At A Glance
Author	blu
Contact	blu@bme.anon
IAM	blu
When	Three months ago
Artist	Jake
Studio	(previously) Fallen Angel
Location	Newcastle

This was to be my second daith piercing. I have one in my right ear and like it so much that I went back for seconds to complete the pair! I'm the only person I know who has one, but then I live in a rural area, the population of which is known for being conservative. I don't think I've ever seen another "in the flesh", so to speak. When I got the first one pierced, I was looking for something a little different and it's certainly "different" around here!

What IS a "daith"? I did some research and came up with the following. The BME encyclopedia entry says, in effect, that it's a piercing of the outer ear, named for the Hebrew word for "knowledge", but more about that later... I couldn't find an anatomical name for the actual spot where a daith piercing is placed. I googled anatomy of the ear and checked my anatomy and physiology textbooks but the best I could come up with was that it's a piercing of the cartilaginous portion of the auricle or pinna. Frankly, I'm a bit surprised. Either my search skills suck (probably) or there's a part of the human body that doesn't have it's own specific anatomical name. That may be why the piercing was given it's own name, perhaps?

The medical sites say that the part of my ears just outside my earholes that now enthusiastically sport shiny rings are there to gather soundwaves and funnel them inside my head to where odd-shaped little bits of bone rattle about. I suppose the protruding bits of cartilage where "daith" or "rook" piercings are positioned also act a bit like ribs to help brace the ear and stop it flapping around excessively. Would piercing those bits of cartilage somehow weaken the structural integrity of my ears? It hasn't seemed to be the case.

The Encyclopedia also quotes Fakir Mustafa. He talks about the daith piercing being one that could selectively filter out garbage and pass knowledge. To be honest, my initial thoughts about having a daith piercing were more concerned with whether it would affect my hearing in any way, not just preventing (quote)"bullshit"(unquote) getting though those orifices and into my head! Since the outer ear is supposed to act as a funnel, would sticking bits of metal through that adversely affect the transmission of all sound into my inner ears? Or not? After the first daith piercing was in place, I found no difference in my hearing whatsoever.

As an extra place to have holes I adore the frivolent and curvaceous little ribs of cartilage that extend from my "outer ear canals". So much so that with one daith piercing in place and well-healed I was more than ready for another.

To cut a long story short and save you looking up my first daith experience, I'd acquired a daith piercing in my right ear and an inner helix piercing in the left on the same day, one after the other. The daith took a while to heal and, while all seemed to be going very well for about a year, later it decided to swell a little and bleed, but with a bit of TLC finally settled fully within days of it's last-ditch attention-seeking behavior. Now it's very calm, never annoys me and is just a source of pleasure, in that it's an interesting place to have a hole.

In terms of entertainment value, I'd give it an eight. It's a hole that's not too painful to get pierced, is non-intrusive to live with, easy to look after, draws eyes but isn't as much fun as, say, a tongue or genital piercing. One of the things I found with the first daith piercing was that it didn't stop me talking on the phone. The inner helix still against the phone when I forget and put it up to that ear, but the daiths seem to be more protected. I was also initially a bit worried about being able to wear the earbud type earphones that I use for my mobile phone, but the daith piercings seem to help hold them in place better!

The inner helix has been an ongoing source of annoyance. And I swear that I really didn't clunk the phone on it much when it was healing! At first, it seemed to be the "easy" one of the two holes I'd had pierced that day, but it took a long time to settle down to my satisfaction. It's fine now, but one day, a few months ago, I went to the city and decided to go and ask Jake about the inner helix and a possible new daith. Knowing that I was hoping to get a new piercing, I'd washed my hair that morning and tied it back tightly, so that it didn't get in the way and no stray strands would get near my ear afterwards.

The business has moved! I found them with the help of a local iam member. The new premises are spacious and seemed much more inviting and airy than the old ones. Jake was his usual helpful self and gave me some excellent advice about the annoying helix hole. He was also available to stick a new hole in my ear almost immediately and I sat down to wait. The decor was minimalist, calming but not clinical, with the walls painted a soft gray/blue tone.

I admired the jewelery display and had a chat with a guy who was also waiting and then it was my turn. Having already had one hole stuck in a similar place in the other ear, I knew what to expect. In my case, that meant that the piercing would be slightly more than a minor ouch, but nothing too terrible, so I wasn't in any way concerned, just keen to get my new hole.

At that stage, my biggest worry was that I was going to leave my ears asymmetrical, but it wasn't a huge concern. I am firmly refusing to consider the fact that I now have thirteen holes in my ears as unlucky. I don't do triskaidekophobia! My "odd" ear will catch up soon. I have plans for it...

Jake showed me through to the new piercing room. It was huge! Very clean, as I'd expect, with mirror tiles on one wall. I'd rather not watch anyone sticking a sharp object through any part of me in a mirror, but no doubt some people enjoy it. The room had a bench that allowed for sitting or lying, various equipment, but once again all quite minimalistic. Jake remembered having done my other daith piercing and knew that I wanted the new one pierced to match with a 14 gauge ring. We had some minor chat which helped put me at ease. Honestly though, how "at ease" can one be when one is about to let someone put a hole in a delicate part of their anatomy, I ask you? He mentioned having recently been on a trip to the US to attend to attend the 2005 Association of Professional Piercers Convention in the US. It's a somewhat-comforting thought that the person who's going to pierce you is a well-informed professional who keeps up to date on techniques etc.

Would he know the right Kabbalistic stuff (that I'd found on the net after getting the first "outer ear canal" piercing) that would prevent my hearing rubbish in that ear? I didn't care and it wasn't dreadfully relevant, just a momentary source for a nervous mental giggle. That's really not a part of my interest in having holes. What I am most interested in is that he positioned the new hole to match the one in the other ear and in such a way that it would heal easily and well.

While discussing how the "old" daith piercing was doing, Jake mentioned that he thought that they look to be an "intense" piercing because of the amount of cartilage that the needle has to pass through. The last time he mentioned the word "intense" it had to do with my septum. I looked at him and thought, "Excuse me? You have multiple barbells in your face and you say that? I hope he was trying to put me at ease.

Cleaning my ear, lots of changes of gloves, careful sterile procedures, bending the needle- they flew past and, to be honest I didn't pay super-close attention. I sat on the bench and waited while all sorts of thoughts flew around in my head. I trust Jake to do all the right things. Before I knew it Jake was telling me to breathe and the needle was about to go through a tender little piece of my flesh. Well, maybe not so "tender" in terms of the needle going through it- I suspect cartilage is probably tougher than some places we have holes. Had I mis-remembered the pain? Had I underestimated the pain of the old right daith piercing because of endorphins etc? Was I taking this all too casually? Was this, in short, about to hurt like hell and make me scream my head off? Was I about to embarrass myself horribly?

Nope. Arguably, I'd rather die of pain than of embarrassment. Most people would, some sort of survey I read said. I'm not going to sugar-coat this. I did feel it. But on a scale of one to ten, with one being removing a splinter and ten being a broken bone (the worst pain I've experienced to date) I'd place the pain of the piercing as a 1 1/2. The needle tickled a little as he positioned it next to my ear. I took a breath and it started to cut through. I remember feeling it enter my skin and thinking that it wasn't so bad. This all happened much faster than I can type it, but it felt to me like it was happening very slowly, although I knew it wasn't. Jake pushed the needle through in one steady motion. I clearly remember feeling it partway through and thinking that it was nearly there. About this point I think I gave a muffled grunt, but it really wasn't that bad! The part where the needle passed through the cartilage took the longest, which is understandable when you consider the thickness of the cartilage in that part of the ear. Then I felt the needle exit my skin on the other side and breathed a big sigh of relief. It didn't "pop" when pierced like a couple of my other cartilage holes did.

Because of the site of the hole and the amount of cartilage that the hole passes through, overall this one also took longer for the needle to pass through my ear than (for example) an ordinary lobe piercing. Having done this before I knew what to expect, so it didn't seem to take as long as the first one had. Either that or Jake has refined his technique even further. But I tend to feel that it was merely my perception of time that was different. I knew what to expect, wasn't concerned in any way and it went very smoothly.

Getting the needle through is always a big relief. I always feel then that the worst part is over. Of course, that hasn't been the case for all my holes. One or two were almost as bad as the jewelery went in as when the needle went through. But this time when I gritted my teeth in preparation for the jewelery insertion it was practically unnecessary. As he was about to put the ring through and close it, Jake told me what he was doing. I like to know how things are going. He also kept my mind off my concerns about further pain... I like holes, I don't particularly like the minor pain associated with acquiring them!

Almost before I knew it, Jake had deftly inserted the ring in the new hole and put the ball in place to close the ring. Once again, I felt the ring pass through my ear and, while it didn't exactly tickle, it also wasn't too bad because it was done carefully and quickly. The best part was that I had a matching hole for my right ear! I looked in the mirror and beamed! I'm smiling now just thinking about how much I like it.

Jake didn't make a fuss about how to care for my new hole. He knows that I've previously healed quite a few others. He did, as always, make sure that I knew to contact him if there were any problems. One of the things that makes me go back there for new holes is that I believe he genuinely cares about his work and likes to know that his clients are looked after. He ensures that his clients know how to contact him if there are any problems later, but I have never had any difficulties with holes he's made for me. It is comforting to know that I can contact him if I need to though! Having my own business, I have nothing but the utmost respect for people such as Jake who work hard in their own businesses to give their clients genuine, honest service.

We left the piercing room and I paid, still smiling. Jake mentioned seeing me back there sometime for a nice "pair of snugs" to match. I assured him that I'd let the new hole heal and be back for them! I'm looking forward to seeing what he has in mind...

I freely admit to being of the school of thought that suggests leaving new holes well alone as much as possible so that's what I did. I'd found with the first daith piercing that it was practically impossible to soak the thing. Either my ear ended up full of water and my head would slosh for hours afterwards or most of the water went over the rest of me. Mostly, I just left the new hole well alone; let the warm water run over it in the shower, did not turn the ring and kept my dirty hands away from it the rest of the time. The first week went past with me marvelling at how well the new hole was healing. At about the end of the first week I started to get up of a morning and find little crunchy bits inside my ear. That's one of the unlovely things about daith piercings; they drop crusty-crunchy chunks into the bottom or even the inside of your ear sometimes while they're healing. But it was, for me, also a good sign that the healing was progressing well. Since then it has continued to do so. I have had a few days where I felt the need to give my ear an extra bathing when the piercing felt mildly warm. Once again, having been there done that already, I'd figured out what works best for me with this type of piercing, which is to use bottled sterile saline solution.

Because I wear contact lenses, I've always got sterile saline on hand. I use the type without preservatives. It's cheap, of the correct concentration, available in plenty of places and the best thing is that it comes in a squirter bottle! I tried all sorts of things to wash my ear when I had the first daith piercing done. Trying to accurately dribble water from a piece of cotton wool onto a daith piercing is a right pain. Insert here an image of me tipping my head sideways over the bath with one hand clutching a towel wrapped around my head and a saucepan of boiled sea salt water hovering above my head in the other hand... and another image of me walking around all day shaking my head to get the water back out again. Those squirter bottles are definitely a big help!

I suppose I could have boiled sea salt and water as I've done in the past, and then put that into a squirter bottle, but by the time I'd done that, there were too many steps in the process and too many places where bugs could enter the equation. I've been very careful about not touching my ear for any reason unless I really had to. Having an itchy ear this time around wasn't so bad. There's nothing worse than when the inside of your ear is yelling to be scratched and you know you can't touch it for a new piercing in the way! I'd learned with the right ear how to gently scratch my ear with a cotton bud, but to only do it when I really had to! Oddly enough, now I find that both ears are itchy of a morning when I get up. I'd never noticed that before. I clean them gently and they're happy and don't annoy me further for the rest of the day. We've come to an agreement we can all live with, it seems.

To help the piercing heal I also added a zinc supplement. I've found that it may help and certainly hasn't killed me yet. I routinely take a vitamin supplement because my diet is quite odd, but also add zinc when I have anything healing. I would have to say that this hole has been one of the best to have pierced and the easiest healing one I've ever had! It's not given me a moment's trouble since it was done over two months ago. In comparison to my first daith piercing in the other ear it's healed much faster. Now and again it clinks lightly on the inner daith ring that hangs down into my ear, which is a pleasant sound. I'm very pleased with it. I enjoy the sound of my other earrings chiming together as I move. The only drawback with the daith piercings is that they don't move around or rattle. Most of the time I don't even know they're there. They just sit comfortably in a nicely protected spot. Unlike my lobe piercings, I can't feel any weight on the daith piercings. But that is also a good thing in many ways!

I'm amazed at how fast and well this new daith piercing has healed. It's taken a fraction of the time that the first took. What I've done differently this time is to just not touch it at all, as far as I can. The first felt a bit "different" to me and I know that there were times when I adjusted it a little by turning the ring so that the ball was in an easier place for me to sleep on. Possibly having got the old daith and the inner helix piercing done at the same time might have slowed the healing time for both slightly? I know that it was interesting deciding which side to sleep on for a while there! This time I was able to sleep on my right side, so there was no pressure at all on my new piercing and the ball didn't press on my ear in any way, as it had done with the first. Maybe the pressure of sleeping on the first daith had also slowed it's healing time a little?

I'm going to take these considerations on board and think carefully before getting a cartilage piercing in each ear at the same time again. I was enthusiastic about the right daith piercing and felt that any amount of healing time and a very small amount of inconvenience was well worthwhile. The new left daith piercing has been so easy and trouble-free that I am utterly rapt in having a matching pair!

Now, about that new "pair of snugs" I'm looking forward to so eagerly...