It actually happened two weeks ago. The day after my 18th birthday. When I was seventeen years old, I had my ears pierced five times each, just regular lobe/ cartilage piercings. First I only had three in each but I was craving for more.
At A Glance Author Kimberly Contact LadyInRedIsAngry@aol.com When A week ago Artist We weren't properly introduced. Studio Warrior Location Philadelphia, Pa I thought it was so beautiful to have your ears pierced all the way to the top with loops. But I heard that could cause them to collapse so I didn't get it done. But then I decided to go ahead and get more anyway so I got two more cartilage piercings in each.
I still wasn't satisfied. I needed more so I came on BME and I was reading some peoples' experiences and I read about a lady who had 40 ear piercings all together. I had no idea how that could be possible. This was before I knew other parts of the ear could be pierced and not just lobes and cartilages. So I started looking at pictures.
And that's when I saw it, the most beautiful, coolest thing I have ever seen, the rook piercing. I had no idea what it was because it was in a very strange part of the ear but I knew I had to make it mine. I was in love with it. I told my mom how cool it was and she said "Ewww, that's weird but if you want it get it." This was when I was seventeen and she said I could get it for Christmas and I was so happy.
But then I kept getting that little, annoying, idea in my mind that my ear is going to collapse because some man told my mom it could and this wasn't a regular ear piercing. So I thought about it and thought about it and my mom kept saying, "You shouldn't take the chance." But I wanted it so badly.
So it was almost the day when I could get it pierced and I decided to get my tongue pierced instead because that was also something I wanted and I thought it probably wouldn't be as dangerous. Your tongue can't collapse.
Then I still kept thinking about that rook piercing, wishing I would have gotten that too. I saw two girls with it, the only two people I have ever seen with it done and it is just so beautiful. They both had bars in their's.
I found out later that ear piercings can't result in collapsed ears. For my big One Eight b-day, I got lots of money. So the next day I went to Warrior to get the rook pierced.
My mom and little sister went with me. The piercing people asked my age and I was so happy, it was the first time ever that I finally got to say 18!!! And even better, it was my first piercing ever that I got to sign for myself! The "parent/guardian" line was crossed out with a big X and I had to sign it MYSELF!! No more adult permission for me(Ahhh, the pleasures of growing up!!!). It was the most amazing feeling.
A girl working there told me where to go and she came to the room with me. There was a man already in there and he was going to be my piercer. He was also going to be the girl's teacher. She was just learning how to do rook piercings so I got to be the teaching subject for her. He took all the sterilized equipment out of the packs. As he was doing the procedure, he explained every step to her and I got to hear too.
It was done really quickly with an 18g needle but it took a little longer because he had to show the girl each step and what to do and what not to do while piercing the rook.
The man cleaned my rook off with a wet paper towel and he put the clamps on and it HURT!!! It felt just like a needle going through my ear. Then I realized the needle still had to go through and that HURT too. The pain wasn't as bad as the cartilage piercings I got before but it was painful. It made me grimace. It was also bleeding a little bit. Also, I had to hold my head in an awkward position and that hurt my already injured neck. But the real pain didn't hit me until I got outside into the cold air. Whenever the wind hit my rook, it was really painful. It felt like a really bad bruise.
He told me the after care, not to sleep on it, not to use the phone on that ear, not to turn it, only once everyday in the shower, use peroxide for crusties if there's any and use Ivory soap once everyday. I can't change it until six weeks. I think I'll get a bar to see how that looks even though the ring is really cute. I want to see which one I think looks better. I think I like the ring better though.
I had it for two weeks and the first day it didn't really hurt, only if it accidently got touched. But the second day it ached really bad. I think it's because whenever my friends hugged me, they hit it. Also when I turned it in the shower, I think that made it hurt more.
It was excruciating, aching, pain for about a week and a half and I can usually tolerate physical pain very well but this was almost too much to handle for some reason. It was the most painful piercing I ever got.
It's worth the pain in my opinion though. The pain goes away and the piercing stays beautiful for as long as you want to have it. I have to go for a checkup tomorrow. It looks great and even though it was super painful, I'm very happy to have it especially whenever I catch a glimpse of it in a mirror or window or anything that reflects. It's something different than the usual lobe and cartilage piercings.