i decided that i wanted a conch piercing. to tell the truth, i really dont
remember how i decided that i needed one, but around last christmas time i got
super hyper about body mods. i looked at a bunch of photos online (i didnt
know about BME then, so i was looking through archives of pictures on some
other site) and i thought that an inner conch piercing looked nice. once i saw
a picture of a barbell going straight through the center of the conch, i
thought "how rad would that look in MY ear?" i was on christmas break, and for
a present, i asked my mom and dad if i could get myself pierced. now, i go to
a catholic school, and piercings (other then ear lobes) are prohibited. my
parents were concerned about this, but i put their minds at ease after
explaining that ear piercings were acceptable (i know, i know, i half lied,
but i needed this piercing!). the parents eventually gave me permission.
i first decided to have my sister (who's 20) to take me to the studio.
we went to sticky fingers first, but they told me they wouldnt pierce me if i
was under 18. then we went to chat street, and they said as long as my parent
was there, it was alright. i returned to the studio with my dad the next day.
i told the piercer i wanted a conch piercing, and he just replied "niiiice."
he took me to the back of the store where the piercing equipment was, and
told me to have a seat in the chair. he decided on piercing me at 12 gauge.
at that time, i knew nothing of body piercings, so i didnt really care either
way. then i saw the needle. i was half expecting a needle the thickness of a
doctor's needle (you know, when you get a booster shot or something), and it
was a lot bigger then that. but i figured, its all for the sake of beauty, so
why the hell not. he cleaned my ear and marked it. i asked him to move the
placement more to the center of my ear. he marked it again, and it was lovely.
he put some substance that resembled vaseline on the needle. there some other
people in the shop up near the front, and every time he was about to lift the
needle to my ear, he stopped to look at what they were doing. i was nervous as
hell and that wasnt helping. eventually he told me to sit still, and then he
lifted the needle to my ear and shoved that sucker through. i didnt hurt too
badly. after he put the barbell in, it was throbbing a little, but it looked
too frickin cool! he wrote down some after care instructoions on a piece of
paper. he said to buy betadine or something(my memory is failing me right
now). my dad and i went to the drug store and bought the said anti-bacterial
agent. as we were driving to my house, i stared at the barbell sticking
through my ear and fell in love.
the healing process was a loooong one. i
will admit that. it took about 4 months until it didnt hurt to sleep on it. i
cleaned it all the time, and generally took good care of it, but it got crusty
quite often. however, i didnt mind the long and annoying healing process
because it looked so hot! i was the talk of the town at my school, because no
one had seen a conch piercing before. everyone asked me if it hurt, and i
answered them honestly (yes). none of my teachers or the administration at
school seemed to notice the piercing, which is good news. i had to take the
piercing out before the recommended 8 weeks, because i play softball, and the
season started early. we arent allowed to wear any jewely during games, so i
was forced to take out the barbell. after every game i re-inserted the
jewelry. eventually, though, i began to forget to put the barbell back in.
sometime in april, i went to south carolina for a tournament, and forgot to
bring my barbell. i hadnt had anything in my ear for about 3 weeks, and i
thought the hole had closed. luckily, i borrowed my friends 14 gauge belly
button barbell and shoved it through the small hole. i now wear a 14 gauge
barbell in my ear. 12 gauge doesnt fit very well, and it takes a lot of
pushing and pain to try to force it to fit. but i still love it. its adorable.
i want to get more piercings, and i will have my anti-tragus done sometime
soon (i've already made the arrangements with my mom to take me to the
studio.) however, i cant be heavily modified because of my school, and the
fact that i participate in an internship program at an engineering company. i
work at said engineering company in the summer, and its a professional
business environment. body piercings are frowned upon, unfortunately. my dream
is to have a venom piercing, but that will have to wait a while...
to any
thinking about getting a conch piercing, go for it. it will hurt, but it looks
great.
