I have been a bit of a piercing nerd for about a year now. The whole deal started when a friend of mine who was no stranger to body modification himself brought me into what I consider to be the best body piercing location in Calgary, Adorned. Anyone who goes in there will speak of the comforting wave of disinfectant that hits you as you walk in. But what's even better than their regimented cleanliness are their employees. Seeing as I go to school just down the street from Adorned, I have become a bit of a regular there and am a bit proud to boast that the owner Rick and my personal favorite piercer Corey now know me by face and name. I have been pierced by them both, and quite simply I will not trust anyone else to do it. I'm pretty much a walking advertisement for the shop.
At A Glance Author Leah When It just happened Artist Corey Robert Studio Adorned Location Calgary, AB Today I decided it was time for my very first "different" piercing. I've been taking it a bit slow as I'm only 16 and decided I want to spread my piercings out a bit.I fell in love with daith piercings, and this was the morning I woke up in a piercing mood. We got to the shop and I filled out the necessary paperwork and such, and then waited for Corey to be finished his lunch. I had no qualms at all about Rick piercing me, and a few of my friends prefer him because of his years of experience. He is fantastic. For me though, Corey is just so calming and funny, so he is my first choice.
Corey brought me back through their little maze of rooms, past the buzz of tattoo needles from Eternal Image, the tattoo shop that Adorned shares their location with. My friend Sarah accompanied me back as usual, and I had a seat on their black leather doctor's office bed while Corey got everything together. Sarah laughingly asked Corey how many gloves he goes through in a day. "Oh, about a hundred" He replied with a smile. Those guys change their gloves about a million times throughout the procedure.
Then, Corey instructed me to lay down and set off to work, all the while making small talk with me which did wonders for my nervousness. He spread the supplies out on top of a rolling chest of drawers, and swabbed my ear out with iodine and some disinfectant gauze. Then he dipped the tip of a toothpick into some purple dye to mark my ear. He was incredibly meticulous in doing this, which gave me confidence that this was going to look great. While he left to retrieve my jewelry, Sarah rather tactlessly mentioned that "This is the one that made my friend want to pee her pants!" A real confidence booster, that. Corey pierced my ear at a 14-gauge, with a needle that he bent especially for the job. I never got to see it, but Sarah said it looked really cool. It had a 90-degree bend and then a curve at the top so he could maneuver it out of that extremely awkward spot in my ear.
Then, the actual piercing. He told me to take a deep breath in as usual, and began to gently push the needle through. I'd rank this as the most painful piercing I've had, which doesn't say much. I've heard horror stories about the daith in particular, and even Corey told me that this would probably be the most uncomfortable piercing I'd get. And it was great! Of course once the piercing starts chronological time goes out the window, but there was some pain, some pinching, and a tense few seconds while I laid there with a needle through my head when Corey was readying my jewelry. Sarah told me afterward how funny I looked laying there with a corked needle protruding from my ear. I thought I heard a bit of a crunch this time around, but nothing too nerve-wracking. By the end of it all Corey had me laughing as he cleaned everything up. Though it was an amazing experience, I was grateful to hop off the bench and admire the new adornment. All that was left was to thank Corey, pay for the sucker and leave him a fat tip for doing such a great job.
It's only been about 6 hours since I got it done so I've obviously had no problems, but I'm fairly good with my aftercare so I'm expecting no issues. I've got the recommended organic lavender soap left from my helix, so all should go well. Maybe I've got a high pain tolerance, but what I've learned from my experience here is that pain is rarely as bad as anyone says it is. If you like this piercing, go for it, and make damn sure you go to Adorned if you live in Calgary.