I was quite proud of myself on the day in question, for not only was I able to go through with having my cartilage dermal punched, but I also managed to have a trouble free journey to the piercing studio and not get lost on the way (I have no sense of direction, whatsoever)! So, off I drove in my little car, to the first train station, where I parked up and legged it onto the train, which arrived instantaneously. Once I was safely at the first train station, Chester, I bought my expensive ticket into Manchester and even got the right train and everything, clever me! Once there and feeling really happy with myself that I had successfully arrived at my destination, I proceeded to walk the streets of Manchester in search of the very groovy sounding piercing shop that I had found on BME, 'Holier-than-thou.' To my surprise, the shop wasn't hard to find at all, once I'd spotted the name of the street. A little nervous, with all the anticipation, I walked into the shop.
At A Glance Author Liz Contact sex_is_betta_than_chocolate@hotmail.com When A month ago Artist Didn't catch his name! Studio Holier than thou Location Manchester, UK Now, I have loved the look of large gauge piercing for longer than I can remember and I was desperate, after having searched for quite a while on BME to have my helix dermal punched. Unfortunately, where I live near, Chester, nowhere seems to offer this piercing technique, so after having looked through various experiences and coming across quite a few which were nearest to me, one experience that someone had written, from Manchester caught my eye and thats how I discovered the name of the studio. So, that's a bit of general information for ye' about how my piercing was able to materialise.
Once in the shop, I told the very welcoming man at the desk (don't think I caught his name – wish I had), that I wanted to get the top of my cartilage dermal punched at 5mm on my left ear. Before he could say weather this would be possible or not, he said he needed to check my ear with a surgical torch for any veins, which if anything greatly put my mind at rest, as I knew that they were taking time to make it a more comfortable experience for me and made me realise that they were doing a thorough and professional job. After that was done, and there turned out to be no little wiggly veins anywhere in sight, I was asked if I'd eaten anything that day and as I hadn't, I went away and had a very sugary slushy drink and some munchies and came back 20 minutes later.
The price for having my helix dermal punched was actually very reasonable, I thought and I was told it would be £40, though I got a £5 discount for being a regular visitor and contributor to BME. Once I arrived back at the shop and was ready to be punched, the anti-septic and sterile smell of the piercing room really hit me. The place was just so clean, and in fact, I quite like that clinical smell. Earlier, I had picked out my jewellery, which was a 5mm PMMA clear plug. The friendly piercer guy then explained the procedure and the fact that bleeding and often quite a lot of it was to be expected with dermal punching. So, he handed me a disposable plastic apron to put on, just in case I was a big 'bleeder' and tucked in some wads of tissue paper by my neck. I have to comment that the piercer in question did a really good job, especially when it came to hygiene. Not only did he wear a surgical mask, as well as an apron but he made sure he changed his gloved regularly. So, after having marked my ear and me having liked the positioning on my ear, we were ready to go. I laid down on what was almost like a doctor's bed and turned my head to one side. Lining the cork and the punch up against my cartilage, he told me top take a deep breath and then breathe out and then he punched. After all the anticipation and being so scared of having this done, the procedure actually wasn't so bad. I was expecting massive pain and the place to look like someone had been butchered, but I didn't even bleed that much really. It hurt a little, but I don't think having a dermal punch is really comparable to how anything else feels and it certainly was not unbearable. In fact, after the plug was in and the procedure was over, it didn't even throb too much and you could forget it was there.
However, I was warned that dermal punches, like any piercing do have a tendency to bleed for the first couple of days. Yet, to my surprise, after the initial bleeding and having left the shop, it didn't bleed again at all. Like I do with other piercings, I use saline solution to clean my dermal punch and that seems to work great. Other than that, I just leave it alone! Overall, I would definitely recommend 'Holier than thou', and a few days ago I even went back to get another dermal punch on the inner conch of my other ear...that, however is a different story.
Well I hope you all have fun piercing, and honestly if you want a dermal punch but are to scared of the prospect of pain, don't let that stop you, because really the anticipation is the worst bit and the actual procedure is a piece of cake!
xx Liz xx