My first piercing, apart from 3 gunned lobes on each ear, and a helix on the right, was a regular 14g navel. This started my craving for more piercings, and since I had always wanted a tongue piercing, I started reading experiences on BME and doing research on it. This led to me also wanting a tongue web piercing, however that, like the tongue, wasn't happening until university for parental reasons!
At A Glance Author xdamnstraightx Contact xdamnstraightx@bme.anon When A month ago Artist some guy Studio Primitive Art, Far East Plaza Location Singapore One day I decided I wanted an anti-tragus piercing, so went online to find out what it was called. However the anti-tragus would get in the way of my earphones, and I wasn't sure if I was willing to give up listening to my music during the healing period! After a while I moved on to looking at pictures of other ear piercings. I had been considering getting a helix piercing on my right ear, further up than the regular location, next to where a rook piercing would be...not sure what those are called though! After seeing the rook piercing, I changed my mind as I thought that would look better.
After doing a week of research, I planned to get it done on the Saturday my friends were leaving back to Boston so they could come with me. In the end only one could make it, so we went to the piercing studio and asked the price of a rook piercing. I wanted it done at 16g, but the lady at the counter told me that I could do it at either 14 or 18g because they didn't have a 16g CBR! The 14g ring looked a bit big for what I wanted, so I decided to go with the 18g although I wasn't too happy about it! I was told by the piercer that the 18g wouldn't increase the risk of rejection...which I didn't quite believe but I went with it anyway hoping I'd get lucky! Given the choice between two 18g CBRs I chose the bigger one to accommodate swelling. I decided to get a chocolate bar before getting pierced, then returned to the studio to wait my turn.
When I was called into the piercing room, I was pretty nervous because I had read on BME that the rook cartilage was quite tough, and the needle might have trouble going through. I asked the guy if it would take long, and he replied "I can make it take long!"
I was shown the prepackaged CBR and needle, my ear was cleaned with iodine, and the needle was bent to fit the curve of the ring. The piercer marked my ear and held the ring up to show how it would look and I approved the placement. He asked if I was nervous, and I said I was a bit. Finally he was ready to pierce. The needle passed through quickly and I heard the cartilage crunching slightly as it went. It was nowhere near as bad as a thought it would be! It barely hurt, and the jewellery went in just as fast with a bit more pressure. The ball was popped into the ring easily and I was done! I was given an aftercare leaflet and saline solution, however I realized afterwards that they didn't go through the aftercare with me as they had when I pierced my navel at the same studio. When I read the leaflet out of boredom a few days later I also realized that they gave me a tongue piercing sheet instead!
For aftercare I did two warm sea salt soaks a day by overturning a small cup to form a vacuum over my ear. On the first day I could feel the piercing there but it was barely noticeable apart from a slight ache sometimes. For the first few nights I slept with my head propped up to prevent swelling. I read that it worked for the tongue so it couldn't hurt to try!
On the second day I couldn't feel the piercing at all except after cleaning. In the shower I cleaned the area with Dial antibacterial soap, and tried to gently rotate the ring to get the soap in the piercing. It refused to rotate so I stopped. That night I felt like I had a headache in my ear but it was bearable enough. The next day, I couldn't feel the piercing at all. I tried to gently rotate the ring again, and it moved a bit although it was still difficult. I did the two salt soaks that day and washed again with Dial. It wasn't until after that that I read Dial was often too harsh for piercings, and that rotating the jewellery wasn't necessary! What's with all the conflicting advice out there!?
On the night of the third day, as well as on the fourth and fifth day, my ear was quite swollen and ached pretty badly. This worried me as it started right after I washed it in the shower with Dial...but I'd read some experiences that also said they swelled a few days after, so I figured it was normal. I continued the two daily salt soaks and stopped washing with Dial. On the sixth day the swelling went down and there was no pain or aching from then on. Well...not counting the day my friend threw a cushion at my ear...
Now I just do two warm sea salt soaks a day and wash with hot water in the shower, rotating sometimes after letting the piercing soak for a while. It seems to be healing quite nicely although I'm worried about rejection, especially with such a small gauge CBR. I guess I'll have to wait and see! I'll definitely get it repierced if it does reject...with a 16 or 14g CBR instead. I'm going to wait at least 6 months before I change the ring to a smaller one, and put this ring in my helix piercing instead. At first the ring looked a bit big, and my friend as well as the piercer said I should change it to a smaller one later on, but now it looks pretty normal to me! I guess I'm getting used to it...Next up: tongue web!