Today I randomly decided to get my conch pierced. I had wanted it done for some time, but I wanted to wait until after finals. Monumental stress and new piercing don't mix well, in my opinion. Now finals are over, so today i packed up my gear and headed down to Body Art Emporium. Outside of the building there was am old car with a naked blow up doll in it. Funny. The piercer is a man who looks like santa clause might look like if he rode motorcycles. He introduced himself as Doc. Doc refered to my piercing as a "deer tag" which is sort of gross. I don't like the idea of comparing your customers to a hunted species. I also didn't like the idea that the people who named it that probably have hunting experience and that the hands they pierce me with have been in a dying animal, but I think I was reading wayyy too much into the name.
At A Glance Author spooky Contact spooky@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Doc Studio body art emporium Location bardstown rd. louisville KY Doc let me sit with him upstairs while I worked up a little nerve. He was very friendly and we chatted for a bit about what it takes to become a piercer and the drama between shops. He advised me to get some anatomy training and then get an apprenticeship. His co-worker Charley came up asking about tattoos. He had a novel idea for a back piece but I can't tell you because then you'll all go get it and he'll hate me for ruining his idea. Anyways, Doc finished his cigarette and his match on the game-box before we headed back downstairs to poke holes.
I sat down in the chair and let him measure my ears with teensy calipers and explain what he was going to do. I have never had my ears measured before, but the only other piercing I have inside the ear is a rook, and that doesn't need any measuring that I am aware of. I pointed out where I wanted the piercing to lay and we agreed to use a 14 gauge ring. I actually wanted a 12 gauge, but I got a little confused. I always get so retarded when I'm nervous. Doc joked with me about his little girl using the potty for the first time that morning. Maybe to distract me, in any case it was cute.
Doc told me what he was doing and kindly kept the needle out of my field of vision. He instructed me to take a deep breath and then another. As I released the second breath he pushed the needle through. At the moment he pushed the needle through, I noticed that the chair had a footrest. I noticed because I was bracing myself on them so tightly I felt like i was about to catapult myself out of the window and into oncoming traffic without a completed piercing, which would have been tragic. The piercing was a little painful, but not as much as i had expected. It did not hurt as much as my rook or nostril. I did not hear a pop or crunch or anything, but that does not mean that it wasn't there. After a brief moment of inspection Doc slipped the ring into my ear and that was that. I now have a big loop though my ear. The point of insertion is throbbing at the moment. Not painful really, just a tad sore. Doc gave me a card and gave me the aftercare speech. He advised Dial soap in the shower, no peroxide or alcohol and to use Johnson and Johnson's antiseptic wash, which had never been recommended to me before. He told me to twist the ring around in the shower once it was all lathered up. Everything he said sounded like good advise. In an effort to keep my piercing sanitary, I've showered once since I got it this afternoon, which is remarkable considering how filthy I usually am. It feels fine, no bruising, just a little swollen and sort of red. My ear feels heavy. I can feel the ring when I wiggle that ear, but I don't think wiggling my ears is a big deal. I can wait until it is healed to do it again.
Sadly, I think my piercing is funny looking. I am having piercer's remorse. I wanted it to be more horizontal and closer to the edge of my ear. The piercing itself looks great, but it hangs at a slightly different angle from my rook, which is annoying. Once you get a few, you have to coordinate them or else you'll look like a stapler-happy 12 year old. And it takes a very large diameter ring where I had imagined a smaller, thicker one. I will sleep on it (the idea, not the piercing... God no, not on a fresh piercing) and see how I feel about it in the morning. if I decide to take it out and redo it, it was a fairly small investment, $30 including jewlery, and now I know what I want. Wish me luck in the days to come!