Since I was about 14, there was something about the cartilage piercing that attracted me. However I was too scared to get it done (I was even to scared to get a second hole in my lobe), let alone ask my parents. As time went on my desire for that piercing was still there and after meeting one of my now closest friends, Manda, she told me about this reputable piercing place. I started on my piercing frenzy getting second and third lobe piercing within 3 days, and then a bunch of my friends headed over to Studio Zee to get what we wanted. There was no doubt in my mind that it was time for a cartilage piercing.
At A Glance Author Jocelyn Contact Jocelyn@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Amanda Studio Studio Zee Location New Haven, CT So I went in, and my adrenaline was going crazy. I was the first of my friends to go, as they laughed at how nervous I was. I was so pumped up with adrenaline when Amanda, my piercer told me to breath in and breath out. In a split second the needle was through with the jewelry in place. I did not feel a thing. She ran through how to take care of it and everything and I was done.
A few months later I was itching for a new piercing. Having no clue what I wanted, not wanting to copy my friend Manda (who has numerous lobe piercings, her tragus and her industrial), and of course something different, I came onto the BME site to see what would be next. I really liked the rook, but the moment I saw the spiral I fell in love and I knew that I had to get it. My small ears made me question whether or not it would even look good, and I knew that it was going to be fun finding the jewelry to go with it.
Coming home from college I stopped by a local store, Utopia and saw the three point spiral in a 14 and 16 gauge. The moment my eyes laid upon it, it was definite. I was going to head back to Amanda and get 2 more piercings to eventually complete the spiral. The guy at Utopia (as they also do piercings) told me that the best way to go about the spiral was to get them done first and then get the piece. I figured, heck, 1 down 2 more to go!
So I went back to college and a few weeks went by until I finally had the chance to stop over at Studio Zee the same time Amanda was going to be there. I filled out all the necessary paperwork and was brought to the back to get it done. I told her about my plans on doing the spiral and she agrees that it would be cool and asked if I had the jewelry, I told her no, but a place by me had it. At first she was a little concerned with not knowing the measurements to make sure it would fit. But I told her that I asked the guy about it and he showed me that it was like a spring so you could stretch it or squeeze it to get it to fit. She said ok and spent a few minutes marking my ear trying to place the dots in the right spot. She told me to look in the mirror to make sure it was good. I gave her the OK, and the procedure was the same as the first one. Only this time I was a lot more relaxed so it hurt a bit more, but was still fairly painless. It was more uncomfortable if anything. She did the bottom one first which just gave a tiny pinch. The she did the middle hole, out of the three I had done, this one hurt the most. She puts the jewelry in so fast that you can't even tell that she did. She told me to look in the mirror, and there they are, my 3 cartilage piercings all neatly lined up. I loved it!!! She ran over the whole aftercare again with me and I thanked her and walked out where, once again I had all my friends with me (you know, buy CD's, get pierced it's all on a days agenda). Amanda came out and saw my 5 friends comment on my new piercings and she laughed and asked if they all came just for me.
Afterwards is where the pain is at, just waiting for me. When I got in the car, my air conditioning was blowing right on my ear, and it was beginning to sting so I had to turn it down a bit. It's still pretty soar to touch, and cleaning it? Haha.. that's a whole other story. That night I went to clean it, and firstly it's not the easiest thing to clean, and secondly trying to slide the jewelry had me biting my lip to keep me from screaming. I have been pretty careful in the shower, despite the fact that it's only been 2 days since I got it done. And my long hair has not gotten caught, nor has my brush clipped my ear. It will be a while before I can sleep on it, but it's sooo worth it!! Now that I got the three holes, all I need is the jewelry and the patience to let them heal first. My new piercings look great as is; I can't wait to see what it will look like when everything is all set!!