This has turned out to be a very (very very) long winded description of a simple ear cartilage piercing, and I don't know if many people will be interested in reading it all the way through. I guess it's just as well then that I wrote this as much for me as for sharing with people on BME J.
At A Glance Author Ausmoz Contact ausmoz@hotmail.com IAM Ausmoz When It just happened Artist Tracy Studio Ice Accessories Location Adelaide, South Australia Intro/History:
I got my earlobes pierced when I was 10 with a piercing gun at a hairdressers, and had a second hole put in each of my earlobes (again at a hairdressers, again with a gun) when I was 13. Due to the extremely poor placement of these holes it has been a very long time since I wore earrings in them, and I truly wish there was something I could do to make them disappear.
I had previously had my ear cartilage pierced on two separate occasions with a piercing gun. It was before there were any places that did body piercing in marion shopping centre (a large shopping complex/mall) and while I probably already knew that needles were better (despite having yet to discover BME) I also knew that it was quite possible to get pierced with a gun and still end up with a beautiful, perfectly healed (and cheap) ear cartilage piercing.
After the first time my ear cartilage was pierced, I kept jewellery in it for over a year despite continuing pain/swelling, and general irritation. Once I'd finally decided to take the jewellery out, the hole remained in my ear, but putting even 18 ga studs in it was difficult, would lead to swelling and irritation, and would make it impossible to sleep. So I would occasionally put in a stud in, but it inevitably resulted in me feeling like I wanted to tear it out of my ear, and I always removed it after a few hours.
Following my year0long ordeal, I also promised my Dad that I would never get my ear pierced with a piercing-gun again. Years passed, body-piercing places appeared at marion, and I got my navel pierced when I was 20 (another story yet to be written). By that time I had discovered BME and spent a Very long time looking at pictures and reading experiences before I got pierced (obviously using a needle – although I have read the horror stories, and using a stainless steel CBR). I did sea salt soaks, and literally didn't touch the ring for many weeks, and the piercing healed quickly and without incident. I still wasn't ready to face the possibility of repeating the ear cartilage ordeal again at that point.
I'm 22 now and my navel is long healed. I've recently been feeling the strong urge to get pierced again and have been spending a lot of time on BME. My sister has her tongue pierced, and I think it's a good-looking, easy to heal and conceal piercing. It's a piercing I wouldn't mind getting in the future, but I don't want to go through not being able to talk while I have to be at uni every day (especially doing what I do).
I would quite like to get my tragus (possibly tragi) pierced, but I was quite scared of the tragus being my first piece of ear cartilage to be pierced with a needle (this piercing would also interfere with my putting my stethoscope in my ears, which is a big no-no, although I thought in the future I might be able to get around that using a labret stud).
Considering this and the fact that the helix was my 'first love' I decided that it was finally time to pierce it again. I still spent weeks in apprehension though, being much more worried about having to go through the healing again than of the pain of getting it pierced (believe me, the pain of piercing is nothing compared to either the physical or the emotional pain of a living with a constantly sore non-healing piercing that you love, and having to finally give up on it).
Deciding on a place:
I knew that if my ear piercing was to be successful this time I would have to get pierced with good quality surgical stainless steel jewellery (rather than the "sterling silver" that gets used in a piercing gun) and that I would have to be pierced with a needle.
Although I am now a little older and wiser, I'm quite shy and I'm still a bit scared of going to 'proper' piercing places (I've still never been to one). I very much wanted to do the right thing as far as research was concerned, and I looked up all the piercing places in the phone book (there are very few in Adelaide, and even fewer that I'd actually heard of) but I didn't even call one of them. I looked at experiences in every piercing category on BME, sorting by location so I could read about the experiences of people from Adelaide. The piercers at "Off Ya Tree" had some good reviews, but being me, I didn't feel comfortable entering, let alone being pierced at, a place who's alternative name is "the bong shop".
I was thinking of going to Four Roses in the city (mostly because I've heard that they have a very large range of jewellery and I didn't really want to get the "basic" jewellery that comes with piercings done at either 'Ice Accessories' or 'the Hairhouse-Warehouse' at marion. But I read a couple of experiences on BME that put me off (to their credit, I also read some very positive experiences, but no longer felt that it was worth 'taking the chance' at a place where I would no doubt feel less comfortable and where the piercing was likely to cost a lot more).
And yes, although it shouldn't really be a factor I was thinking about the cost (my boyfriend and I have recently moved in together, and we're on a relatively tight budget - I don't think I could have gotten my ear pierced for any cheaper than what I paid).
In the end, I decided that whatever research I did, there would still be an element of chance as to how well my piercer would actually position the hole that was going through my ear, and how well the piercing would ultimately turn out. I couldn't imagine that getting my ear cartilage pierced somewhere at marion (where I feel a lot more comfortable), could possibly be significantly worse than getting it pierced anywhere else in Adelaide. As long as my piercer used good quality jewellery and a needle rather than a gun (I consider the lack of these things to be the reasons my previous cartilage piercings failed) I would give them a chance.
Having had a bad experience when I went to have my navel pierced at the Hairhouse-Warehouse, albeit with a different piercer than is working there now (and I have to admit the actual piercing turned out to be very nice, but I was made to feel really uncomfortable by the guy who pierced me) and also having a strong feeling that even though it was in a separate room, it was a bad idea to get pierced 2 metres from where people were having their hair done, I decided to go to Ice Accessories. There are a few experiences on BME about that place, and they all seem good. The shop sells mostly cheap jewellery, make-up and accessories (it actually sounds a lot like the 'Claires' people from America mention, but I don't know...). In any case, I had been in there to look at the navel barbels a number of times (and replaced my CBR with one of them when my navel was healed with no problems), and it was also where my sister had her tongue pierced.
I went in last weekend, only to find that it was the piercer's weekend off. I then went in on Monday, and asked if the piercer was there. Tracy said "Well that would be me, but the only other person here at the moment is on her first shift and I can't leave her at the front of the shop by herself". Tracy asked if I wanted to make an appointment for another day, but I was still considering going to Four Roses at that point, so I said no.
Piercing Day - Today - Saturday 31-July-2004 :
I got to Ice Accessories at about 11am. The store was really busy, Tracy was at the cash register and I had to wait in the line of people who were buying things to even speak to her. By some stroke of fate however, she handed the check-out over to someone else just as I reached the counter, freeing her free to speak to me. I asked her if she was actually piercing today and she said it depended what I wanted to get done.
I told her I wanted my upper ear cartilage pierced, and she said that she didn't have any sterile CBRs and that the only 'suitable' jewellery for the piercing that was sterile were labret studs. She said they didn't have any "shooter-studs" which I had never heard of but which sounded suspiciously like piercing-gun studs. I asked her if that's what they were ("You mean piercing gun studs?") and to my relief she said no, that's just what she calls studs with a really short post. So I was left to consider whether I wanted a labret bar placed in my ear cartilage.
I thought a labret stud couldn't be worse than any stud that people heal other cartilage piercings with, and that a stud was probably less likely to catch on things than a ring. Also, I thought the flat back might allow me to sleep with my ear against my head (eventually) more than another stud would. Finally, because the stud was fairly long, I thought it would be just about as easy to clean as a ring. So I agreed to be pierced with a labret stud. Tracy gave me a kind of disclaimer to sign stating that they weren't responsible for any post-piercing infections, that I wasn't under the influence of any medications etc, and that I didn't have any blood-borne viruses (that one surprised me a bit) and other things I can't remember, but that seemed reasonable (When I was pierced at the Hairhouse-Warehouse I didn't have to sign anything, so I thought that this was a good sign). I paid Tracy $35 AUD and followed her to the piercing room (labelled the "cool room"). Unfortunately she said my boyfriend and sister weren't allowed to accompany me, although I had anticipated that since my sister had also been pierced alone (by a different piercer at the same place).
The piercing:
The piercing room was medium-sized with a padded vinyl bench/bed (it had sections that could be made to lift up like a doctors bench, but was completely flat at that time). There was also an autoclave, and a tray of various sterilised packages containing jewellery, and forceps. Tracy now made me sign to say that I had seen that both the forceps and jewellery had been properly sterilised and were in sealed packages.
She told me that I should mark the dot on me ear for my own piercing, "because you know where you want it", and that if it wasn't a suitable spot we could work out another place. I had a bit of trouble actually seeing the part of my ear that I wanted pierced (and was hence too scared to mark it) so I told her to mark it. I showed her the tiny mark on the front where it had been pierced before, and the scar around exit hole at the back. Tracy said the back looked like it had been very sore and that there was a bit of keloiding (I'm not sure keloiding is an accurate description, scarring yes, but not keloids).
The first mark Tracy made was way off where I was thinking, so she tried another one. I said I wanted it a bit higher and closer to the rim than the second mark. So she wiped both previous dots off with alcohol and tried again. This time it looked much better, she commented that it was only a few mm from where it had been marked previously, but I said "hey it makes a difference!" and she agreed.
I asked if the needle would actually remove a core of skin/cartilage (even though I know it's a hollow needle I wasn't sure – after all, how can you put the jewellery through the needle if there is skin etc in there? ...actually I'm not sure how much the jewellery goes inside the needle... never mind) and she said it would. Whereas of course piercing guns just push the cartilage to either side of the stud – making more of a split in the ear cartilage than a round hole. If it was true about the needle removing a core of cartilage I was very glad (this would surely mean that the earring puts much less pressure on the surrounding cartilage which means less irritation and a happier piercing :) )
She told me to lie on the bench on my back and washed her hands, put on gloves, and opened the disposable needle in front of me (14ga). She had me turn my head away from her so she could get at my ear, and after lining everything up and checking that I was ready, she pierced me.
I tried to think about other things to take my mind off the piercing as I thought it would hurt more if I anticipated it too much, although once the needle started going through, that was pretty much all that was on my mind.
The needle seemed to go through in two stages. I could hear it going through, and it sounded a bit strange, but it certainly didn't "pop" as some people have said, it was more like a crunch, but wasn't at all scary. I guess I was mostly just wondering what was going on as I could hear and feel different things, and I actually had a chance while she was doing it to wonder how much longer it would take. The needle going through probably only took a few seconds, but I guess it felt like a bit longer (and certainly a lot longer than getting it done with a gun).
Afterwards Tracy asked me if I was ok and said "It's a tough bit of tissue" so I think it might have been harder to push through than she was used to, probably because of scarring from my previous piercings.
After the needle went through I guess I knew the main pain was over and felt extremely relieved (and that in itself probably made the remainder of the experience less painful). When she inserted the jewellery and screwed on the ball I certainly felt it, but it didn't really hurt and I was really happy it was almost over.
A couple of seconds after the jewellery was in she said, "It looks like you're going to be a bleeder". I was actually completely unaware that I was bleeding. Sometimes pictures of people's ears bleeding can make piercing look like quite a horrible/painful experience, but I really don't think bleeding is an indication that it is more painful or anything, and when it's your own ear you don't even notice.
She cleaned me up a bit and held a paper towel against my ear for quite some time, saying it was not unusual for ears to bleed a bit when they've been pierced with a needle. Her fiddling around with my newly pierced ear and the paper towel actually didn't hurt very much (although I'm not sure that the paper towel was the best idea), my ear felt tender and sore, but it wasn't a sharp pain.
When I was clean, Tracy told me to look in the mirror and see if I was happy with the placement. I said I wasn't sure yet but that I thought it looked good (it was hard to see it properly because my ear was so red, and I knew I would also have to see the exit hole before I was completely happy).
I asked her what she recommended for aftercare (although I was planning to use only sea salt soaks no matter what she said) and she recommended sea salt soaks :) good for her. She also gave me a piece of paper with written instructions on piercing care, which I thought was a good idea.
The hours after:
Following the piercing my ear was very very red (Tracy seemed surprised by how red it went). It didn't really surprise me as it had gone equally red when it had been pierced with a gun. After a couple of hours my ear had returned to its normal colour.
My ear kind of stung for a little while after the piercing, it's hard to say how long, and it was very minor. Basically after the needle went through the pain was over – and I can't emphasise that enough for people who are putting off piercings for fear of the pain - it was the same with my navel, even 5 mins after the piercing, I was barely aware of it (paranoid about hurting it yes, but also completely without pain). Also, I may just be imagining it, but I think while the actual piercing hurt more with a needle, after the piercing was done it was a lot less painful with a needle than a gun (probably due to the relative lack of pressure on the ear – assuming a 'core' or ear had indeed been removed).
After the piercing I went to the city and did some shopping. Walking around, the most annoying thing was the way the stud stopped me from being able to easily tuck my hair behind my ear (I then remembered it was also one of the most annoying things about my previous stud, and I probably should have worn my hair up). I have since started to seriously think about cutting my hair short again. When I was wearing my piercing-gun-stud, I would get hair wrapped around the back of it to such an extent that I had to take off the back of the stud to remove it, and to some extent, this was already starting to happen with my new stud.
Staring in the mirror and reflecting on the piercing (no pun intended):
The piercing is in a very similar location to where it was before, including the exit hole at the back. It is on a slight angle downwards, being lower at the front of my ear than at the back (as were both of my previous ear cartilage piercings), which is a bit disappointing. Of course this might be attributable to the shape of my ear and that angle may be necessary for the stud to be perpendicular to the surface of my ear cartilage.
So far (and as I'm finishing off this description it has now been 11 hrs) I have found the piercing much more difficult leave alone than my fresh navel piercing (unfortunately I fiddled with my previous ear cartilage piercing more than I should have too). I cleaned my hand and pushed the stud forward to see if the flat bit would be flat against the back of my ear (I think it is, it's a bit hard to tell). Then I sea-salt-soaked my ear and pushed the stud back so the 3-4mm of excess bar was again at the back. I will try very hard not to touch it again, although I can't resist touching the ear, including the rim close to the stud. There is also a huge temptation to "bend around" the ear so I can see the stud better in the mirror (rather than using two mirrors) and I'll try hard not to do that either.
I hope very much that this ear cartilage piercing will heal. I think I've already given it a better chance this time than ever before (maybe I could have done better, but hey, I'm working on it). Perhaps one day I'll be able to submit a positive cartilage-healing experience to BME (which for the sake of BME experience readers will be much less verbose than this one :P ).
So to the one person still reading this – thanks! Feel free to email me and happy piercing!
Ausmoz