I had never had a piercing before. Not even my lobes with a gun. I'm a real wimp when it comes to pain, but I have seen so many people with fun jewelry and great plugs, that I thought it was time. This is the story of my lobes.
At A Glance Author anonymous When A year ago Location Calgary, Canada At the time of these piercings, I knew very little about body piercing. I didn't know about gauges, or what type of material to use. I didn't know anything about aftercare, or about proper procedure. I was going to head to a shop in the mall and get some person at Claire's to do them, because it was cheap. My friend told me about the risks involved with piercing guns, and the lack of sterilization, and then told me about a shop that I should go to. She had been there a few times before, and she said they were good.
I went with my friend, because I was a little worried. I'm not so good with pain, and I always wondered how people could have things like their nostril or ear cartilage pierced. It seemed really crazy. Anyway, we went to the shop, and from the minute I walked in I felt comfortable. The place was clean and spacious, we were greeted with friendly smiles and hellos, and we were told to go sit down on the couch with the girl that worked there.
I explained my situation, and what I wanted. I wasn't sure on what type of jewelry, or gauge, but the girl showed me what they had and helped me decide what to get. Nothing crazy, just simple stainless steel captive bead rings. I liked the look of bigger gauges and smaller diameter, but didn't want to go too big at first. We decided that 12ga was a good size. I'm not sure on the diameter, but she said it was the smallest she could go and not have it cause any problems.
She checked my ID, and gave me the form to fill out. Basically it was one of those "I can't sue you if I die" forms. Nothing too out of the ordinary, just questions about whether I had eaten, consumed any alcohol, smoked pot, was I pregnant. I signed the bottom, and after the piercer had read it over and signed it she told me to hang out on the couch while she went back and prepared.
I sat down, a little nervous but not too bad, and talked with my friend for about 3 minutes until I was told to go to the back room. My friend got to come with me to watch. Everything was set out and prepared. All of the stuff was in packages not yet opened, on a stainless steel tray. The piercer asked me to sit down in the "dentist chair" as she changed her gloves. She cleaned my ears very thoroughly, and then pulled out the sharpie to mark them. After a couple of tries, she was satisfied and so was my friend. She asked me to look in the mirror to make sure the marks were ok, and I thought they looked good.
She explained the procedure to me step by step before she started to do anything. She showed me and my friend everything and explained what everything on the tray was and what she would use them all for. I said that it sounded good, and by that time I was getting pretty nervous, so I just wanted it over with. She took out the clamps and tried them out on her hand before putting them on my ear. She clamped my lobe, and dipped the needle in lube. She said that I would feel a little poke as she lined up, which I did. Then she told me to take 3 deep breaths in and out. When I breathed out the third breath, I felt a quick pinch and then a bit of burning. She said that she was going to put the jewelry through then, and it might pinch a bit. She slid the jewelry through, it pinched, and then it didn't feel like anything anymore. It was like it never happened.
The exact same process was used for my second lobe. After both rings were in, she put the beads in and cleaned up my ears a bit. She had me sit in the chair as she explained aftercare to me. Sea salt soaks twice a day, don't touch it, don't move it, and alway have clean everything around it (pillow cases, clothes, hands). She gave me an aftercare sheet just incase I was going to forget. I paid her and my friend and I said thank you and left.
It's been about a year since these piercings, and I have never had a problem. Sleeping wasn't so much fun at first, but other than that I've had no problems. I've since had a few other piercings, and I understand how they can become addictive. These piercings are pretty significant to me, however, because they helped me surpass my own limits.