The decision to get my first daith pierced had been spontaneous. I saw a picture, liked it, and had my own done within a few days. (You can read about it HERE.) It turned out to be one of my better moves, however, and was soon becoming my favorite piercing. I loved how elegant it looked, fitted perfectly inside my ear. It had also been completely painless, easy to sleep on, and quick-healing. Therefore, although I usually cling to asymmetry when selecting new piercings for my ears, I thought that maybe just this once I could get another one.
At A Glance Author Gwenn Contact Gwenn@bme.anon IAM mythernal When It just happened Artist Chris Studio Need A New Hole Location Windsor, ON (Tecumseh Location) My 19th birthday was coming up, and, like many of us, I felt that there was no better way to celebrate than getting a new mod! I mentioned to my piercer a few days in advance that some friends and I would be coming in to get piercings that Friday and he asked what I would be getting done. We agreed that a new daith had the added advantage of not being likely to get knocked around at the club that night either, like many fresh piercings would.
That day, we ended up running a bit late and didn't get to Chris's shop until just after 9:00. He wished me happy birthday and after meeting everyone and talking for a few minutes, got us the forms to fill out. I had brought the ring I wanted to be put in, since I knew it matched my other one, and Chris usually doesn't carry much in 16 gauge. As I began talking my friend Tara into getting something done, Chris asked who would be going first. I didn't answer right away, being in the middle of a sentence, and surprisingly my friend Ashley volunteered!
We went back into the piercing room and he sat her down in the chair asking, "So what are we doing today?" She pointed to her ear saying, "Just my cartilage to match the other one." Chris smiled slyly and asked why she didn't do something more exciting. Ashley was open to the idea and I began to talk animatedly about the different piercings she could get (although she did want it restricted to her ear). Eventually we came to her tragus, and Tara and I convinced her to go for it after promising over and over that it would be painless. Chris and I argued over placement for a couple minutes, and then we were ready. I watched her get her piercing done and she flinched only once when (she told me later) she heard the "pop" of her tragus.
Tara was still deciding for sure what she wanted at this point, so I said I'd have no problem going next. Chris changed his gloves and began to set up my area. I watched him bend the needle. I had never noticed him do this before and asked him about it. He said that he does it mostly for piercings like this in the ear so as just to stab me the once. Ashley's needle had been curved too, it was true. I guess I should start paying more attention to these things. Anyway, he cleaned the area and spent a good 5-10 minutes looking from one ear to the other trying to mark the spot. After a while he joked, "Your ears just aren't the same!" I told him as long as it looked good I didn't mind, so he marked a spot that was anatomically good: deep so that it won't grow out, but it doesn't match exactly with my other daith. Chris hadn't done my first daith, so while I knew the general pain factor (minimal) I wasn't EXACTLY sure what to expect. And things were a bit different. He went from the bottom up, and through the first layer there was no pain or anything, but as he applied some pressure to force the needle up through the rest of the cartilage fold, I heard my ear crunching. Not the single "pop" that most people describe. A grating, cruuunchhh sound. Eww! I yelled and pulled away from the needle a bit in surprise, which then made it hurt. As Chris attempted to follow my movements, I remembered the deep breathing I was supposed to be doing and tried to calm down. Finally he got it through and followed it with my ring no problem. Then I felt something wet start to pool in the bottom of my conch.
"Am I bleeding?" I asked.
"No."
"What is that, then? Tara, am I bleeding?"
"Err, no."
I glared at them both as I watched Chris throw away half a dozen bright red Q-tips. I guess they didn't want to freak me out, not that it would have. Once the jewelry is in, the rest is pretty much gravy. As he surveyed his work, Chris told me quietly, "To tell you the truth, I've never done one of those before." In mock outrage I said that I NEVER would have let him pierce me if I'd known that. It was a bluff, as we both knew. I'd come to Chris for anything; he's proven himself to me more than once.
Tara then got a lower navel piercing and we paid, tipped, and left. We hurried back to the hotel room and after quickly changing and cleaning away a little un-sexy crusted blood from around our new piercings, went out to the strip and had a great time partying. This daith, compared to my other, is a little more sore and a little harder to clean. But this is because it's deeper, so therefore it also has less chance of migrating out. When deciding on your placement, that's something you should consider. Even though they're not exactly the same, it's impossible to see both at the same time so I highly doubt that anyone besides myself and Chris will ever notice it. I'm completely happy with it and expect as uneventful healing as with the other.