About a year and a half ago, in the January of 2004, I finally convinced my mom to let me get my cartilage pierced after two years of asking. The fact that she agreed to let me get it done really surprised me. I had been asking her about it for so long that I assumed I would have to wait until I was eighteen to get any more piercings. My parents are really against any piercings/tattoos and my grandparents basically harass anyone who has any kind of piercing/tattoo. Getting this piercing represented a small step-forward in my life (despite the simplicity of the piercing).
At A Glance Author giustina Contact giustina@bme.anon When A year ago Studio Piercing Emporium Location Worcester, MA I had already gotten three holes in each of my lobes, so this wasn't really a big deal for me but it was a huge deal for my mom. She was way more nervous than I was and I didn't know much about piercings so I tried to do some research. I found out that a lot of people who get cartilage piercings done at the mall with piercing guns develop keloids due to the skin being pushed through when the earring is put in. I decided I would get it pierced with a hollow needle at a real piercing place. The only place I knew with a really good reputation was Piercing Emporium in Worcester.
On the way there, I was sort of nervous to go to a real tattoo/piercing parlor but I was mostly excited. When I got there, I was very comfortable with atmosphere and the piercer was very nice. He explained my options in details but I didn't really know what I wanted. The piercer (who's name I can't remember) suggested I get a captive hoop in 18 gauge. I actually wanted a 14 gauge industrial but I knew my mom wouldn't allow me to do that so I settled for the 18 gauge captive and we went into the piercing room. I sat down on the table as he cleaned and marked my ear. My mom decided to stay in the waiting room because she wasn't sure if she could handle it. The piercer told me it was going to hurt a bit and without me even noticing, he pushed the needle through my cartilage. I didn't feel any pain at all.
The guy was incredibly nice and it was a really great first experience at a real piercing place. (Piercing Emporium is probably one of the best piercing places in central Massachusetts.) On the other hand, I did experience a lot of bleeding after. It was mostly due to my medical issues (nothing to do with the piercer's work) but I was surprised at how much it bled.
A month or two later I decided I was going to stretch my cartilage because I was already bored with an 18 gauge captive hoop. I went from an 18 gauge to a 14 gauge. This was harder to do in one step than I expected but I shoved the 14 gauge circular barbell into the 18-gauge hole. This caused my ear to bleed even more than when I got it pierced. It also caused a keloid to form on the back of my ear.
The keloid didn't go away after three months and I didn't know what the keloid was, so I took my earring out. A month later, my piercing shrunk back to an 18 gauge. At this point, I was pretty pissed off about possibly losing the piercing I had fought so hard with my mom about. I knew that if I let it close up, she wouldn't let me get it repierced and she would also give me a lecture on the awfulness of piercings.
I decided to restretch my cartilage to a 14 gauge. (but this time without bleeding). A year later, I still have the piercing but the keloid hasn't gone away. It's sort of ironic because I went through a lot of trouble going to a real piercing place to avoid getting keloids and I ended up causing myself to get one anyways. The piercing still hasn't healed properly and stupidly on my part, I never went back to the piercer to see what I should do about it.
I guess, even though people get kind of grossed out by it, I am too fond of my piercing to get the keloid surgically removed and let the piercing close up. I kind of consider this piercing my first attempt at body modification (definitely not my last). Nonetheless, if I had the choice, I would redo the piercing, and get it pierced at a 14 gauge (or maybe even 10 gauge). Unfortunately, I'm not eighteen and my mom would never let me get it redone if I had to. So until I am old enough to sign for myself, I will just learn to love the piercing I have now.