I think when someone starts developing an interest in piercings, it isn't long before they're examining their bodies to see where a hole would look best. Or maybe it was just me. Anyway, I discovered that I have perfect ears. Now, I know I have plenty of ugly parts, so leave me and my adorable ears be. I figured that since I was saving my conservative family the grief of seeing metal on my face, I had every right to do as I please with my ears. I had a slow start, with only my earlobes pierced until my 18th birthday, when I got a stud in the cartilage of my right ear. I started to gauge my ears when I was 16, but I gave up after realizing how much money I'd have to spend and how often I would be buying new earrings.
At A Glance Author Kelly Contact klindh1@lsu.edu When A month ago Artist Margaret Studio Atomic Tattoo Location Baton Rouge, LA I looked through BME and after ruling out an industrial (for now) I settled on getting either my rook or snug pierced on my left ear to balance out my cartilage stud. I wanted this new piercing to mean something so that I could look back and remember being proud of myself and that the hole was a reward. After doing really badly my first semester of college, I promised myself that I would get my piercing after my first A of my second semester. It was only a week into school when I got a glowing 92 on a Math quiz, so I decided to reward myself as soon as possible. The next Friday, I skipped my last class and walked from my boyfriend's apartment complex to Atomic Tattoo, located in the shopping center in the next parking lot. I had been there before a few times and felt really comfortable. There was only one other customer there, a guy getting his leg tattooed.
At the time, there were only two artists at Atomic Tattoo, a married couple boasting the only female tattoo artist in Baton Rouge. It's only been open since October, but Matt has been tattooing for several years and did the custom lotus flower on my best friend's brother's leg. I recognized Matt's wife Margaret (she also pierces) from my previous visits. I told her that I wanted my rook pierced and after I filled out some paperwork, we got started. I hopped up onto a chair that looked like the ones they have at doctor's offices and we both took a good long look at my ears. Apparently, with the way they're shaped, the rook piercing would be too awkwardly placed to be worth the $30. I brought up getting my snug done instead and when she marked it, I instantly fell in love.
It didn't occur to me until I looked at BME after the piercing that she did it quite differently from the ones in the Snug section, with just one hole and a CBR looping around the outer edge of my ear. I like it much better this way. One of the things that turned me off of the snug piercings I've seen is how it's a short barbell through the cartilage on the outer edge of the ear.
She put a clamp on my ear, pushed the needle through, and put in the jewelry. It hurt a lot less than I thought it would, considering the thickness of the cartilage. I bought some cleaning solution and she gave me an aftercare sheet with instructions. She took a picture of my ear and I'm proud to have it on the mural of sorority girl belly buttons.
For the first week, I hated my ear. It was swollen and it hurt even when I wasn't cleaning it. Cleaning my ear was an entirely different level of agony. Most of the pain was probably my fault. Margaret explicitly told me not to pick at my ear, which I admit I did. I tried to keep my touching to just turning the ring to break the crusty layer.
Almost two weeks after I got my snug, I ended up back at Atomic Tattoo because my friend's fiancée was in from Iraq (he's in the Marines) and he was getting a Psalm verse on his arm. It was done by Chris, who had recently come to Atomic from another shop in Baton Rouge. Margaret happened to drop by and I got her opinion on how my ear was healing. She said, "It's gooey, but it'll be fine."
Now that it's been a month, I love my ears again. My snug is perfect; it's not so obvious that it screams at everyone who looks at me, but the people who have noticed it always compliment it. Of course, I've already decided on my next ear piercing: an anti tragus in my right ear.