BME: |
What gave you the idea to get a horizontal
tongue piercing?
|
PIERS: |
I love to get unique piercings, and I hadn’t seen it anywhere
before so it seemed like a good idea at the time. Vertical tongue
piercings also are known to be sexual aids, so I thought that a horizontal
one might be quite interesting too. The vertical tongue piercing tends to be very standard and
is widely accepted now, yet if you simply rotate it, it becomes so
much more.
|
PAMELA: |
Well, I’m kind of the odd duck... I’ve always been into body mods. I had my navel done twice but my
body rejected it both times before it had even healed, so I wanted
something that my body would actually allow. I found BME and started
looking around, and was immediately drawn to the horizontal tongue — I had never even heard of it being done that way —
but I waited probably a good six or seven months before I actually
did it.
|
GREGG: |
To be totally honest I was going through a stage in my life where
I had to be better than everyone else.
The only problem that’s created
when your friend thinks he’s a professional piercer and you
can buy needles down at your local Wildcat shop? You end up with some
weird and wonderful piercings!
I’d actually only been into piercing for about three months — before that I
vowed I would never get one, and disliked them immensely. But then I saw an eyebrow
spiral, got one, and was hooked.
The vertical tongue piercing looked too boring, and a horizontal one seemed a good idea at the time.
I’d been warned that you should never get a horizontal tongue piercing on a whim, so what do I go and do... I’m sure you can guess!
|
STEVE: |
I already had a vertical tongue piercing, which was one of
my first piercings, but I wanted something that was different and
looked good. Then I saw a horizontal tongue piercing on a girl at Erotica, an adult industry trade show in London.
After chatting to her I decided I wanted it done —
I wanted something that I could say, “look
what I got” because at the time, piercings were just starting
to get popular. I have no spiritual or whatever reason... I just wanted
it because it looked cool.
I searched the net and came up with a picture
on BME. I took that with me to the piercer and when he eventually did it, he positioned mine
as close to that picture as he could. I think mine’s pretty
similar to his:
|
| | 
Steve’s Horizontal Tongue Piercing
|
BME: |
What factors did you think about when considering getting
it done?
|
STEVE: |
I thought about how it might affect my job, the potential for damage
to nerves in my tongue. What if it were to hit one of those huge veins?
I was considering all kinds of things about the possible
damage to my taste buds and motor functions in my tongue, as it’s pretty
deep into the tissue. I thought about potential speech difficulties,
heavy bleeding, and at the time I had heard some rumors about tongue
piercing implications with cancer and stuff. There was also possible
dental damage, so I had a lot of health issues to consider.
The final factor it rested on was work. Would I be able to speak properly
enough to do my job as a night club promotions manager — where it was
key to be able to talk and chat to customers, and deal with businesses.
|
PIERS: |
Tell the truth, I didn’t really think about the consequences.
This was during my early days of piercings and I didn’t really
listen to the warnings of trained piercers.
|
PAMELA: |
Rejection was a battle with my navel and
I didn’t want that going on inside my mouth, and then there
was my mother: what she would say when she found out I did it?
|
BME: |
Had your piercer done this piercing before? What did they think about your request?
|
PIERS: |
I found out later, that Venom, my piercer, actually was very talented, but at the time I didn’t really care how experienced she was — as long as she would do the piercing!
She wasn’t nervous at all — probably
more excited than anything. She explained about how it would swell,
especially since I was having two in the same session (both vertical and horizontal
ones), and talked me through how horizontal tongue piercings have
a high chance of hitting something, or not lasting due to discomfort,
and so on.
|
GREGG: |
My piercer had never done it before. Having your friends stick holes
in you really isn’t the safest
option in the world, but at the time he had his own piercing studio
and had all the proper sterilized equipment.
|
STEVE: |
I knew my piercer had no experience with this kind of piercing,
but he has a portfolio that included a lot of stuff I’d never
seen, and he said he was always learning new stuff. However, initially he
said “NO!” point blank. I called every piercing studio within a hundred
miles and couldn’t find anyone else.
After a few months and a few piercings later I mangaged to talk him into it and he explained it
all to me: the risks, the dangers, the unlikely issues, as well as
the remote issues that would probably never happen, but he told me
it all.
|
BME: |
Since piercers often yearn to do unusual work, did you have to pay for the piercing, or did they do it for free or at cost?
|
PIERS: |
I had agreed on a special price with her... I think I paid
30 pounds for both piercings I got that day [between $50 and $60 US].
|
GREGG: |
Mine was free.
|
STEVE: |
I paid about ten pounds for mine [$20 US].
|
BME: |
What was the jewelry were you pierced with?
|
GREGG: |
At first I had a 1.6mm — 14ga — PTFE barbell with PTFE balls
so I wouldn’t smash my teeth on them. I later changed it to
a metal barbell with metal balls, at the same size.
|
STEVE: |
Originally the plan was to use what we had available — a one inch long steel barbell.
However,
when I worked it out, I figured it wouldn’t be able to rest
it in my mouth due to the immense length, so we settled on PTFE and
small 4mm beads on the ends so that they wouldn’t be too obtrusive
and sit nicely in my mouth.
They’re now so unobtrusive that
they can slide inside my tongue — I should actually put bigger ones
on to stop that, but I think if I do, the hole where the current ball
goes will stretch and I don’t want that. Now I have a one inch PTFE
in it right with 4mm stainless steel balls on the ends.
|
BME: |
How was the piercing itself done, and what did it feel like?
|
PAMELA: |
OH! It was horrible! I was crying and begged her to stop halfway
through. She told me she couldn’t, and then shoved the needle
the rest of the way through my tongue. That is why if you look at
it close enough it is crooked.
|
GREGG: |
We did the piercing in a garden... I know you may consider this dangerous or dirty, but
I felt safer being under the bright blue sky than in some room that resembled a doctor’s office.
I wouldn’t advise anyone to follow me in this — this is just personal preference, and I’m sure most piercers wouldn’t do it anyway.
We decided clamping my tongue and going as fast as possible seemed
like a good idea at the time, although my view now has changed and
I would’ve preferred going slowly freehand, as this would increase
the chance of getting a good straight line through my tongue.
It felt rather unpleasant; the pain didn’t really abate from
when the needle went in till the jewelry had taken its place. There’s
a good twenty or thrirty seconds of pain in comparison with the mild discomfort
of a tenth of a second that the average piercing gives you.
|
STEVE: |
The week before doing the piercing we checked for veins and the likes with a
torch (flashlight). The day of the piercing I got there
with a few of my friends, waited a few minutes while he set everything
up, and then he lead the way to the piercing room.
I hopped up on the gurney and waited as he took a pair of large clamps out from the autoclave and dried them off.
He inspected my tongue again, and placed these clamps,
made a few adjustments, and then locked them into place.
He sprayed Xylocaine on my tongue, and then asked me to take deep
breaths — which I was already doing — and placed the needle against
my tongue. He slowly started to push the needle through, with
the odd stop and change in direction and stuff to make sure it was
straight, and then a last push and he was through.
The pain was more of an intense burning, nothing like my normal tongue piercing.
It felt like
a small needle prick, then rapidly got hotter until it was stinging,
and then felt more like it was burning as it went through. It felt like four
or five minutes but I’m assured it was less than thirty seconds.
|
PIERS: |
Mine hurt the most out of any other piercings I’ve had. It was closest to my medusa (top
labret), just on sheer
scale, rather than actually what it felt like.
|
GREGG: |
Yeah, to say it hurt would be an understatement.
I looked straight up, watching the clouds roll by, and then a blinding sensation went through
my whole face... Not unbearable, but certainly close to intolerable.
I remember someone telling me to slow my breathing down or I’d hyperventilate.
|
BME: |
How did you feel afterwards?
|
GREGG: |
It looked great! I was so happy — I hugged everyone, washed my face, and did the best
impression of someone with absolutely no use of their tongue... Worst lisp in history!
|
STEVE: |
I washed my mouth out with ice cold water, and got a little relief. Then my piercer
looked at it and said it looked damned good... I couldn’t talk or anything — I
just mumbled and left his room and he told me to come back in a few days. As I walked
out a few of my friends were waiting and they were like, “oh god I can’t
believe you did that” and they were like “you’re mad” all the way to the pharmacy.
|
| |
Pamela’s piercing not long before removal, and Gregg’s
very fresh piercing.
|
BME: |
Did you change the jewelry during the healing process?
|
PAMELA: |
About a month later when I went to a shorter barbell, I think an inch or an inch and a half.
|
STEVE: |
I just clipped a millimeter (or four) off the PTFE bar and
rethreaded it as the swelling went “up” not down, so my tongue actually
got narrower and I clipped the PTFE to match. Once the swelling
was gone I had to get another PTFE bar to replace it as it had returned to being wider.
|
BME: |
What was the healing like?
|
STEVE: |
The healing was very much like my other tongue piercing, only it took maybe
six times longer. It’s now healed and I can take the bar out
easily and replace it. It can still act up if I catch it or anything
like that, but overall, it’s fine.
The only real issue I had during healing was eating bread or bread-like
food, as it got stuck on the balls and hurt like hell, and that’s
still a problem sometimes, but I think I have unknowingly adapted
to that one.
|
PIERS: |
To be honest, the piercing was very embarrassing, as it gave me
a really bad lisp and I found it incredibly hard to eat. I had a constant lisp the whole time I had it in. It restricted
my tongue from moving to pronounce the correct sound. It was very
frustrating after a while.
|
PAMELA: |
Well, it took about five months until I no longer had an infection
or a swollen tongue in the mornings... but I toughed it out, lisp and all.
|
BME: |
You had the lisp the whole time?
|
PAMELA: |
Yes, I had a lisp until I took it out... After I took it out, it was another five
months, when the tongue was fully healed, before my speech was perfect.
|
STEVE: |
My lisp stopped
as soon as the tenderness and swelling went down. I had a few issues with talking, but it was mainly with shouting. I still have
those problems, but it’s a small price to pay.
|
BME: |
Was there a lot of swelling in comparison to a normal tongue
piercing?
|
PIERS: |
I had both of them done at the same time so I wouldn’t know, yet when my
horizontal piercing was taken out the swelling completely disappeared
in a few days, so it kind of lead me to believe that most of the swelling
was from the horizontal one.
|
PAMELA: |
Yes, it was hard to talk for the entire time I had it because of the swelling, and I didn’t
eat anything solid for over two weeks.
|
GREGG: |
In my case there was hardly any swelling at all.
|
BME: |
What kind of aftercare did you give it? Did your piercer
suggest something special?
|
PIERS: |
I’ve always just used salt water — it seems to be the most effective
thing for me.
|
STEVE: |
My piercer always suggests one part Listerine to three parts water,
mixed into a water bottle, and I am to rinse after each meal and snack,
and first and last thing in the day.
|
| | |
BME: |
Did your piercer warn you anything you’d have to look out for or be careful about?
|
PAMELA: |
Actually, she didn’t. I only found out a month or so ago that
the tongue is two muscles on the left and right side, and that it’s
really bad for them to be pierced like that.
|
STEVE: |
My piercer mentioned veins and nerves and other such things... one of
the ones he was concerned about was the movement of my tongue — but
I had thought about that beforehand and was pretty much determined
to go through with it.
|
BME: |
What’s the most annoying thing about having it?
|
PIERS: |
The fact that I couldn’t smoke, eat, or talk properly.
|
PAMELA: |
The lisp. I had a huge speech impediment. People who knew me well
would always comment on it, but others that didn’t know me didn’t
know if I had it before. I had problems with the healing on the right
side of the tongue. I don’t know what happened there, but the
barbell sunk into my tongue and in order for me to talk properly,
the ball would have to be inside my tongue!
|
GREGG: |
I had problems closing my mouth, eating, talking, chewing gum — pretty much anything
orally.
|
STEVE: |
The most annoying thing other than people always asking to see it,
asking how long I’ve had it, and did it hurt — the usual things — is that it has
a tendency to flare up over the slightest mistreatment.
|
BME: |
On the other hand, what’s the best thing about it?
|
PIERS: |
It looks amazing and it’s so rare. It’s getting very hard nowadays
to get a piercing that is truly rare — don’t get me wrong, I love the
fact that body modifications have become more widespread, but I just prefer
having unique piercings and styles.
|
PAMELA: |
I liked the fact that it showed my individual style, and that I
do things for me and not for everyone else. The “Ahh cool”s
were pretty sweet too!
|
GREGG: |
It’s pushing your body beyond its normal state to create something
you feel happier with — although this could be said for any piercing.
|
STEVE: |
The best thing about this piercing is that it’s a defining piercing —
when I attend IAM meets, and I do attend a lot of them, it’s
the one piercing people identify me by, and I always get asked about
it. Most people are surprised by the amount of time I have had it,
and I have never met anyone else who has one or had one. I also love the
shock value from the non-pierced folks at work!
|
GREGG: |
You can’t really beat walking down the street with a bar going through
the tip of your tongue (and peoples expressions)... Oh boy, did I get some expressions,
from sheer horror to total respect and admiration.
|
BME: |
Any problems with chipped teeth or other dental issues?
|
PIERS: |
I only really thought about it after I bit down on one of the balls. Luckily no damage was done.
I decided to move onto foods that only involved sucking or swallowing
without chewing!
|
PAMELA: |
I now have a big chip on my left front upper tooth that I want to
get fixed soon. That is from when I would tighten the balls I would
hold it there with my teeth.
I don’t think I had it long enough for major damage
other than that one tooth chip to occur. For a while I used plastic balls, but
they were internally threaded and would always break off. I got
tired of that so I just went back to metal ones.
|
GREGG: |
Not really. I am of that stupid breed of people who deem
the piercing more important than the complications of the pierced
party — however, my mind has since changed on the subject, and I would take a
lot more into consideration over these sorts of factors so I didn’t
do something I might later regret.
|
STEVE: |
The only damage I got was when my bead came off while I was eating
a hamburger, and I bit onto the bead and chipped one of my bicuspids.
It’s a bit of a nuisance, but as it’s only a small chip,
I don’t mind.
|
| | |
BME: |
When you took it out, what were the factors in making the
decision?
|
PIERS: |
 |
Piers’
piercing forces him
to consider a trip to the hospital. |
I didn’t have a chance to rest the piercing. With my job I was
constantly talking and shouting over the music in the club. One night
I was working and I tasted a little blood in my mouth so I decided
to go to the toilets and check it out. There was a slight bit of blood
but I didn’t want to take any chances, so I went upstairs to the
night club to pack up my camera and say goodbye to a mate on the bar.
As I was trying to get out more and more people kept asking me to
take their photos and dragging me further back into the club. By the
time I got out it had started bleeding a bit heavier. I managed to
stop it with pressure but a few days later while I was treating myself
to a packet of smoky bacon crisps it started bleeding again, and quickly
got worse and worse until I was spitting blood and some rather unpleasant
blood clots.
Even though I was reluctant, I knew it was time to take it out. When
I finally did, I was really bleeding, and I made a phone call to a
mate for a round trip to the local Accident & Emergency ward,
as I felt like I was going to pass out. Doctors don’t really
appreciate self-inflicted wounds so I ended up stopping the bleeding
myself in the toilets.
|
PAMELA: |
My lisp was probably the biggest factor. Biting on the balls, and
one side didn’t heal properly. It just wasn’t worth it.
|
GREGG: |
I removed mine because it wasn’t straight enough, and because of discomfort and annoyance at not being to talk properly. I only kept it for three days.
|
BME: |
Steve, why do you think you’ve had so much success with
keeping this piercing?
|
STEVE: |
The key for me has been give and take. If I take the time to look
after my piercing, it’s fine, but if I get careless, it’s
problematic. If I mistreat the piercing it will swell. The secret
is: make some changes and learn to deal with it, or you’re going to
have problems.
|
BME: |
What advice would you have for others thinking about this
piercing?
|
PIERS: |
Go for it! But if it was anything like mine, be prepared to change
what you eat, how you eat, and how you talk. Hardcore body modification!
|
GREGG: |
Do what you think is best — don’t rush something like this
though, as it’s not something you should dive into without careful
consideration of the consequences.
|
STEVE: |
Give it serious thought because there is the risk of dental damage,
muscle damage, nerve and vein damage.
|
BME: |
Do you consider this a viable piercing?
|
PIERS: |
I know one girl with it in the area I live in, and she’s got
pictures of it healed so why not? Just because it didn’t work
for me doesn’t mean it won’t for you.
|
GREGG: |
Perhaps in the future, but why take the risk of harming the way
you speak? Your speech is the way other people can recognize the being
that is you, and if you have nice teeth
and can’t afford corrective dentistry, then why take the risk?
|
STEVE: |
For me, absolutely. If for some reason this has to come
out or starts to migrate I will remove it, heal it, and get it done
again.
|
| | |
BME: |
Was it all worth it?
|
PIERS: |
It was definitely worth it. I still
consider this to be a very beautiful tongue project.
The only reason I took it out was because of the bleeding.
To tell the truth, I don’t regret any of my piercings, but this is definitely a piercing that I would like to have again.
|
PAMELA: |
Honestly, no, it’s not. The five months healing time alone was crazy
on my part. Every morning I wanted to take it out, but I always wondered,
“what if it’s so cool when it’s healed?”
Well, it
was cool when it was healed, but then the lisp and all the other problems made it suck... but if the one side didn’t pull through I probably
would have kept it!
|
GREGG: |
If you’d have asked me this question two years ago I’d have told you it was all worth it and I was getting ready to have it repierced, but in hindsight, I don’t think it was worth it, but it depends on your mindset. Too many young people get
a piercing to be different, and too many piercers do piercings like this
to show they’re on the edge of their science. In the big scheme
of things it isn’t worth it to damage other parts
of you for the sake of being unique, although it just depends where you draw the line.
|
STEVE: |
I have worked my way into two managerial jobs with two mainstream companies with my piercings and all. One of them is my
main job in a night club called “Heaven and Hell” in Stockport.
I am the first line of contact with the public and even with my piercings,
I have the job, and I have worked my way up the ladder.
I would sacrifice my livelihood over it though, and I almost did when I went to
claim unemployment — I refused to take it out and they could have refused
my benefits but I showed them my resumé and proved I can and will get work.
It’s definitely worth it, purely because after nearly a
decade of having it, it’s still a rare piercing, and not many
people can say they have that these days!
* * *
|
Giving us the story from the other side of the needle is
Matt Bruce (IAM:
modsbymatt),
an active piercer at Body Jewellery and Piercing in Victoria, British
Columbia. He’s performed several horizontal tongue piercings,
and turned away even more customers asking for it. He’s here
to tell us, from a piercer’s point of view, some of the most
important things to know about the piercing.
|
| |
Matt, and a horizontal tongue piercing done on one of his customers.
|
BME: |
What kind of cautions do you need to take that are different
than a normal, vertical tongue piercing?
|
MATT: |
I researched this one for a while, thinking I was missing something,
but it seems that as long as the blood vessels taper off before the
area you are piercing in, it tends to be hassle-free.
|
BME: |
What kind of jewelry do you use, and why?
|
MATT: |
I use PTFE barbells because they bend with the movements
of the tongue itself. A stainless or titanium barbell will only get
in the way while trying to talk and eat and such, and Tygon has to
be changed too often. I prefer to use PTFE beads as well but if they
want stainless, I just make sure the jewelry is short enough that the
beads sit inside of the teeth.
|
BME: |
Can you explain the process of making sure the customer
is suitable for the piercing and of doing it?
|
MATT: |
Like I said, as long as there are no obvious blood vessels in the
area, that’s a good start. I find that if they fold up the tip
of the tongue and at the fold there is an indent on either side than
they have good anatomy for it, but that doesn’t mean they are good
for the piercing.
Good oral hygiene and previous experience with piercing
and oral piercing is a must, and then, based on all those variables,
I decide from that point if I will do the procedure. If everything
is a go, I make my entrance and exit marks and then brace the tongue
with a piece of gauze in-between my thumb and first fingers. After
everything is lined up, I push the needle through to the other mark
and then follow through with the jewellery.
|
BME: |
Do you warn the people about possible dental damage or other
potential problems?
|
MATT: |
Of course. As a professional piercer it is my obligation to inform
people of any possible negative effect that any procedure could have
on the client.
|
BME: |
How much should customers expect eating, drinking, talking,
and so on to be affected?
|
MATT: |
They will find it awkward at first, the same as any other tongue
piercing, but with PTFE it makes it very easy to adjust. Usually at
the two week point they tend to be talking well and the distension is
almost completely gone.
|
BME: |
What advice would you have for others thinking about this
piercing?
|
MATT: |
Make sure you see examples of the piercing in the artist’s
portfolio that you approach and I would say that if they recommend
a metal barbell, then I would look somewhere else. Also, just because
this or any piercing has been done does not mean it can be done on
you. If someone turns you away because you do not suit the work you
want don’t just keep looking till you find someone that will!
|
BME: |
Do you consider this a generally viable piercing?
|
MATT: |
That is a hard question to answer. For some, a navel piercing isn’t
viable, for others a standard tongue piercing isn’t. I try and
just go person-to-person with every procedure I do. If it is viable
for that individual then I do it.
|
| | |
