Piercing Journal: Entry 2, Getting Inked

So, today was monumental for me for two reasons. First of all, my nose piercing has healed. The bump is gone. The skin looks healthy. I know that it won’t be completely healed for a while yet, but the chamomile tea compresses have certainly helped with the scar tissue. I am still keeping my fingers crossed and using wound wash in the morning and afternoon and a compress at night. I won’t ease off of that until week 14.

I got inked today; my very first tattoo. I’m 40. I have wanted one since I was at least 16. I was so nervous and anxious about the pain. On a 10 points scale, it was maybe a 2. It was more irritating than painful.  I am so glad I did it. I just need to take really good care of it. Because the line is so thin, my artist told me to keep it moisturized otherwise it will flake. I know you’re supposed to do that anyway, but apparently the thinner the line, the bigger the chance that it will flake off.

So there it is. I can’t believe it. I will get another either before the summer is over or next summer. I still want the semi-colon for mental health awareness.

As far as describing the experience, I used Reiki and meditation to step outside of myself. It helped me deal with the discomfort. I used my meditation app, too. If no one reading this has ever had a tat, eat before you go, drink plenty of fluids, get a good night’s rest, take a friend, and bring some music or soothing sounds. It does help.