Joel Bament
Despite being used for the last five thousand years, piercings are still shrouded in mystery. This should be demolished.
The earliest evidence of modifications is Ötzi the Iceman, a 5,307 year old corpse frozen between the borders of Austria and Italy. He was found with an earring still firmly clasped in his lobe. Jump to the 14th Century and visible pierced nipples was the style of the time. The Queen consort of France, Isabeau, lead the trend. I didn’t even mention the obvious: Janet Jackson.
This not-so-delicate art brings in the strangest people.
While waiting for Joel Bament, the head piercer at Wicked Ink, Australia, gaggles of girls walked through the door in fifteen minute intervals. Their loud chatter drowned out the incessant buzz of tattoo needles.
“Like, my nose ring fell out when I was asleep and I can’t get it back in.” The boisterous girl said as she disappears into the back room. When she reappears, her eyes are bloodshot and slightly puffy. Unconsciously, her hand is covering her left nostril and her eyes are to the floor. Her friends gather around her and the troops walk out.
Another flock stamps in. One is nervous so she talks loudly “I wanna get a tattoo, maybe this butterfly. It’s hot”. After ten minutes of spontaneous laughter they leave without making a booking.
The receptionist smiles a cynical smile at Mitch, a part-time piercer. I’m getting a feeling that this is their daily routine.
Joel Bament walks in and introduces himself with an open smile. When he greets you one doesn’t know what to look at first. Stretched ear lobes, silicone bumps in his cheek and forehead and at least five piercings in his face registers in a quick glance. Bament experiments each piercing on himself at least five times, with slight variations to test pain and healing times.
There are people who just do jobs and then there’s passionate people like Bament; who reads anatomy books to imagine the possible body jewelery.
I chatted to him about what people need to know before, during and after a piercing.
This post covers the topic that everyone should be concerned about, Pain.
- “I had a big guy come in who was acting tough in front of his friends, but once the door was closed, he winced whenever I touched him, convinced that the felt-tip pen was sharp. In other instances I’ve had a sixty-year-old woman come in for four labia piercings and both nipples in one sitting,” reminisced Bament. The amount of pain can be minimised but everyone’s pain threshold is different. Stress can have an effect on your pain threshold so make sure your head is clear and you’re in a good mood.
- Piercing guns is just bad form because it pushes through flesh using pressure causing more damage. It is also inaccurate and probably used by novices at shopping malls.
- You have a right to ask for numbing creams if you’re getting an oral piercing such as your lip or tongue.
- If done correctly, a belly button getting pierced should feel like popping a pimple and would be done in five seconds.
- A discomfort similar to a bruise is common for most piercings for a couple of days. If you’re getting your tongue done, it may feel like you bit down on it really hard.
Stay tuned for the next post about choosing your piercer.
Later crazy cats.
Previously, on Little Flutters:
Piercings 101: Pick an expert piercer