I don't do anything unless I am absolutely sure I won't regret it. This is case with my newest piercing, the daith. The daith has always intrigued me for a few reasons. I love how it sets right inside of the ear, lying flat, like it was meant to be there. I have never seen anyone with this piercing, which I think is interesting because many people have their tragus or rook pierced, which looks equally as painful. After getting my lobes pierced, I knew this would be my first cartilage piercing. I also knew that my parents would not be happy if I got this piercing while living under their roof, so I waited in anticipation until the time came for me to move away to go to college at Cal Poly. The wait was definitely worth it.
At A Glance Author Elizabeth Contact elizabeth.johanson@gmail.com When A week ago Artist Danny Studio Traditional Tattoo Location San Luis Obispo, CA I had heard of Traditional Tattoo from BME, but I didn't know where it was or anything about it. Before school started, there was an orientation week, called Week of Welcome, or WOW. Everyone that attended was split up into groups of about 13 people. We were shown the school and the town by two student leaders. One day, our WOW leaders took our group to go kickboxing. As we approached the studio, I noticed a large, vertical sign with Traditional Tattoo written on it. I couldn't believe my luck! After our kickboxing class, I went over to the store really quickly to look in the window. There was a sign on the door that said "All piercings, $20, Saturday, October 2." A $20 piercing! I couldn't believe my luck. I went inside and confirmed that it meant all piercings, not just lobe piercings. I memorized the location of the studio and told myself I would be back to check it out.
My boyfriend, Matt, was scheduled to come visit me that very same weekend, so I was glad he was able to be with me to hold my hand and give me moral support. The Friday before the 2nd, we drove over to the studio to check it out. My first reaction was that it was big, shiny, and clean. I met Danny who would do the piercing. I talked with him for a bit and asked him about the cleanliness of the store. He assured me that an autoclave was used and all the needles were used only once. He checked out my right daith and noticed that it was a bit small, but assured me that it could be done. He said he'd pierce it at a 16 gauge, but I asked if he'd do it at 14, because I was afraid 16 would be too small for a cartilage piercing. I asked if he thought a lot of people were planning to show up for the $20 piercing day, and he said yes and that we should probably show up a bit early; they opened at 11:00. Satisfied with the studio, we left.
The next morning, I ate half a muffin for breakfast and met up with Matt. We made it there at 10:30 and there were about four groups already there. We sat on the concrete and waited, talking with some of the other people who were waiting. At 11:00, the door opened and we signed up for an appointment, at 12:20. During the wait, we went over to a bike shop so I could buy a helmet and a bike light. Then, we went to Burger King to get some lunch. All I could stomach at that time was orange juice, and I had to force myself to drink that. I was so nervous. We had a conversation with a random guy there about chainmaille. He had noticed my maille belt, and Matt and I both make chainmaille also. This chatting put me at ease a bit.
Finally, it was time. We sat on a couch for a few minutes while Danny got everything ready. Once he was, he called me in. I asked if Matt could come in because I get really anxious, and he was fine with that. Earlier, they said that no visitors were allowed, so I was really happy that he was able to come in and watch. Danny was really cool and put me at ease. He asked me if I wanted to see the needle, and I said no. I did see him open up all the supplies, though. He changed gloves several times in the piercing process. After cleaning my right ear, he proceeded to mark it. Since the dots were too deep in my ear, I couldn't see them, but I trusted Danny's judgment, and Matt also said they looked good. The guy from the front desk came in to watch with my permission because he was an apprentice. All of the sudden, Danny said, "Are you ready?" I nodded and squeezed Matt's hand. I was really nervous, but I was attempting to take deep breaths and not thinking of the pain that would hit me. Well, it did hit me. At first, the pain wasn't as bad as I thought, but as soon as I started to think about it, I was gasping for breath and grimacing from the pain. It took about three shoves to get the needle through the thick cartilage, and I thought it would never end. I remember asking Danny, "It is needle through?" He said that no, it wasn't. Equally as painful was when he had gotten it through, but he was fiddling with it to get it through the receiving tube so that it wouldn't poke my neck. Then, he had to get the CBR through and the bead on. Having my cartilage pierced was much different from having my lobes pierced. The second after my lobes were pierced, they went numb and I couldn't feel a thing, which was nice. I was relieved when he was done, and it didn't bleed at all. I felt very faint, and I was given a glass of water. Once I felt better, I had my picture taken, I bought a Coke to get my sugar back up, and paid.
It was just a bit sore that day. I took some Advil which helped a lot. Danny told me not to take anything with acetaminophen in it, like Tylenol, because it will thin the blood and cause it to bleed. The piercing has not given me any troubles. I clean it every day in the shower and keep my hands off of it. It is still a little sore, but what's nice about the daith is that, since it's inside the ear, it's easy to sleep on. In a few more weeks, I plan on getting it changed to a slightly smaller CBR. I absolutely love this piercing! I would do it again because I know now what to expect. If you are planning on getting this done, don't let the pain scare you away from it. It is well worth it!