One would think that on Friday the 13th, people would avoid having needles and pieces of jewelry shoved through parts of their body.
At A Glance Author photocopyromance Contact photocopyromance@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Carrie Studio Star Rocket Location Ellicott City, MD I am not one of those people. After having possibly the worst month of May imaginable (My brother being admitted into the hospital, wrecking my car, etc.) I decided it was time for me to have a bit of fun, and give me a push so I could survive the rest of the month.
After meeting up with a few people Friday afternoon, I found myself standing outside Star Rocket, in Ellicott City. I had just been there the day before, buying a ball for the barbell in my snug, as mine had fallen off. At this point, the healing process of my snug wasn't going too well. It looked as if the skin had been literally growing over it, it hurt, etc.. I had gone to my piercer two weeks prior, back when it wasn't so bad, and was told that it was normal for snug piercing to be a bit pissy. I took his advice, and just babied it, doing my best to remove the incredible amount of crusties that were continuously building up around both of the balls on the bar after sea salt soaks.
Again, the same wonderfully sweet lady was working the desk. (One of these days I should really get her name.). I was just looking for a bit, oogling the jewelry while a girl with a nose piercing asked some questions. When she was finished, I argued with myself a bit, and decided that I needed a matching snug, one in my right ear. Dave, the piercer that did my snug, wasn't there. Instead, I met the fantastic Carrie. While I sort of felt for whatever reason like I had to impress Dave previously with my omgharcorelikewhoa-ness, I was very comfortable with Carrie. It may or may not have had something to do with the fact that she was, obviously, female. More than likely, it had to do with the hardware on her ears.
Once everything was filled out and paid for, I went upstairs with two of my friends in tow. Carrie was already setting up the equipment, and we all chatted for a bit. Before she did the procedure, I asked her to take a quick look at my first snug, to tell me if there was anything wrong with it. I was quickly informed that no, it was not normal, and that my jewelry was being imbedded into my skin. She was going to have to change the jewelry to something longer, as it turns out I swell more than normal people. She had a tendency of changing her gloves often, which certainly met my seal of approval.
After she gathered all the items she needed to change my jewelry, I was instructed to lay down. She prodded at my ear, and every time she let go of it, I could hear the ball sinking back down into my skin. Yummy. This was when she casually mentioned how much it this was going to be. She cleaned the living hell out of the area and stuffed my ear with cotton. It didn't hurt as badly as I expected. Taking it out, at least...putting the new jewelry in hurt like a bitch, and I'm sure my friends could tell by my facial expressions.
When she was finished with that ear, I hopped out of the 'chair' so to speak, and looked it over. It looked and felt better than it had in such a long while. My friends and I oohed and aahed over it, and I quickly laid back down for the actual piercing. I was insanely nervous, just because I'm well aware of how much it would hurt. She had me take a deep breath and breath out, and in went the needle.
Though I clearly vocalized that pain ("ow, ow, ow!") it really didn't hurt as much as the first. I think just making the sound of being in pain made it easier to deal with. Carrie was sweet and kept going "Oh, I'm sorry!". I told her, hey, I'm paying you to do this!
Once it was finished, I had forgotten that she had also stuffed cotton in the ear she was piercing while she was cleaning it. There were a few seconds that I couldn't hear, and I panicked for a moment. I, of course, felt very silly once the cotton was removed.
I drooled when I looked in the mirror. The new snug was gorgeous, and was on the same angle as my previous, etc.. They matched perfectly, both being 18 gauges. The only difference was my new snug was a bit deeper, and I actually prefer it this way.
We went over the aftercare procedures, and it turns out what I was given last time was not the aftercare sheet. That worried me a bit. We went downstairs, and Carrie mentioned that she wished she had a camera, then told me to come back in when I had a chance so she could take a picture of it. I hung out for a bit, asking about what I should do to stretch out my lobes, and she told me to wait about four months, let everything heal, and come back in to start everything up.
It's been about two days now, and both ears feel fantastic. My first snug is not red anymore, doesn't ache, etc.. It bleeds a little now and then, but other than that, I have no complaints. My new snug, is of course, all achey and swollen. I carry advil with me and take it when I need it, and I go to bed every night with a little piece of ice tucked behind my ear. Sleeping and talking on the phone aren't as difficult as I thought they were going to be. My first snug can take a bit of abuse now without hurting, making everything a bit easier.
In short, I'm insanely happy with my matching snugs. They look and feel great, and I'm certain they're going to help me get through the rest of the month!