I always used to laugh when people said that piercing was addictive; now I wish I hadn't. At the beginning of February I had a central labret and since then I've been totally hooked. Two weeks ago I had two cartilage piercings in my ear which are currently healing for a scaffold in a couple of weeks. I knew then that I wanted something a little different rather than the normal eyebrows and navels that everyone seems to have. I saw some pictures of anti-tragi and knew that was what I wanted! It wasn't too dramatic but it was noticeable enough to make a statement.
At A Glance Author CherrY VampyrE Contact cherry_vampyre@hotmail.com When It just happened Artist Bex Studio Underground Body Piercing Location Walsall, UK All last week I desperately tried not to spend any money at all so I could raise the £20 I needed. It might have seemed a fairly rushed thing to do but I'm a very impatient person and wanted it before I went back to school. So About 2 hours ago I caught the bus into town and strolled into the new piercing and tattoo studio on Bridge Street. All my other piercings had been done at The Needleworks in Oasis Market and to be honest they hadn't done the best job they could have.
I took a seat while the piercer currently there finished with a (fairly old) woman having her nipple done. I was just glad that it was all perfectly clean when I went in! I was sent into the large, typically white, studio and took a seat on the bed while I told Bex exactly what I wanted. It probably took us longer deciding what jewellery to use! I was sure that I wanted a ring rather than a bar because they are so much easier to clean but she pointed out that lots of bacteria slides through the hole all the time with a ring. Instead, she suggested using a horseshoe, something she'd never done before but it'd look that little bit more different, which is exactly what I wanted. Then we had to decide what size to use, so we used a 1.6mm width with a 12mm diameter to allow for the swelling. She asked me to read and fill in the form while she changed her gloves for the second time and prepared the needles and jewellery. In England piercing studios aren't really too concerned abou t your age though and I've never been asked for ID. Tattoo studios are a little more strict though.
I sat over on the chair and she cleaned my ear thoroughly and marked the two guide dots. I looked in the mirror and could immediately imagine the horseshoe fitted in place. I went and sat down again, but (and there's always a but), was a little disheartened when we had a few problems fixing the clamp as my anti-tragus wasn't very big. When she was finally happy with it she told me that she'd have to do it fairly slowly because it had to go through flesh and cartilage and through flesh again and she didn't want to slip and hit another part of my ear as well. She tried to make some general conversation with me about my other piercings and if I had any plans for more and other people who'd had anti-tragi but I just wanted it to be over! I felt the needle poise over my skin and she told me to close my eyes for the whole procedure. I felt the needle go straight through, with the slight hesitation as it hit the cartilage. It hurt, but definitely not as much as I'd anticipated cons idering how thick that part of my ear is. The most painful part was when she was screwing the two balls on the end of the horseshoe! Only when it was over did I realise that she hadn't used any freeze-spray or anything. Sometimes I'm glad of my high pain tolerance. I went to look in the mirror and was so impressed! It hadn't even gone red or hot and there was no blood at all. Actually thanks to BME she's recently started putting together her portfolio and was so impressed with how the horseshoe looked she took several photos of it to show her boss. I wasn't going to complain! Then we ran through all the usual aftercare methods and she gave me loads of sheets to sieve through.
When I went out to pay she pointed it out to a couple of the tattoo artists and I had a few strange glances to say the least. Even more so when I walked home! I wonder how long it'll take my parents to see this one though! They only found out about my labret last night and that's been there for 3 months! My parents are seriously set against all modifications though, but my sister still has more than me, they just don't know that yet. Anyone who's looking for something a little different, definitely go for an anti-tragus! And if you have a choice, try a horseshoe. They're that little bit more noticeable than bars but are still as easy to clean as CBRs. The pain isn't as bad as people make out, but I'm not going to say it didn't hurt. If you're ever in or near Birmingham I'd undoubtedly recommend taking that 30minute bus journey to Walsall. Everyone there is really friendly, it's clean, the prices are good...what more do you need?!
Happy piercing everyone.
xox