Piercing Stories Vol. 1

Piercing stories can sometimes help you with your own piercing experience. By reading the words of somebody who’s been there, they can often be more helpful than dry and factual information that’s supposed to help you. Here is one of our favorite piercing stories from a dedicated rankmytattoos.com fan.

Piercing Stories Vol. 1 Neck Piercing---Josh, 24, Memphis, TN

I was pretty scared about my nape piercing. A lot of people told me not to get it cos it would get infected. But I thought it looked really cool with those small metal parts in the back of the neck and if it got infected then I could always take it out.

The first thing my piercing artist did was clean the area with a solution to get rid of oils and dirt in the nape. Then it took awhile to map out the location of the neck piercing. Some people like it higher because of the shirt collar—I got mine pretty low.

After that my piercing artist told me to focus on my breathing. This really helped. By exhaling during the actual piercing it didn’t really hurt that bad. My head actually felt warm and gave me a good rush.

The piercing artist told me to clean it twice a day and don’t let hair near it. (Too many oils.) Nape piercings are notorious for getting infected—probably why tons of people told me not to get it. But he told me if I was diligent about it then that shouldn’t be a problem.

Another thing he said to watch was clothing. Shirts can catch on the piercing and cause the metal to push and possibly migrate to a different area. Which would suck.

It’s been two months now since I got the nape piercing. I know it takes about 3 months total for the piercing to heal but I’m pretty happy with the results. The neck stiffness I felt went away in a day or two and though the piercing is itchy sometimes, by soaking it twice a day I’ve been able to keep it clean and hopefully prevent my body rejecting the jewelry.

I’d say doing the aftercare and picking a good piercing artist is the key to nape piercing success. Realize you’re probably going to have to go back and get some more work done it. But it was totally worth it…my nape piercing looks great.