I've always been a big fan of piercings, even though before I got this one done, all I had were 5 lobe piercings (sadly all done with guns) and a standard cartilage piercing (done with a needle thankfully!). My last lobe piercing had just settled finally, and I was itching to get back in the chair. As my final university exams and my dissertation deadline were coming up, I decided to treat myself to a new piercing as a reward for how good I've been these past few months!
At A Glance Author Wednesday's Child When It just happened Artist Darryl Studio Retro Rebels Location Aberdeen, Scotland But what to get? I still live at home with my ever-so-slightly conservative parents (my dad wasn't keen on my first set of lobe piercings, let alone the four others after that!), so facial piercings were out of the question, and I don't like showing off my stomach, so no navel bar for me! After scouring the piercing galleries on BME and Alternative Nation, I had eventually settled on one of three possibilities - rook, conch or my right nipple. I liked the look of all three, plus the added bonus that they are all easily hidden from the more sensitive members of my family, so no getting kicked out of the house!
I waited, and waited, getting even more excited by the day, until my dissertation was handed in and my first three final exams were over. My 22nd birthday was also that week (exams on your birthday should be outlawed!), so I had plenty of money to get my next mod. I decided to get my piercing done in Aberdeen, while I was visiting my boyfriend Davey at the weekend, as I'd heard that Retro Rebels were a very good studio and it would be a good end to a horrid week!
On the Monday morning Davey walked me to the studio (I'd only been there once before and I get lost very easily), and announced that my piercing would be my birthday present from him! I still hadn't fully decided between the rook or the conch (had to put the nipple piercing on hold as they're a little too sore the now!), but that clinched it - the conch. As I explained to him, the rook had a chance of rejecting, and while I'd possibly take that chance with my money, I certainly wouldn't with his! So into the studio we went.
I asked at the counter about getting my conch piercing, and a lovely tall guy with large silicone plugs in his ear, called Darryl motioned me to come downstairs to the studio itself. My boyfriend, who had to go to a lecture, gave me some money and left, and I went downstairs.
The whole place was very clean and tidy, but there was nothing on the walls yet (they've just moved shop, so they're still to decorate properly), and I was led into one of the rooms, where I filled in the consent form and sat on the seat. Darryl chatted to me about new films coming out this summer (I work in a cinema, so it's a topic I'm more than happy to talk about) and marked my ear to try and get the positioning right. He gave me the choice of four different places for the piercing, and we settled on a fairly high location that meant it wouldn't catch on my glasses or be too hard to clean. He changed gloves to get the needle and jewellery (1.6 gauge labret stud) and told me to take a deep breath in when he said, then let it out slowly. It was at this point I began to feel much more nervous, as I remembered all the horror stories I'd read about it being one of the most painful piercings to get, and I was gripping my hands to stop them shaking.
Darryl took the needle and positioned it at the back of my ear, and I took a breath in. When the needle went in, it was quite sore, not the agonising pain I'd expected, but definitely more painful than my cartilage piercing was, and having the jewellery fitted was also uncomfortable. The breathing helped, as I could concentrate on that, rather than the pain, and after the initial soreness, it settled remarkably quickly. Darryl cleaned a small amount of blood from around the front of the piercing, and then checked how I was feeling before showing me in the mirror. I perked up remarkably upon seeing my lovely new jewellery, and forgot about the dull ache as I examined it. My ear was scarlet, but I didn't care, as it looked amazing, well worth the time and effort! Darryl went over the after-care instructions again, even though I'm well versed in them after 3 years of working as a piercer in a certain high-street 'Ear-Piercing Specialist' store, and gave me a lolly for being a good girl!
After paying for it, I left and went shopping for a couple of hours. Aberdeen is a very cold place, even in the spring, and my poor piercing got a battering from the cold wind, and was a bit numb by the time I met my boyfriend to go to the pictures an hour later. However, once we were inside the warm cinema, the feeling came back to it, and it was fine.
It's been 4 days now, I'm back in Glasgow, and the dull ache is gone. Now it's only ever sore when I'm moving it for cleaning, or if I forget it's there and I try to tuck my hair behind my ear and catch it on my fingers. I still can't sleep on it, but as I sleep on my back it isn't that much of a problem for me. I've been getting lots of compliments from my friends and work colleagues about it, and was even asked by a customer what kind of piercing it was, as she was thinking of getting it done! My mum found out about it the day I came home (she caught me bathing it) but she doesn't mind that much. As for my dad, well, I figure that there's some things that were just made for deathbed revelations!