This experience is basically the story of getting my lobes pierced. I actually had to get them pierced twice. It was a long journey, but it all turned out alright.
At A Glance Author Christine Contact Christine@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Andy Shields Studio XS Tattoo Location Rochester, MI In 8th grade I decided that I wanted to get my ear lobes pierced and I (stupidly) went to Claire's. I knew I was allergic to nickel (quite badly, in fact) so I got steel studs. And, of course, I was pierced with the infamous gun. Things seemed to be healing fine – there was no sign of trouble. Well, about 2 weeks later the head of the stud was missing, and I figured it had fallen off (the backing was still in). I tried and tried to pull the back out but I couldn't – it turned bright red and started bleeding. I didn't understand what was going on, I thought the stud was just too big to sink into my ear. Eventually I had to go to the hospital and they cut my lobe open to remove the earring. It was a fairly painful ordeal and I was afraid to get them re-pierced for obvious reasons. The holes and the cut healed over with minimal scarring.
Last week (I'm 19 now) I decided to get my lobes re-pierced. I went to Andy Shields at XS Tattoo to get it done. He had done my nostril (almost painlessly) about 3 months before and did and excellent job, so I trusted he would do a good job again. He explained the procedure, had me fill out forms, pick out jewelry and photocopied my drivers licensee and then we went into the piercing room. The piercing room at XS is really cool – it's looks like a doctor's room except the chair where you sit has leopard print all over it and the walls look like Japanese tea house screens.
He then cleaned my lobes off, marked the position where he would pierce it and asked me if it was an okay positioning. He verbally walked me through everything he was doing and he changed his gloves several times throughout the procedure. It was, so he told me to breathe in and out and he pierced both my ears. He used two 18 gauge fixed bead rings. It pinched for a second but it wasn't terrible. There was no bleeding whatsoever. In fact, my ears were only red for a few minutes after the piercing – it subsided fairly quickly. I asked him if my ear would be appropriate for a daith piercing and he said it would, since I plan on getting that in the future. Then I paid for the jewelry and piercings. Usually he charges $30 per hole but since I was getting 2 done at the same time he charged $50 instead of $60. The jewelry was $25 total, which came to $75 all together. I would rather pay that much now than go through another gun disaster. I tipped Andy $10 and left.
It's been about a week and my ears are doing fantastic. They're hardly sore anymore and the holes are not red at all. There's a few crusties here and there, but nothing terrible. I usually don't heal very fast so this fast healing is quite a surprise. I'm really happy I got them re-pierced. For awhile I doubted that I would ever get them redone because I was afraid that the ear would suck the stud in – but it's not so with the little fixed bead rings. I actually like the fixed bead rings better than regular studs.
To those who plan on getting their lobes pierced: Do NOT get it done with a gun. It might go okay, but if it goes wrong it could be terrible. So please, please, please, get it done at a reputable piercer. I had to find this out the hard way. Needles will heal better and they aren't as damaging to the skin as the gun is. The gun rips the skin in the ear instead of piercing it like needles. Plus, needles aren't as painful as the gun.
I'll just say a few things about Andy now. As I said before, he pierced my nostril almost painlessly. He's REALLY professional and personable as well. He understands that people are usually pretty nervous when they come in and he does a good job of reassuring his customers. During the piercing procedure he keeps things really clean and I would trust him with any piercing that I wanted to do. So, if you live in the Metro Detroit area and want to get pierced, go to XS Tattoo in Rochester, Michigan. You won't be disappointed.
In the future I plan on getting the following piercings: a rook, daith and nipples. And I'll definitely go back to Andy at XS for them.
--Christine