When I first got into piercing, everyone told me to watch out because it's addicting. Simply put, yes, it is. One piercing led to another, and yet another to another, and just a few days ago I was unhappy with my uneven ears. I have my lobe, a helix, and my conch in my left ear and just a lobe in my right. So, looking through BME, I had to figure out a piercing to have in my right ear to bring everything together. The answer was simpler than I thought. A helix of course! The first step was done.
At A Glance Author Brandi Contact Brandi@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Joe Thurman Studio Body Jewelry and Piercing, Inc. Location Galesburg, Illinois Now, to find a piercing artist. For all my other piercings, including my navel, I went to a great shop in downtown Moline called Rites of Passage. The people there were fantastic, everything was clean and sterile, and for the most part my piercings healed up rather nicely. Yet I wanted a change of pace. So, I phoned this small shop in Galesburg, Illinois, called "Body Jewelry and Piercing, Inc." and that was all it took. That would be where I'd get pierced.
Now Galesburg isn't somewhere I'm normally at. I live about 25-30 minutes from there, and gas isn't cheap, so I had to pick a day and time that the shop was open, and that I'd be in town. The only day that would work was THAT very day. I was stoked. After grabbing my mom, some cash, and forms of I.D including my birth certificate (which I didn't even need) we set off.
The shop is very easy to find. It sits behind the oh so famous Hawks Tattoos on Seminary Street, which is "the" street in Galesburg. From looking at the outside, I almost turned and walked away. A shop...sitting in a dark alley, where I have to use the back door? But I thought "Hey, Brandi, you want to do this. You're uneven. DO IT!" So I grabbed the door, pulled it open, and was immediately glad I stuck with it.
The shop was small but clean, and when you walk in the first person you see is the artist, Joe. That brought my mood way up. This guy is the image I get in my head when I say "body mod." Long hair, big, but when you look at him you know he's a happy type guy that is willing to give you the best piercing he can possibly do. After telling him what I wanted done, he gave me some forms to fill out and told me when I'm ready to take a seat in the chair. I happily obliged.
The first thing he asked me was "So, I'm guessing you want it even with the other one?" Meaning, even with my other helix. I laughed and said "Sure, if you want. Doesn't have to be perfect." After that we had a silly conversation. He laughed a little and was like "Well, in that case, I'll just stab anywhere, since you said it doesn't have to be perfect!"
He brought out the measuring tool, which was sitting near the autoclave, and measured my helix on my left ear, then put it against my right and marked a few times. After he was sure it was going to be near perfect, he handed me the mirror. I just looked into it, nodded, and said that it would be fine. He knows what he's doing, I wasn't going to say anything to make him change it and risk it getting crooked. My lobes are already crooked because of that very reason. He then took a CBR and slipped it over my ear to see how that particular piece of jewelry would sit in my ear without making the hole first. He must have been happy with it, because he took it off, handed it to the assistant, and pulled a needle out of its sterile package. Of course, he had gloves on this whole time.
I really like how he did everything. Instead of just taking the needle out, cleaning my ear, and just piercing me, he gave me a few minutes in between everything. After he took the needle out, he let me sit there for a while and we talked about non-relevant things. Then I asked the all time dumb question of "Is it going to hurt...worse than my conch?" He looked me straight in the eye and without saying a word, nodded. I laughed, I knew he was kidding. Nothing can hurt worse than that. He then said "No. It shouldn't hurt at all actually."
He then cleaned my ear, cleaned the needle again, and I felt him lay the needle against my ear. It felt like someone was just pressing a safety pin into my skin, and he asked "Are you ready?" And I replied with "Do it! Do it now!" He laughed and said "Well, that's good, because it's done." I was shocked! There was no pain at all, just a slight sting which I thought was the needle just sitting there, not going through my skin. I honestly thought it was going to hurt worse than that. Since the needle was still sticking through my ear with the cork on the end of it, we had to take a few moments to do a photo shoot. How often do people get the pleasure to take pictures with a needle sticking out of their ear? While my mom, me, and this other guy in the room goofed around with pictures, Joe got my CBR ready. After we were done with the pictures, I sat back down and he put the jewelry in. It actually felt kind of weird this time, I felt the ring slide through, and some tugging as he set the bead, but it didn't hurt. It actually felt like he was tugging on the wrong helix, because of the absence of pain.
After everything was done and cleaned, he handed me the mirror and I was so happy to see it. It wasn't red, bloody, or anything like my other helix was. It looked like it was more than just a few minutes old. We went over aftercare, which is now second nature to me, and I paid and tipped him and away we went. It is now 5 days later and it's still fine. No crusties, no pain, nothing. The number one thing that makes me happy though is the fact that my ears now look balanced. I highly suggest this piercing if you feel unbalanced, or have the same problem as I did. Also, if you are in the area, I also highly recommend going to Joe for your next piercing. He's a great guy, and I'm really impressed with his work.