I had been very into hidden piercings, ever since I knew that my parents would kill me if they found out. I was looking into a web, but I had a snug on my mind as a back up, in case I whimped out, or the piercer couldn't do it.
At A Glance Author TD Contact TD@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Dr. B Studio Dr. B's piercing salon Location Monroe, CT I went up to Monroe, which is about 30 minutes away, with my best friend. We went into the piercing salon, and we were greeted by... no one. It turns out that he has a private "practice", and he is the only piercer that works at it. Hm. A man that had an office of another type right next to Dr. B's office asked me if I had an appointment. I told him no, and hoped that Dr. B took just walk-ins. The man called Dr. B and he said that he would be there in about an hour. It was sort of annoying, but we decided to go out to eat. It was good we decided to though, because I definitely felt a lot better afterwards. Next to the restaurant we ate at was a health food store, where I went in and purchased a big bottle of sea salt, which I figured I would be attached to for the next few weeks.
So, we head back to the studio in an hour, and Dr. B is there. He asked me what I want done, and I immediately say a snug, before even asking about my web. He told me that he wasn't sure what that was, and when I told him, he said it looked like I wanted a horizontal rook on an angle. Sounded good to me, and he made marks on my ear with a purple sharpie. It looked perfect, and my friend thought it was good, too. He then asked me if I wanted a barbell or a ring in it, and I definitely wanted a barbell. He then asked whether I wanted straight or curved, and after talking with him about the most comfortable option, I decided on the curved, which does not rest against your inner ear as much.
He cleaned my ear with rubbing alcohol, and then had my lay down on my right side (I was getting my left side pierced). He put an anti-biotic cream on my ear, and told me to focus on my breathing. When he put the clamp on, I could tell that this piercing would be painful. The clamp alone really hurt, and I felt like he was squeezing it as hard as he could. He then prepared the needle, and inserted it into my ear. My ear felt like it was on fire, and throbbing. I felt like it took him ages to get the needle through, when in reality, it was probably only 3 or 4 seconds. I didn't hear the infamous crunching noise, to my surprise, and my ear didn't bleed one bit. I wasn't sure what was going on when he threaded the barbell through, and I thought he had to re-pierce the hole again for some reason. Looking back on it, I think it would have been a better idea if he explained everything going on to me. The barbell was through, and the ball was on, and he had me look in the mirror.
Wow! It looked even cooler than I had expected. It still felt like there was so much pressure on that one little part of my ear, but that was secondary to my happiness. He explained aftercare, which consisted of sea salt soaks, and Advil. I paid him his 30 dollars, and went on my way.
Immediately afterwards, we went back to my best friends, and she gave me her cartilage cleaning solution from when she got her cartilage done. I used that, then did a sea salt soak, and took 2 Ibuprofen. By the end of the day, I forgot my piercing was there. That night, I came home and took more Ibuprofen, and iced my ear for 20 minutes before bed, so that it wouldn't swell during the night. I woke up, and everything was perfect. That day I purchased some Dial Anti-Bacterial Aloe Soap (Aloe aids with healing), some Vitamin C tabs (which also help with healing), and some spray for my ear to use on it after "physical activities."
With all my new stuff, I have started a new regimen. In the morning, I wash with the Dial in the shower, and then after I get out, I use the ear cleaning solution, and rotate and move the barbell around. I then do a sea salt soak for about 5 minutes, and following that, I spray it with the spray I got. I pop 2 Ibuprofen at 8am, two more at 3 pm, and 2 more at like 9. I do sea salt soaks randomly during the day, and I use the spray after I touch it. I also wash it again before bed, and then use ice on it. I haven't had any crusties, any puss, any redness, swelling, or anything with my ear. It has been a week, and I couldn't be happier with my new piercing, and I hope it is smooth sailing from here.