So it was just after my eighteenth birthday and I thought that required a special piercing treat! I'd had my right cartilage pierced with a gun at a Claire's (or some store of that sort), and it'd worked out just fine for me. But that just wasn't enough. I wanted something a little different, yet not too extreme as I was still living at home, nor too terribly painful. I settled on a rook piercing and was just thrilled to go in and have it done.
At A Glance Author Lena Contact Lena@bme.anon When A year ago Studio AAA Location Rogers, AR So I ventured to Triple A with some friends and asked I they could do a rook piercing. They gave me quite the funny look which confused me since I knew what it was... and they didn't. But one of the artists from the Siloam Springs location agreed to go ahead and try it. (Sorry, I can't remember a name here).
So I went into the room with him, and we were looking through jewelry when he got a great idea! But perhaps great wasn't the word for it. He said he'd just done this "really cool" piercing on a guy and that it'd be great for me. Well, he went on to describe what is known as an orbital. And it sounded pretty cool. So we decided I'd do that instead. We picked out the ring which was rather large... both in diameter and gauge. But it was what they had and I just had to get it done that day.
Back to the room we went. I sat down in the chair and was more calm than I'd expected to be. The first task was to clean the area. Strange as this may sound, it was a Sunday and they were out of cotton balls... I guess they do their shopping on Mondays? So, the only thing around was a tampon... which he proceeded to soak in alcohol and use to clean my ear.
Then he took out the needle and it was shockingly large, a 10g. He did the top hole first from front to back and it was relatively painless. Honestly, it was much better than the one I'd had done with a gun before... not nearly so shocking! He then put the ring through the top part of the hole. That part was only semi uncomfortable.
Next it was time for the bottom hole. By this point, the top one was achey, but only a little bit. He did the bottom hole from back to front. Ouch! That one hurt a bit more as the cartilage there is thicker. But it was nothing unbearable. He slid the ring through that part and the worst part arrived: closing the ring. That was done fairly quickly and I was good to go. I made it through with surprisingly little bleeding and no tears!
I left and was definitely proud of myself. That night I couldn't sleep on my left side at all. It was one of many nights like that. I followed all of the cleaning instructions which was much less than fun. I had been told to bend my ear forward and back on the ring to clean it, and to turn the ring in my ear. It was really sore and kept getting a lot of crust type stuff on the ring in between cleanings. But I kept it in anyways. At some point I got what was like a blister on the back of the top hole. I popped it *ew* and then it came back and I popped it again *ew* and it came back and my ear would bleed and it was, in general, a real mess. I ended up at the doctor to get some antibiotic cream.
After a month or so it was still painful so I decided to switch the ring out for two separate bars. That helped quite a bit and it seemed to heal a little. Infection was a constant threat and I still couldn't sleep on that ear. I continued to clean it but just couldn't handle it not healing anymore. So about 6 months after I had the piercing, I put in regular earrings (20g). That allowed both of the holes to heal well. I started to gauge them back up and made it to 10s again. I never put the ring back in and have actually gone back down to a smaller size on the bottom hole, and have let the top hole grow shut for the most part.
Overall, it's been quite the adventure. I definitely don't regret the orbital, and it was rather fun. I may even work on getting the original ring back in. However, I think this could easily have gone the opposite direction. When you go in for a piercing, know exactly what you want. Don't let a stranger talk you into something of which you are unsure. Also, make sure you get someone who is experienced. If you know more about a piercing than he/she does, it's probably a good idea to wait and find someone else. While peircings aren't permanent, they do involve some risks.