better. My boyfriend was 26 and REALLY should have known better. Anyway, we both wanted a helix piercing, and we were mega cheap, so we decided to each take one of a pair, like my friends used to do at school. We weren’t interested in paying for a proper piercer, but the jewellers with guns were responsible enough to only do lobes. We were on his turf, in Manchester*, so he took me to Affleck’s Palace and we found a hairdresser who also did piercings. She wouldn’t let us split a pair, so we had to pay like a whole fiver each, and that’s why I have two holes there. She was apparently very absent-minded and started prepping me for hair extensions, but I wasn’t deterred. I got pierced, my ear was sore for weeks, and I regretted having them done on the side I like to sleep on. It worked out ok eventually but no, don’t do that!
Nostril: I’d wanted this done since I was 12, when I used to put little star stickers on my nose. My mum thought it was unhygienic and then someone else said they had one and could feel it poking the inside of their nose all the time which sounded annoying, so I went off the idea a bit. But, I was 18, or maybe 19, and I still wanted a thing on my nose. I thought I should just go for it, I could always take it out if there were any problems. I had it done in Punktured in North Laine. It didn’t hurt, but I went pale so the piercer lowered my head, gave me a lolly, and wouldn’t let me leave until I got someone to collect me. It was pretty good care, but I don’t know if she’s still in that shop.
Nipple: 21. I’d been lapdancing for about nine months and one of the other girls had both hers done, which I started to like after playing with them in double dances. It was also topless dancing only, so I was fondling my boobs all the time. I was getting a bit bored, so I got pierced. I went to Perforations, which was the studio that was generally recommended at the time. I don’t remember the name of the guy who did it, but he was the one that didn’t leave the country. It was good; I was sure to sit down in reception for a while afterwards, but I was fine. Once I got up and left I was even better. For an hour or two my nipple was sensitive to the bounce of every step, but not at all uncomfortably, so I just kept walking as long as it lasted.
Hood: Still 21. This one was also partly influenced by the strip club, although I’d left by then. I wasn’t into hood piercings before, but another dancer had one and I started to think it was cute. Plus it’s a functional piercing with some people reporting better and easier orgasms, and I hadn’t had any at the time so I thought it was worth a try. I went back to Perforations, which had become Metaflesh, and the same guy pierced me. I did it without anaesthetic and I screamed, so I was impressed that he got it almost straight. Him being so friendly and chatty was a minor drawback this time though, since we were talking about something and he wasn’t quick to replace the needle with the jewellery. At the time I didn’t realise I was going to feel a lot better once he did! Anyway, it was a nice place but I can’t recommend it because the owner went to new Zealand or something.
*This isn’t the ex in Manchester that some of you know about; he came later and is only two years older than me.
