To anyone who is considering getting a rook piercing let me just say do it! My experience with piercings and tattoos is pretty vast so I can't say I was too nervous about getting my rook pierced. Prior to getting it pierced I did some research and looked at some pictures online to make sure I really wanted what I was considering getting done(needless to say I decided to go through with it)All of the sites (and people I talked to) said that it was one of the most painful cartilage piercings next to the industrial (which I have) so I wasn't too bothered. Even though I knew I could handle the pain I still waited about a week to make sure I really wanted this done. After mulling over it I called up my friend Tory and asked him to go with me, he said yes.
At A Glance Author Tamryn Contact Tamryn@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Katie Studio Art Apocalypse Location Athens, Ohio On the day of my piercing I took a shower and cleaned my ears because I'm pretty sure piercing artists appreciate clean ears and got ready to add to my collection. While getting dressed I decided to wear a button down shirt so that I wouldn't have to pull anything over my head (proved to be a good idea later on. I stopped by my friend Tory's to pick him up and who also planned to get his lip done that day and we went to Art Apocalypse to get it done. Like with all my other piercings I felt some pre-piercing jitters but I was ready to add some more steal to my body! I knew the lady who pierced me pretty well because she'd done my belly-button and gauged out my ears so I was confident about her skills. We talked for a little bit and she was very responsive to all my questions which proved to be very helpful because even though I have a lot of piercings I always get really nervous. After answering all my questions I filled out some standard paper-work, paid (which was a nice su rprise because it wasn't as expensive as I had anticipated)and got ready to be pierced.
She took Tory and I into the back room looked at my rook (I decided to pierce the left rook) and told me that I had a very vertical rook so she was going to have to pierce it at a slight angle in order for it to work - no problem. She cleaned my ear (after washing her hands and putting gloves on) dried the spot and marked it with a marker. After she had done this she showed me the spot to get my okay and began to mentally prepare me for it telling me it was thick so it would probably hurt. I didn't look at the needle (because I can't stand to look at them, go figure) so I just closed my eyes and got ready for it!
Tory stood by and held my hand and I felt a prick and thought ' oh that's all?' and then I felt it go through and then I felt the needle penetrate more! I'm not going to lie, this was my most painful piercing and it did hurt but not too much. After she had finished it bled for a little bit and then she cleaned the blood off - I don't normally bleed so this was not typical. When she had cleaned my ear she went over after care instructions and gave me some cleaning product. Then Tory and I left and went on our merry way ready for his Lip piercing - afterwards my ear was red and it felt like I'd been punched in the ear but it wasn't a terrible pain more like a dull nagging pain.
I've now had my rook for about a week and it looks good. The only real complaint I have is that I find it hard and painful to clean because it requires you to clean front and back. As far as bleeding goes and "crusties" I haven't really had either which is a relief because I normally have to deal with some pretty icky "crusties". I think that other than the fact that it's hard to clean and a little sore still this piercing is one of my favorites. Not only does it look good but it is so versatile in that it goes with anything and you can inter-change rings and bars to fit your style!
To anyone who is considering getting their rook pierced I suggest you just do it! The pain you might feel is in reality pretty minimal and I'm sure that the cause outweighs the pain! Also, if you ever happen to be in Athens Ohio definitely check out Art Apocalypse, the environment is clean and friendly and they really know what they're doing!