You know that rush you get, pre-piercing? The one where you can hardly eat the recommended food and you can barely sit still? I'm addicted to that, and decided the next, best way to get my hit would be a conch piercing. I've always patronized the lovely Dansing Dragon in Mississauga, as Sarah has a gentle hand and makes you feel nothing but comfortable and relaxed. As needle-phobic as I am in the doctor's office, I get nothing but a surge of pure excitement when I walk through the door and see Sarah's smiling face at the counter. (They've done some great renovations since I was last there, very classy.)
At A Glance Author kiera Contact kiera@bme.anon When A week ago Artist sarah Studio dansing dragon Location port credit/mississauga After taking a break from body modifications in general for the past two years after a horrific experience in Camden Market, I was ready, if a little apprehensive about my next hole. All ready to go, I walked into the shop, only to find out... *gasp* no Sarah! I found out she was at an appointment and would return soon, so I put my dream on hold for half an hour and wandered the streets aimlessly.
After counting the seconds, I returned to Dansing Dragon and filled out the necessary paperwork, as did my friend and waited excitedly for Sarah to tell me she was ready. I went for the regular 16g barbell, perused the lovely jewelry for sale, flipped through the tattoo flash and pictures and bought my aftercare while I was waiting. Another great thing about Dansing Dragon, both Peel and Sarah are friendly, and good at remembering names and faces. Frequent their shop more than once and they'll know you by face, if not name. More than a little nervous (shaking in my espadrilles, to be quite blatantly honest), I walked to the back and sat in the ever-so-comfy ear and tongue chair, as I have nicknamed it. There was major butterflies crashing around in my stomach, and as she poked around my ear, sterilizing and placing, I broke into nervous inane chatter. The kind piercers probably hear all the time. I retained my dignity however, by not breaking into blind panic or tears, so I digress.
Having heard about the pain factor involved, and having had every other piercing clamped, I wasn't sure what to expect. After being told I had a perfect conch (nice to know at least *something* is), she told me to breathe deeply and I felt a whole lot of pressure. I thought my ear was going to rip out of skull and flop around on the floor. Of course, I was so tense that every motion felt foreign, and the actual amount of time I felt pressure for was no more than a few seconds, at most. I should point out that Sarah has consistently, for every piercing, checked on me repeatedly throughout the procedure, not hesitating to pause or give me a moment if I need to regroup. Back to the conch though. Finally, the pressure eased and I felt the needle slip through my ear. Feeling strangely victorious, and full of the post-piercing-even-better-than-pre-piercing rush, Sarah screwed on the other end of the barbell and checked to make sure I wasn't going to pass out or do something equally ridiculous. (At that point, the only ridiculous thing I was considering was promising to name my firstborn after her. First AND middle name.)
To the best of my recollection, through the euphoria, I skipped through the waiting room, repeatedly resisted the urge to grab my ear and physically witness the surgical steel that was now, for better or worse, part of my body and decoration of the canvas that is my skin. I tipped Sarah, waited for my friend, and we both danced out of the shop, completely happy with ourselves and life in general, Dansing Dragon in particular.
Then, cold reality set in.
It hurt. A lot. Even just the wind hitting my face set my ear off into a masochist's dream. And my personal nightmare. After apologizing to the environment repeatedly, we rolled up the windows and turned on the air-conditioning, much to the relief of my ear. I spent a long night tossing and turning, due to discomfort. My ear throbbed for a few days, probably due to the fact that I kept forgetting I had a piercing and trying to tuck my hair behind my ears. Talk about a bad idea. But it's healing, and it's lovely, and I love it.
I invested in headbands, looked like a throwback to the 80's (or an extra on Napoleon Dynamite), and my ear thanked me for it.
I'm not going to say I recommend this piecing, since I believe piercings should be a personal choice, with factors such as healing time, placement, gauge and pain all being dependent on each individual.
I can however, recommend Dansing Dragon with my entire heart. They're able to walk the fine line between professionalism and friendliness with ease and aplomb. They're great at what they do, adhere to all health and safety standards and are devoted, both to the art of body modification and customer service.