So the story starts out like this: I always enjoyed how different an industrial was, until it got popular of course. It was a cool piercing, not what you'd see everyday, but not so extreme that the parents would run screaming and crying out of the house. After much deliberation, and looking at the Goodart website, I decided that I would go for one of the more obscure types of industrial: the coil. It was to have 3 piercings, with one single coil linking them all; I was hyped.
At A Glance Author Sean When Two years ago Artist Matt Studio Anubis Warpus Location San Francisco, CA So I call up my favorite piercing place to make sure they're open, roll on down to their shop, and find out (much to my dismay) that I can only get two of the piercings done that day, due to the amount of trauma it would cause to my ear. I guess the body's not used to 3 12g needles getting shoved through it; but two's alright. Anyway, I paid the piercers, sat down in the chair, and got ready for the dreaded cartilage piercings. I have heard rumors far and wide about the terrors of getting cartilage pierced, the pain involved, and most importantly, the nice little 'pop' that the cartilage often makes when the needle finally makes its way through.
Having only gone through a lobe and tongue piercing previously, I wasn't sure what to expect; I sat down in the chair, and Matt sterilized all of his instruments. I love the piercers at Anubis Warpus, just because they've all made me feel so comfortable, during what is usually a rather nervous (exciting) time. I think that's the mark of a truly good piercer, putting the piercees at ease. Anyway, back to the story, I waited while he marked out the position on my ear with a toothpick and that weird blue ink. We had to make sure to get it just right, evenly spaces, so that I could slide on the coil eventually and have it look right against the back of my ear.
Then, as always, the moment came just a little bit quicker than I thought it would. Once we finalized the decision on the position, the needles came out of their bags, one by one. He held it up to my ear, lining the needle up, and said the words we all know too well: "Alright, I want you to take a really deep breath...." With that, he told me to breath out, and the first one was pushed through. No trouble getting it through, but definitely the most painful piercing I had to date (in terms of when the needle goes through, not aftercare; in that respect, the tongue takes the cake). It was a nice solid burning feeling, replaced soon by the numbness of adrenaline pumping like crazy into my bloodstream. The ring slipped in, and I was done with the first one.
At this point, I usually get out of the chair and walk away, delighted with my new toy. But in this case, I had the pleasure of staying to enjoy the company of yet another ridiculously sharp needle. The next one came right away, new needle, same ear. Same process of inhale, exhale, pain. This one hurt just a bit more though, mirroring the protests of my already injured ear. The second ring went in, the pliers did their thing, and I was finally on my way.
Still mostly numb from the pain, my ear began to realize the trauma as I walked back to the car. Something told me that these piercings were going to hurt for a while, but I didn't really care. They looked awesome.
So at this point in the story, we skip ahead a few weeks into the aftercare. Notorious for infections, my cartilage piercings did not hesitate following the path of their predecessors. Perhaps because of the proximity, perhaps because of user error, they got infected. Now, I must note that I cleaned them obsessively according to the piercer's instructions (3 times a day plus salt water soaks), always trying to resist playing with them. Regardless, infection came on, but never got too bad. I kept it all under high surveillance, making sure nothing got out of hand. Painful as it was, I would see these piercings through their times of trouble; there's no way I was going to get rid of them now, especially with a third piercing planned for the next month. To make a long story short, the infections flared up occasionally, but never got bad enough to consult professional advice (besides my mother, who's a nurse practitioner). I suffered through the painful aftercare, and made it out fully intact, with 3 cartilage rings to date on my right ear.
So, I won't lie to you all. Cartilage rings hurt, the aftercare hurts, it's likely to get infected, and it requires some of the longest healing periods of any piercing. But, it's totally worth it; even when I'm out in the business world, and can't keep my piercings anymore, I'll still have those three little punch marks in my cartilage to remind me of all the fun I had when I was younger. Who knows, maybe my kids will even think I was cool someday...