Well, I decided today after several days of real thinking, I wanted to get my upper ear cartilage pierced. I have several friends at work that had it done and it looks cute and stylish. I used to have a friend that used to wear a cute gold ring through hers after it healed.
At A Glance Author PsychMajor726 When It just happened Artist Mike Studio Inksmith and Rogers Tattoo Parlor Location Orange Park, FL This was a very odd experience for me. I've had my lobes pierced twice, once when I was 6, and the other when I was 18. I've never been one to do anything drastic or daring, and I'm very modest, so this was definitely a shocker.
I got up the courage to explain to my mom what I wanted to have done and she said I was crazy. I remember when I got my second lobe piercing that my initial idea was to have my ear cartilage pierced, but backed out of it because the lady said that it would hurt more than a lobe piercing. I was a little too squeamish at the time to deal with the pain and was going through some personal issues, so I'm glad that I waited.
After three hours of explaining to her what I wanted to have done and telling her best friend on the phone when she called, I started looking for places that would do it. The night before, I researched on the internet the best methods for getting it done (hollow needle instead of gun, body piercing place instead of mall store).
I called the Piercing Pagoda in the mall since I saw that they have done a lot of piercings and grilled them on their technique. They said that they do piercings with the gun (A HUGE NO, since cartilage is delicate tissue and could collapse, or even worse, get infected with Pseudomonas because the gun was not autoclaved). I hung up. My mom told me that she knew of a place that was located in the shopping center just up the road, but she forgot the name of it. I remembered coming across the name of it on the internet but had a hard time figuring it out. Then it came to me...Inksmith and Rogers.
I found their phone number and called them and grilled them too. They said that they use the disposable hollow needle and autoclave all of their equipment. I also asked them how much it would cost and they said $30 dollars. I decided this was the place to go.
I talked my mom in to going with me. When we arrived, the place smelled clean and everything was clean as well. It was a new experience to me since I had never set foot in one before. There was a guy in an open room in front of me watching a western movie while the artist inked his skin. I saw the bottles of different colors and tattoo choices on the wall. What caught my eye was the display of different kinds of body jewelry.
While we were looking, a young man stepped out of the other room after finishing a piercing on a boy that was with his parents. I told him what I wanted and he asked nicely to see my ID. He made a copy of it and asked me to sign a waiver stating that they were not responsible for infections, and also that you were not under the influence of alcohol or drugs during the procedure. The man, Mike, guided me to a side room that had a doctor's office-like bed and a chair in front of it. He asked me to sit in the chair and explain to him again exactly what I wanted done while he put on gloves and swabbed my ear with alcohol. I told him and he started marking the area with a purple marker. He asked my mom to hand him the mirror so I could see the location. I told him that it was too high and that I wanted it a little bit lower. He marked again and then I told him that it was just what I wanted. He asked me if I was nervous (I guess because my face always turns red when I am). He proceeded to mark the back of the ear (the exit area). Afterwards he pulled a sterile-wrapped hollow needle out of the package and started lubing it with Neosporin. He also pulled out the standard steel earring from the autoclave and told me it was made of steel. At that time, he explained to me that gold or sterling silver was not a suitable choice because it slows the healing process. He then asked me if I was ready. I said I was but that I was also starting to get nervous. I asked him how it felt (he had a cartilage piercing as well) and he said it varies. I asked him if it felt like getting a shot and he said, "It probably will."
My mom gave me her hand to hold and he positioned the needle. He asked me if I wanted to wear a stud after the healing, because then he would angle the needle for a better stud position. I said yes. He asked me to take a deep breath while he started to push the needle through. When he got it through, I stated goof-like that it didn't hurt (my mom said that he gave her a silly look afterwards) and he told me that he wasn't finished. He started to push the ring through and that's when it started to burn. I could feel my ear getting warm and red. He fastened the ball and started swabbing my ear again to get the marks off. This felt really good because it made my ear feel nice and cool.
He gave me the mirror again and asked me how it looked. It looked great, BUT RED!!! I asked him if it had bled any and he said it hadn't.
When it was agreed that the piercing was ok and didn't need to be removed (if I didn't like it), he escorted us to the lobby and explained the aftercare instructions. When he was done, I paid and left.
I think this was very brave experience for me and I am glad that I did it. Afterwards, I took some Ibuprofen to control any swelling or pain. Since the initial piercing, I can hardly feel it, and I haven't touched it once.