On September 18 I decided to take the plunge and have my ear cartilage pierced. But this was not to be any ordinary cartilage piercing...I wanted a spiral piercing in my cartilage. This is not only a piercing but a COMMITMENT! The spiral process involves three separate cartilage piercings that need 4-6 months of healing before the actual spiral piece can be threaded through the three piercings for one awesome piercing.
At A Glance Author jamielee Contact jamielee@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist Lexx Studio Piercology Location Columbus OH There was never any question as to where I would have this piercing done..PIERCOLOGY is the only studio that I will ever trust to poke holes in my flesh!!! They are knowledgeable, hygienic and courteous.
Upon arriving at the studio and explaining my desire, the guy at the counter called Lexx out to measure my ear...not all ears can accommodate the spiral piece I guess. "Great" I think...my hopes crashing to the ground. Well..I guess my ear measured ok and I was soon being schooled in the commitment of this particular piercing...three separate piercings (which can be done in one sitting or over the course of 2 or 3 sittings), the healing time (4-6 months), the daily cleansing (Satin antimicrobial soap and nightly sea salt soaks by lying on my side on the floor and placing my ear in a bowl of salt water)...well, I was ready and willing to do just about anything to get this piercing and I was soon on my way...
I opted to get all three piercings at once....if I have to wait 6 months for one piercing to heal, I figured I might as well do them all at once...who could wait 18 months for a finished product? Not me....So I had a friend with me getting her navel done and being the generous gal I am I let her go first..she was scared to death! I just had a feeling of peace as well as a load of excitement, this piercing was for me!!! I held her hand as she was pierced, it was so quick! Then it was my turn...
So Lexx did all the wonderful things that Piercology does for all piercings (I had my navel done there as an OSU student in the mid 90s..really showing my age now!)She showed me all the sterilized needles, helped me with breathing techniques and even helped me pin my hair back. She is just such a lovely person, if you're ever in Cols ask for her!!!! She marked my ears and had me look for approval...looked good to me. She used a separate needle for each piercing..she said that the needle would dull and hurt more if she used the same one for all three holes. Lexx had me take a deep breath and as I exhaled she pierced through the cartilage. I must admit it stung!!! The second one hurt like an SOB and then I just had to go to my happy place to get through the third one- there was no way that I was not going to go through with what I set out to do. I was feeling a bit woozy and Lexx gave me an ice pack which she instructed me to put on my wrists. I was so excited and had such a wonderful rush of something...my ear was not hurting much.
My ear did hurt the next day and for several days after, especially when I wasn't thinking and would jam a phone up to my ear. It also bruised extensively for about a week...the whole purple then green then yellow type bruising. It also would turn deep purple in the cold weather (football weather in Ohio) It has now been a little over three months, I'm half way to my spiral earpiece!!!! I have had a few rocky spots...some days I can't seem to keep my grubby hands off my rings and those are the times that they hurt. The Satin soap makes my ears feel so good w/o drying them out. I must admit that the sea salt soaks have been my downfall...I did the soaks religiously for the first two months. Then...I got a little too confident with my healing and was not doing them as often. Well...DO NOT skip the soaks...I developed these nasty little bumps around the bases of my rings...kind of like little volcano-looking build ups of skin. I bought H2Ocean spray and use that daily in place of the soaks and the bumps are gone. But the spray makes my ears REALLY itchy and then I'm back to touching the rings!!!
I'd love to see pics or read experiences of anyone else out there who has had this piercing and read how it is going for them. If you want to see a picture of this you can go to piercology's website- it's not a pic of my ear but it is the same piercing I'm working toward...three more months!