Nervousness should never be confused with fear. When i walked into the studio, I felt butterflies rising in my stomach. I was anxious, but never afraid. I had known my piercist, Emily, for a few years and put full trust in her. I knew that when I left her studio, I would have three new additions to my body. That was the first day I could get pierced legally.
At A Glance Author varga Contact flux244@hotmail.com When A year ago Artist Emily Tessier Studio Under the Surface Location Baton Rouge, LA Like many people, I was a self-piercer for years. Of course, I don't recommend this. That day had finally come. My piercist poked her head around the corner inside of the shop and asked how I had been. I told her "I'm going to get pierced today." A blank look ran across Emily's face. I told her it was my eighteenth birthday. Her face lit up with a smile as she skipped to the counter to help me pick out my jewelry.
I had decided to get my nipples pierced years ago, but I wanted a new addition to my ears as well. Emily took a good look at my ears. She told me, as well as a few other piercers, that I had abnormally small ears and that piercings such as a daith would be rather difficult. Some piercers feel more comfortable with nook-and-cranny piercings than others, so to each his own. I finally chose the conch piercing which had been top on my list to begin with. I liked the way that conch piercings settle in the ear in addition to how much of a wider variety in jewelry that you have to choose from.
I chose three CBRs. She didn't have three fuchsia jeweled beads so I went with two fuchsia and one carnation pink. My nipple rings would have one pink and the other fuchsia, just to make things a little interesting. I love how girly the colors are, but I wanted a deeper shade for my conch, so I chose fuchsia for my visible piercing.
By this time, I was getting very anxious and excited. Emily directed me into the official "piercing room." Outside of the window to the room was a X-ray of someone who had nipple rings. I wanted to ask if I could buy it form her so much that I didn't notice myself walking into the restricted area. Before I knew it, I had hopped into the newly-renovated dentist chair, waiting to be poked.
My feet and hands started tapping to the beat of an imaginary rhythm. Butterflies rose in my stomach as I gripped the armrests of the chair with anticipation. After my nipple rings were perfectly pierced, Emily opened yet another packet with sparkling metal. I intently watched as she prepped me for another hole. I absolutely love the procedure. It still fascinates me as much if not more than the actual piercing. Emily even gave me a mirror so I could watch. She marked my ear, then lined the needle up. I could hear a popping sound as it protruded through my ear. One grunt pain later, she put the jewelry in and let me observe my new modification. It was gorgeous. I thanked her and bought an Under the Surface T-shirt. We said our good-byes while I couldn't keep a smile off of my face. I had to be careful driving home. It felt like most of my upper body was a bit angry with me. My piercings were tender and sore. Getting into the car was the best part. I had to watch my right ea r when I crawled into the seat, then I had to buckle my seat belt carefully so it wouldn't pull or snag on any of my new bobos. My conch was a little sore for a few days, but nothing too bad. Although it was a little more painful than I had expected, it was worth it. Pain is just a small, but very welcomed, side-effect from an experience.
Seventeen months later, I'm still loving every second of it. *Note - be careful how you sleep. If you aren't, you will regret it in the morning plus slow down healing time.* Even though I did all of my daily sea salt solutions and healthy aftercare, it did take a while to heal; although getting three piercings in one day probably didn't help. With doing at least three sea salt solutions per day with three piercings, you've got a lot of sea salt solutions, my friend.
Now piercing it just wasn't enough, so stretching my conch piercing well be a future procedure. I am so happy with it. It's amazing how you can take a part of the body that is fairly small and make it so decorative.
And so, with all of that jumble said, I love my conch. It's a great piercing and I recommend it to anyone who is considering getting one. It helps to have a great piercist as well. As long as you take care of it and don't sleep on it, you won't have any problems. This piercing has become the beginning of an ear project in which I will be working on for a while.