At A Glance Author jmagb Contact jmagb@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Tonya Studio Body Piercing Unlimited Location Anchorage, AK It first began about seven years ago. I had met the most beautiful pierced man ever and I went to Seattle to spend a weekend with him. He had a relatively new earring in his ear and I'd asked him about it. "It's called an anti-tragus," he told me. Well, I had a daith in my left ear and I was shopping around for an unusual placement to go into my right ear. I have four earlobe rings in each ear but every librarian has that these days.
So while in the Seattle area, I paid a visit to his shop and told him that I wanted to get my ear pierced right where he had his done. No problem. He explained the procedure, gloved up, marked my ear, clamped it, and I swear, it was over before I knew what happened. I don't remember feeling any pain. He had put a straight barbell into the new piercing, advising me that I should let things heal completely before even considering putting a ring in there. The rest of the weekend included a leg brand but that's another story for another time.
I went home and proceeded to tend to my new earring. That's when the trouble started. I was cleaning it one night, rotating it in the hole and suddenly, I was holding the barbell in my hand. I had unscrewed it! Instead of immediately re-placing the barbell in my ear, I made the foolish mistake of placing a ring in the empty hole. I figured it would be easier to clean and I wouldn't have to worry about losing that tiny bead. I hadn't considered the long-term ramifications of putting a curved ring into a straight hole. In went the ring, with a bit of difficulty, but I got it in there and was so happy that I had a ring to show off. However, my troubles were far from over. I went and got my hair cut about a week after I'd changed my earring. A small bit of hair got into my ear, into my new earring hole and within a few days, I had a bump in my ear the size of a pencil eraser. I checked out a few piercing sites, to see what I should do. I tried hot compresses, not hing. I was afraid to poke it with a pin to drain it. I finally took the earring out, with great difficulty, and went back to the compresses until the bump receded or drained and eventually disappeared. I assumed it wasn't meant to be so I left my ear alone and swore off piercing for a while.
Well, just this last week I was on vacation (what is it about vacations and a little modification?) and I stopped by the piercing shop (where I'd had my daith pierced many moons ago). I wanted to ask them about re-piercing my anti-tragus. I figured it had been long enough and perhaps I was ready to try again. I was told that it was a possibility, and they could go right through the same area. I was also told that a ring wasn't the best choice of jewelry for the anti-tragus, especially during the healing process. I thought about it for a couple of days and finally couldn't resist. I went back into the shop and told them: "Let's do it".
Tonya (I'm sorry if I'm spelling your name incorrectly) was very nice and took her time examining the tiny scars left over from the old piercing. She cleaned my ear, marked it, and gave me a mirror so I could see where she was going to place a curved barbell. She explained that a curved barbell would make it easier for me to eventually wear a ring in there occasionally if that's what I wanted to do. I nodded, it sounded like a good idea. She advised me that I was going to need to take a deep breath and let it out when she was pushing the needle through. No problem, I thought, I do lots of deep breathing when I do yoga, and this should be a piece of cake. So I was lying on the bench with my head turned towards her and my right ear accessible. "Take a deep breath," she advised. I did and felt the clamp pinching my ear. "Okay, let it out". I let out my breath slowly but the needle hadn't gone all the way through. I heard a crunching sound and I winced. I felt a stin ging, pinching, burning sensation in my ear and I was all out of breath. I resorted to shallow breathing (my yoga instructor is somewhere shaking his head) as I felt tears stinging my eyes. More pinching, more stinging, I didn't remember that the first time I had it done! Finally, she got the barbell into my ear and tightened the bead. I kept blinking to keep the tears back. Usually I have a high tolerance for pain. I spent an entire day getting tattooed and not a grumble! I have two kids and that's serious pain. I'd never been in tears getting an earring before.
She told me to sit up when I felt ready. I slowly shifted up to a sitting position and she handed me the mirror again so I could see my new earring. It's cute, very cute. She gave me the aftercare lecture, recommended sea salt spray and minimal handling. "Don't sleep on it for a while", which is advice that I'm really having trouble with. In any case, it didn't hurt after the initial insertion. I even went back a couple of days later and got a snug piercing right next to it.
Now it's been a week, and my ear is swollen and red but the earrings are just darling nestled together there in my right ear. I'm taking my vitamins and using my spray and I'm not going to make the mistake of getting a haircut for at least three months! I was too impatient for end results the first time around and made too many mistakes. Was it worth doing it the second time? Yes. I have to agree with those that say you really have to do it for yourself. It makes all the difference in the world.