Looking through the photos on BME I positively fell in love with a little ear piercing called the daith. I haven't really seen too many folks walking around the streets with them but the photos I saw were absolutely beautiful. The fact that I didn't see too terribly many of them on people only made me like them more. There's a strange rush I get when strangers ask me, "what is that?" or remark on having not known you could pierce that part of your body.
At A Glance Author hotcurry Contact hotcurryemail@yahoo.com When N/A Artist Nick Studio Studio City Tattoo Location Studio City, CA Having had my helix and industrial done, I knew full well that there might be a large amount of pain and long healing period associated with this piercing. Consequently, I had put it off for some time. I felt like I had been perpetualy healing ear work for the better part of two years and wanted to give my poor head a rest.
The day that it finally happened I was roaming around IKEA with my friend who has no body mods at all and is constantly questioning me with such originals as, "doesn't that hurt?" and "why do you do that stuff?" Don't get me wrong, I love the kid like a brother, but my piercings are clearly something he does not understand. So I thought, what better way to show him what an experience is like than to take him there to meet my piercer and to watch first hand as I go through with the daith I had been contemplating for what seemed like forever. To my surprise, he was game. He quickly bought his Bjorn storage unit and we were off to the piercer.
Studio City Tattoo is staffed with some amazing artists. It very clean, professional and homey. They have a very relaxing aquarium stocked with african cichlids for you to stare at while the piercer sets up. I explained to my friend what was happening as the impliments were laid out. I had to repetedly point in my ear trying to explain what exactly a daith was. Then Nick, my piercer, came out and measured my ear holding up the jewelry to make sure it would fit in my somewhat tiny ear. Lucky for me I have a fairly pronounced daith. He then took me in back and went through the whole cleaning and marking ritual as my friend watched nervously from behind the ropes in the waiting area. I was instructed to do the usual lay down, do a deep inhale and on the exhale you'll feel the needle bit. It wasn't nearly as bad as my industrial, but it took a while for Nick to get the needle through. He was concerned with making a nice straight line so the ring would lay flat. Heck, I can't fault him for that so I just grinned and bared it. I could see my friend smiling from behind the ropes and leaning forward to get a better look at the corked needle now sticking out from my inner ear. I was converting him! The tattoo artists struck up a conversation with him as Nick slipped the ring into my piercing. I bled a bit more than I had before which felt odd as it dripped down my ear canal. Nick cleaned me up a bit before procedeing. Then I jokingly told him to watch out when he put the captive on that it too didn't fall down my ear canal. Well, call me a psychic because five seconds later I felt that cold bead drop right into my ear. We both laughed as I sat up fished it out and he eventually tightened the bead.
It turned out so well that Nick wanted to take photos for his portfolio. He even gave me a discount for being so cooperative and patient. My friend was quite impressed with his first procedural viewing and Nick was happy to get to perform a piercing that he doesn't do every day. I've found that most piercers I go to enjoy doing a lot of ear work. I suppose it's a bit more challenging than your eveyday belly rings and nostrils. (Not to knock those at all, I can just imagine it might get boring after a while if that's all you do).
In short it made me quite pleased to share my experience with a friend who now better understands the allure of piercing. It also made me happy to add to someone's brilliant portfolio. And lastly it made me very happy indeed to finally have my daith resting in my little ear.
I'll be doing sea salt soaks on it to heal. It's not to bad swelling wise. Which is due to it being fairly well protected by being inside my ear. Not a lot of bumping on phones and pillows as with my other ear work.
Feel free to email me if you have any questions. And when in Studio City, visit Nick at Studio City Tattoo... you'll be glad you did.