I have always wanted my cartilage pierced. I remember my old babysitter had a cartilage and I always thought it was a very cool piercing. Many people have them but even so, there is something that just really appealed to me about them. From them on (and I was young at the time) I knew I wanted a cartilage sometime.
At A Glance Author Missy Contact bumblebee172@hotmail.com When N/A Artist Aaron Studio Tribal Ways Location Boston, MA I'm a late blooming piercer. I had my lobes pierced at 14. My family isn't conservative in morals and values but with piercings and tattoos, they are much less lenient (Jewish religion looks down upon permanent body art). My earlobes were done at a fancy jewelry shop in Boston that only did ears because um, fifty year old ladies probably aren't going to get the clientele that want much else. So when I announced I wanted my cartilage pierced, there were some issues. I didn't know where to get it done and what it entailed. So my mom gave me approval under the condition that I would do research to find out the details.
I stumbled upon BME through a Google search engine. I read all the experiences about pain, swelling, etc. Although I realized that it was actually a quite serious piercing, there were few downsides. Besides, many people have them and I figured that if I went to a proper piercing place, everything would be all right. "Proper piercing place" was the next issue. I have lived in Boston all my life but since I'm not down on the piercing scene, I needed to find such a place. I typed Boston into the BME search and saw that most people in Boston went to Tribal Ways. I went to Tribal Ways website. I was thoroughly impressed. It was owned by a nurse and all had certified piercers who knew exactly what they were talking about. Plus, the location is amazing. Right on Mass Ave. facing Newbury next to my favorite Indian restaurant! I showed Mummy who OKed it. We got in the car and drove the 10 minutes it takes to get there. I was so excited that I was getting this cartilage piercing soone r than I'd hoped for. But that was okay by me!
We took an elevator up to the 2nd floor. The waiting room was small and kind of weird, with the flowy curtains and whatnot. And my mother kept making faces of the multi-pierced clientele while I scowled at her. The receptionist person asked to see her ID because I'm only 16 and even asked for a birth certificate. This just shows how dedicated Tribal Ways is to making sure they are not piercing underage without a parent. We didn't have a birth certificate but they said that was okay anyway.
Then Claudia sat me down in a chair and explained about taking care of the cartilage and salt soaks twice a day followed with Bactine. It sounded exactly like what I expected and I knew I'm responsible enough to take care of it. So I signed a form and went into the piercing room.
The piercing room was immaculate. It smelled so strongly of disinfectant but this was a good thing. Aaron invited my mother and I in to show how sanitary everything was. He explained how the CBR rings worked. Then he asked where my piercing was going to be. I told him on my left ear. He made a marking with a pen of where the ring would be but it looked a little low to me so I asked him to do it higher. The second time was perfect. He then asked me to start taking deep breaths, told me when the needle was in, and then told me the hole was done. It was such a momentary pinch, I couldn't believe it. It didn't hurt at all! Twisting the jewelry was a bit uncomfortable but that was done quickly. I looked in the mirror and saw a beautiful hoop. I was good to go! I felt some throbbing but it felt kind of good, and it looked awesome! I thanked Aaron, who had been a complete sweetie the entire time and went to Bhindi Bazaar, the best cheap Indian restaurant downstairs.
The next few weeks I religiously salt soaked and applied Bactine. Sometimes, I'd slack off on the salt soaks but then I'd realize my ear would start to hurt, so I kept doing them. It's been about 2 months now and it no longer feels tender. It looks great and I'm hoping to get another one underneath this one next month. Getting my cartilage pierced was a great experience so if you want to do it, by all means, go do it! And if you need a piercing parlor in Boston, I can only speak high praises about Aaron and the Tribal Ways staff.
Good luck!