Ever since I was 15 (I'm only 20 years old) I have been fascinated with body modification. Starting high school and having to endure those three long, painful years was probably the main factor in choosing to mod myself, but it was also because I, like every other cliché suburban teenager, wanted to be "different" and was trying to experiment with what that meant. I convinced my parents to let me get my tongue pierced at 15 (my dad was cool enough to go with me to sign the required forms), and even though the rest of my mods had to wait until I was 18 (I worked numerous part-time jobs and was never allowed to have any piercings showing), I was always extensively planning for that day. When it came, I got my first tattoo. After that came two more tattoos, a nostril piercing and an eyebrow piercing, along with more holes in my ears.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Paul Studio Imperial Body Art Location Boise, ID My job this summer is the first job I have ever had that allows me to wear my body jewelry and let my tattoos show. So I was extremely disappointed when I noticed that the 16g barbell in my eyebrow was slowly migrating out. I tried to think of what to do to fix the situation; should I get it re-pierced? Should I pierce the other one? I have heard too many horror stories of people having to take out their beloved eyebrow piercings because of migration or rejection, so I figured I should work on my next project: my ears. I'm going to nursing school in the fall, and I'm positive they will have a problem with even my tiny little stud in my nose, so I have decided just to get work done on my ears. Thus, that brings me to my current topic: my conch piercing.
I went in on Sunday to Imperial Body Art, where I got both my eyebrow and my nose done. The piercer, Paul, is a tall, heavily tattooed and pierced guy, and he's extremely friendly and knowledgeable. I honestly have not found a better piercer in Boise, Idaho. I asked him at first about doing an industrial to essentially "replace" my rejecting eyebrow piercing, but after he checked out my ears he showed me that the shape of them would cause him to have to curve the barbell to avoid putting pressure on my ear. So I went with my 2nd choice, my conch. I was terrified; I have not found nearly as many people who have their conch pierced (that I know of, anyway) as opposed to an industrial, and let's be honest: that's quite a lot of cartilage to go through! Things did not get any easier when I asked what the gauge of the jewelry would be (14g), but I tried to suppress my fear when I remembered that my tragus piercing miraculously did not hurt at ALL.
Paul led me into the room and closed the door, then got to work. He laid out everything for me to see, and washed his hands several times. He did not give me a monotone rehearsed aftercare speech or anything like that, for which I was grateful: I doubt I would have remembered it just then. After setting everything up, he showed me the placement of the piercing in a mirror to check that I was okay with it, and then asked me to lie down on the table. My heart was beating so incredibly loud and my palms were embarrassingly sweaty, but I did as he asked. After taking the numerous deep breaths, on Paul's instruction, I felt the needle go through. And I mean that literally; I felt like it took forever for the needle to go through, even though it only took a second or two. The pain felt like my ear was on fire. After he put the jewelry in, he told me to take some more deep breaths before sitting up, and so I did what I was told. He then explained the aftercare to me and gave me a pamphlet with instructions as well.
I left feeling elated and with only a slight throbbing in my ear. For the past week, I have been doing sea salt soaks twice a day and luckily have not experienced any unusual pain or scarring. Sleeping is not so much of a problem, although apparently I turn in my sleep: in the middle of the night earlier this week I woke up on my freshly pierced left ear, and the pain was blinding. But by now it has become only mildly uncomfortable to have any pressure on it, although I still avoid it to make sure it does not somehow get contaminated.
Over the past week, I have tried not to touch it or get anything on it (shampoo, etc.) as I was instructed. Accidentally touching it was the worst: a few times, I have just been innocently tucking my hair behind my ear, forgetting my new piercing for a second, only to be reminded by a dull shock of mild pain. The back of my ear bled the tiniest bit the first two days when I did the sea salt soaks, but after that it stopped. It's really not so bad doing the salt soaks; it has gotten a lot less painful to the point where I barely notice it, and again, it has only been a week. I was instructed not to rotate the CBR, but there has been some slight movement during the soaks and again, thankfully, it doesn't hurt. Being cautious around it definitely helps. The pain has turned into itching, along with a bit of crusting, both of which are expected and definitely a good sign.
Overall, I would say this experience was definitely worth it. I have a beautiful healing piercing, and even though the CBR in it looks pretty big (5/8"), Paul explained that the large size is mostly for healing, so it doesn't put unnecessary pressure on my ear. I love my new piercing and the pain was DEFINITELY worth it. I would recommend this piercing to anyone who wants something a little different.