I have wanted to get a piercing, any kind of piercing, since I was about 8 years old. The only thing stopping me was my parents. You see, my dad is a former United States Marine, so getting him to say yes to me getting pierced was practically impossible. My mom, on the other hand, had no problem with it and was only against it to back my dad up. You know how it goes. Well, did I get a surprise last weekend.
At A Glance Author Kyle When It just happened Artist Rick Studio Ink Wizard Tattoos Location Jonesboro, Georgia
I was sitting in my room working on some homework last Friday when my mom comes in and just out of the blue tells me that I can get my ear pierced. She went through her guidelines, like I could only get one ear done and it could not be any bigger than 14g to start with. I figured that her restrictions were pretty reasonable, and I definitely was not going to argue with her, especially after waiting this long. So I proceeded to tell her what kind of jewelry I wanted and what studio I wanted to get it done at. We both came to an agreement, and we both talked it over with my dad when he got home. I told my friend Corey, and he decided to beg his parents to let him get his ear pierced, too. His parents eventually agreed that night to let him get his done since my parents were letting me do mine.
We woke up very early Saturday morning, hoping to get to the studio as soon as they opened. My dad was taking us, so after we picked up Corey from his house, we headed for the studio. On a day with good traffic, the studio was about 45 minutes from my house. Unfortunately, we got caught in traffic and got to the studio about 30 minutes after they opened. We had to wait in the lobby for about 15 minutes because the guy who was going to be piercing us was in the process of cleaning equipment. Corey and I just walked around looking at all of the tattoo designs around the place. Corey was nervous and had a little bit of trouble finishing a sentence. I talked to a guy who had both of his lobes done in 8g, which by the way is what I eventually want to stretch to. Corey randomly decided that I would go first, which did not bother me much. Then the time came. Rick, the guy who was to pierce us, came out of the back room and asked which one of us would go first. Corey instinctively pointed at me.
The actual piercing experience was smooth and painless. I followed Rick into a very small room that was only separated from the waiting area by a little wall with a set of wood blinds in the middle. We walked into the room and Rick told me to sit on a small bench in the corner. He got out everything he would need and put the stuff on a paper plate. He started talking to me about placement and jewelry design, and then proceeded to clean my lobe. He used a pen to place the dot on my ear, and then began to open the needles and the little tube that they put behind your ear to guide the needle (he did not use a clamp). He placed the tube and rested the needle on the dot. He told me that it would not hurt much at all, but by the time he finished his sentence, he had already pierced my lobe and was inserting my circular barbell. I was amazed. I mean, I did not even feel the needle go through. Once he got the balls on my barbell tight, he told me to look in the mirror and tell him what I thought. I loved it. He pierced right in the middle of my lobe to allow for stretching later on. My ear did not even bleed, which was awesome. He explained the aftercare to me and gave me a small bottle of cleaning solution, and I was on my way.
I went back out into the waiting area to see Corey standing there pale. I told him that he would not even feel it, and I guess that gave him enough of a boost to go back and get his done. He came out and was amazed at how silly he felt for being so nervous. We paid the $50 each, which included the jewelry, but still seemed a little out of reason, though. I did not have enough money for a tip, so I felt kind of bad. I will just give it to Rick when I go back in January for him to check and see if my piercing is healed.
Personally, I think that if you really want a piercing that looks good and does not hurt at all, you should definitely go and get your lobe pierced. It is a little price for something that can be enjoyed for a very long time. Have fun, look for a quality studio, and go get pierced.