For years I have wanted to get myself pierced, I don't know why. I have just wanted to get something done, I thin k more for the experience more than anything. I still wanted to get a reasonably individual piercing so I eventually decided on a conch piercing (I have only ever met one other person with the piercing in real life).
At A Glance Author Dean Mervin Contact Bigfluffythingy@aol.com When Three months ago Artist The peircer in the store (cant remember his name) Studio Andy j's Location Rochester, England I finally raised the money, and the courage, to go and get the piercing done with my pre-perforated friend Daniel. He of course is giving me all the garb about 'its going to hurt so much.... I'm going to laugh at you so much if you cry....'. Just being a general ass, but it did not help it only made me feel worse and even more nervous. I have had pent up anxiety for hours by the time we get to the piercers.
We walked in and I was surprised to see that the two artists were quite calmly sitting around drinking tea with mild mannered pop music lounging around in the background. Being new to 'this sort of thing' it was not really what I was expecting. I was also quite surprised to notice neither of the artists, the piercer or the tattooist, had any form of body modification, although I think the tattooist may have had a small ear-ring, although I was too busy looking at the various flash's that they had plastered all over the walls, and feeling sorry for myself for being too young to indulge in such things.
So yeah, we got in and asked the piercer for out individual piercings, my friend was getting his daith re-done after ripping it out a year prior on an amusement ride. The piercer was great, he was very calm and had a great aura about him, just seeped calm really. I was not sitting for the piercing but lying down, so he could apply this odd cooling stuff to my ear. Which I was very thankful for, it completely froze my ear therefore I did not feel a thing. Again I got distracted by the array of very cool looking photo's spread over his wall, also trying not to see the needle at the same time. He did not ask me to take any deep breaths or anything like that, simply a one...two...and there we go. All I heard was a pop and felt a slight tugging on my ear. It stung a little as he put the catheter into my ear ready for the bar. By now I'm getting that huge adrenaline rush, all my limbs are tingly and I'm just buzzing, I wanted to sit up there and then and look at it. As soon as the bar was in I grabbed the mirror from the side and looked at my new piercing for the first time. I absolutely love it. I was not in pain for about...15 minutes then it started hurting quite reasonably, but the fried chicken and Ibuprofen went down well.
Although 3 months on it is still giving me trouble. I was advised by the piercer to use a warm salt-water solution for about a week after and then to use a 50:50 solution of 5% hydrogen peroxide. I did as he said and cleaned it every day for about a month, using the peroxide. After that I though I would give it a rest. Even still after that it would still be a little sore. I did actually develop a lump of cartilage on the back side of my ear where the bar came out, I asked my friend (the guy I went with) what to do as he had the same thing on his vertical lobe the time we went, he told me to blitz it with the neat peroxide straight from the bottle for about a week, for sure it did work, but in the mean time it was bloodyer and nastier than ever. It does not give me pain constantly, only really if it is hit or moved too sharply. It will still crust up nicely every morning, not quite as much as before but it is still annoying me. I really have had some strong doubts about keeping it, but others I have talked to who have it have told me that it does take a very long time to heal, mainly because it is in a dirty place with all the hair and nastiness around that area.
I still defend my piercing strongly as something that makes me more of an individual than anyone else in my circles. They all poked fun when I first came into school wincing about how much it hurt whenever someone poked it or slapped it, quite deliberately may I add, but they soon suffered my wrath...he he, its now quite accepted, my parents initially threatened to throw me out if I did anything without their full permission, I finally swung them by telling them if I did not get my ear pierced I would not get my hair cut. Even though it is still a reasonably high maintenance piercing to this day I would advise it to anyone thinking about it, as it simply looks so very cool. Although I would not advise it as a first piercing like I had it done as. I plan to get it extended into a small ear project, maybe having it industrial to the lobe or helix, I'm not certain yet.