I had wanted another piercing for a while. It had been about 8 months since my last one so I had that urge to get something else pierced. I didn't think I would be nervous with this piercing. I already had 10 so I thought it would be really easy. But when I got to the piercing place I was really nervous. I hadn't had any major ear cartilage piercings before; only 2 which were standard helix piercings, both with a gun. So this was a bit different. I got my first piercing (my belly button) at the age of 12 and since then I've had my labret, 6 ear lobe piercings, 2 helix piercings (one has been taken out though) and tongue (my favourite and most recent) pierced. I had been to this piercing place for all of my piercings so I knew the procedures and all that stuff.
At A Glance Author Ruby Contact drown_in_this_love_666@hotmail.com When It just happened Artist Can't remember her name >.< Studio Lord Of The Jewels Location Brookvale- Sydney
I had made an appointment; so when I got there I just said what I wanted done and stuff like that. Then I had to sign a few forms; just stuff about my medical history. If I had any diseases, was on any medication, am I prone to fainting {which thankfully I'm not} that sort of boring thing. My mum was with me at the time and she was so nervous for me (defiantly more than I was) which is normal for her. She has gotten used to the idea of piercings and she's pretty open minded and used to it now.
Now for the surprise. I was told that I wouldn't be getting pierced with the one long bar, which is how I assumed (and wanted) It to be done. The Piercer told me there was too much surface area etc blah blah and it might not heal properly. This is all probably true but it means it would cost me like an extra $50 which I was not happy about. Also I hadn't heard of anyone not getting the one long bar, so I was very surprised. So she told me she was going to use 2 14g 10mm Nipple Bars {they were $30 each but the second was only $15 which equalled to $45} Then I was charged $138 for 2 cartilage piercings. I was not really happy with the price but I was there so I just paid for it.
I had to wait the usual 5 minutes for her to set up then I went inside. I really like the room there. It's all white and inside there is one of those sterilising machines, a sink, a white doctors bed type thing, a mirror, a bin and some shelves and one of those fluorescent moveable lights that go above your head like when you're at the dentist. She talked to me about some of my other piercings, who at the store did them and when. Stuff like that. She asked if I was nervous as they always do. I said no, and then said a little bit. She asked me to remove my glasses and put hair pins in my hair around my ear so it wasn't in her way. Then she cleaned my ear with of those things that looks like a wet napkin from KFC. While she marked the placement of where she would pierce we talked about school and all that. She also asked me if I was planning on any more piercings and I told her all the ones I wanted to get. She also told me that she was too chicken to get her industrial pierced. This sort of made me feel proud. She also said something about it interfering with her yoga or some crap like that. After she made the placements (she had to do the bottom one twice to get it right), she gave me the mirror and asked if I was happy with it. I had no clue really where it was suppose to be so I trusted her judgement.
I was then instructed to lie down and that's probably when my nerves were at their worst. At this place they almost never use anaesthetic so I knew I wasn't going to get it. She told me to turn my head on the side which I did. Then she put the clamp on which was extremely uncomfortable and really did hurt quite a bit. She seemed to be pressing down hard on it. She then said "Don't worry, a lot of people say the clamp hurts the most" which honestly didn't really make me feel much better. Then I heard her get the needle out and she said "alright take a deep breath" which I did, then she said "and exhale" and when I did she pushed the needle through. I won't lie, it hurt quite a bit. Probably the most out of all of them. I reckon the worst bit was when she pushed the needle through the other side; it seemed to not want to go through and took quite a bit of effort to get it to go through. It took a bit to get the jewellery in too, I have no idea how she did it but I remember she had to cut something. The jewellery really hurt too, she had to force it or something. Next she clamped the lower one and did the same breathing thing (which did help) and on my exhale she pushed the needle through. The second time it didn't seem to hurt quite as much but I can't really remember to be honest. After the jewellery was put in for the second one I remember saying thank god it's over. She told me to sit up and asked me if I was alright. I said yes. My ear was really hot and throbbing. Not really much pain just really hot and I could feel that it was a bit swollen. I was told the after care stuff. Wash it with an antibacterial soap; make sure my hands are clean etc. Then I left and now two days later it only hurts when it's touched. I don't have much redness and no swelling. I have to wait 3 months (thought I think I'll only wait 2) till I can get the long bar in. The one bar is what I really wanted.