Sadly, my jonesing for a new piercing came shortly after I'd assured my very conservative parents that I wouldn't get any more piercings or tattoos until I moved out of the house. This will be next August. What luck. So, about a month after telling them this, I started getting antsy. I'd been dying for a labret, but I knew that would not happen until I did move out, the same with the eyebrow, which I am also dying for. My mother was kind of warming up to my helix piercing, though, and my industrial, so I went to her first, to ask her what she thought about my getting another helix. I'm almost nineteen, so I technically don't need their permission, but since they don't like piercings at all, I figured it would all go over more smoothly if I clued them in on what I was going to do, and didn't come home with a new hole in my ear that they weren't prepared for.
At A Glance Author Rachel Contact Rachel@bme.anon When A week ago Studio Illusion Ink Location Southhaven, MS My mom gave me the typical "I don't like them, but ask your father", when I mentioned the new piercing. I went to my dad, who is very closeminded and conservative, so he of course thinks badly on all pierced people. He has some very off the wall ideas, but that's another story. I seethed a bit at his closemindedness, but still got him to at least be slightly alright with the idea. So I decided the next day after work, I would go to Illusion Ink, where I got my tattoo done. I liked the atmosphere, and they were very sterile. The next day, I got off work at noon. I picked up my best friend, who wanted to talk to someone at Illusion about a tattoo, and our friend who also wanted a tattoo. We got there, and I asked about titanium or surgical steel jewelry, they assured me that it was surgical steel. I also tried to see if Goat would remember me, from when I got my tattoo. It's kind of hard to forget me, expecially when I said "I'm the girl with the garlic tattoo." He remembered me then. (I have a tattoo of the kanji for "garlic" on my ankle) I paid, and then sat down to wait.
The piercer called me back about 10 minutes later, and told me to sit down on the table. There were mirrors all along the wall in front of me, so I could see everything that he did. He took the needle out of the package, and asked me where I wanted it. I told him I wanted it right below the one I already have, on the right side. He pierced it, without even marking it, and I didn't feel a thing. Flu shots hurt a lot worse. I figured I was all fine and dandy, the piercing is usually what hurts the most. I was so wrong. The jewelry hurt a lot more than I thought it would. It wasn't too bad, I did bleed a bit, but it stopped soon. He soon got the ball in th ring, and I was done. I tipped him, and left. I got my aftercare instructions, which I know by heart anyway, and we left. Goat told me to come back to see him when I wanted to get the kanji for "bread" on my other ankle. I did my usual routine of staring in the mirror for a few minutes, then turning the air up as high as it would go, aiming it at my ear. It didn't really hurt on the way home, just a little throb every now and then.
I made sure that night o do a good, long salt soak and clean it with Provon, then went to bed. I slept on the left side, but woke up in the night lying on the right side. I was shocked that the only piercing hurting on that side was the helix I've had for 6 months. My first helix has been fussy since I got it done in January. The piercer at Illusion did a better job completely freehand than the guy at Trilogy did. No offense to the piercer there.
However, my new helix did give me some grief one day at work. I work in a soybean field, and on really hot days, we get to use large patio umbrellas. It was a windy day, and when I pulled my umbrella up out of the ground, the wind caught it and slammed it into my right ear. I almost cried. Then I had to go in search of my balls. (The ball in the CBR of my first helix has a tendency to pop out) But thankfully, my piercing was just fine. Until the next day, Kim and I got into a flour fight, and she smeared flour all over my right ear. I had to run off and do a soak right then. Got flour everywhere. But so far, no big problems. I've been babying it, but mainly using the LITHA method. It seems to work quite well for this piercing.
It's been a week, and already I can sleep on it. Not that I do, though. Heh.