I've been stretching my earlobes for months and was at 8 gauge before deciding I needed another piercing. I wanted something unique but had to work around my mother's wishes. My mother doesn't like any piercings other than one small earlobe piercing so anything other than an ear piercing was out of the question. I had been asking to get my lobes done a second time but she always said no. I thought maybe if I was very mature and knew more about what I wanted she would be more likely to agree.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Christina Studio Acme Tattoo Location Virginia I starting looking around the internet and looked at all the different ear piercings out there. I knew that just a standard lobe wasn't enough for me. I found two piercings that really stood out to me. The rook and antitragus. I didn't know anyone with either of those and I wanted people to say "Oh wow! That must've hurt!"
I found some good pictures and took them to show my mom. I told her all about the piercing process and showed her good websites all about piercing. She was impressed by all my research but still didn't like the idea of a new hole. She told me that the two that I chose weren't very attractive to her and told me to pick something else. By then she was telling me I could get my lobe done again but that was too late. All I wanted now was a cartilage piercing.
I found a picture of three helix piercing connected with a spiral and fell deeply in love with it. I just HAD to have it. I read more about the jewelry, multiple piercings at the same time, and helix piercings in general. I found that getting helix piercings so close at the same time may place too much pressure on the cartilage and make them more susceptible to the dreaded "cartilage bump". I figured that if I just got two done my mother would be okay with it and they would still be easy to take care of.
I took my idea and a few pictures to show my mother. I could tell that she was becoming more open to the idea of me getting more holes poked in my ear. She was just about begging me to get my lobes pierced again instead. I told her it's way too late for that. She should've just said yes in the beginning.
I still couldn't get her to say yes to the cartilage piercings though. She tried to make me get just one but I wasn't having any of that. I told her that a lot of my friends have lots of piercings on their ears so it's not like I'll be a social outcast for my piercings. That seemed to help. She was almost ready to say yes but she hates my stretched lobes and she said I'd just stretch the cartilage piercings too. I told her that cartilage piercings can't be stretched easily so she won't have anything to worry about. She also made a deal with me that if I stop stretching my ears she'll think about it. I agreed with no intention of stopping.
Lucky me, when my school report card came home I got all A's. I told my mom I deserve a reward for doing so well in school. Of course that reward is two needles being shoved through my ear. Reluctantly she agreed. I went to get the phonebook to call the tattoo shop. I wanted to go to Capital Tattoo so she called and asked how old I had to be. They said it was illegal for them to pierce anyone under 16 even with parental consent. I knew that was absolute bull**** since I had already looked at all the piercing and tattoo laws in Virginia. I was so bummed that I couldn't get it done. Then my mom called some place at the mall that uses a gun. She told me she found someone. I gave her a little lecture about how bad piercing guns are. Then I looked in the phonebook again and found Acme Tattoo. She called and said they'd do the piercing. I was so excited! We made an appointment for the next day.
So...fast forward to the next day. We drove across town and found the shop. We walked into the little room and saw Christina, the piercer. There was a guy sitting down with little dots on his ears all ready to be pierced. She finished up his piercings and cleaned up and then told me to come one over.
First, she went over the aftercare with me and my dad, who brought me because my mom didn't like trying to find a place to park in that area of town. Then we filled out the forms and Christina checked out IDs. Next I went over and sat down. She got out all the prepackaged needles and cbrs and asked what size I wanted. I wanted 14 gauge but my mom said I had to get 16 so that's what I told Christina. She got two 14 ga needles and two 16 ga cbrs. She said piercing cartilage with a size bigger gives the ring more cushion and allows more space for the bend of the ring. She placed the rings on my ear and asked how I wanted them placed. I wanted them lower because everyone else gets helixes closer to the top of their ears.
She marked where I wanted them pierced and told me to lay down on the table. She got it all ready and cleaned my ear. She told me to start breathing deeply. On the exhale she pushed the needle through. OWW!!! It hurt but not enough to make my ears water or anything. Then she put the ring in and said she'll do the higher one now. I didn't know if I would be able to bear another one but I wasn't about to back out now. So she opened another needle and I started breathing deeply again. She pushed the needle through and I was surprised that it didn't hurt as much as the first one. After examining my ear later I found that it was because the lower one is through thicker cartilage.
After I was pierced Christina put the ball in each cbr and gave me a mirror to check it out. I LOVED IT! The placement looks amazing. They're acceptable but still more unique than just one helix. We went to the counter and paid and went over the aftercare again. She wrote down her phone number and the shop's number in case I had any questions or problems. Then she wrote down the size and gauge of the ring in case I forgot. I thanked her and we left.
I got it done just over a month ago and they're doing great. At first I had trouble changing my shirt or brushing my hair. I had to be VERY careful. I cleaned it everyday with saline solution and did sea salt soaks everyday or when it was sore. They feel like they're almost healed but I'm going to wait at least four months before changing them.
If anyone is considering a cartilage piercing I encourage them to go ahead and do it. It's a great experience and they look amazing.
Oh, and about the earlobe stretching, I stretched to 6 gauge just two weeks after getting my new piercings and my mom still hasn't noticed.