Well, first off, my name is Julia and I'm 17 years old. I must say that I had been wanting a cartilage piercing for a long time before I got it pierced. It was rare that I would catch a glimpse of one on a girl's ear, but when I did, I thought to myself that I had to have one.
At A Glance Author Julia Contact Julia@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist Vaughn Studio Mom's Piercing Location San Francisco, CA I began talking to my parents about it...and of course they were skeptical. My mom (who I live with for most of the time in Ohio) thought that it would too easily get infected, and my dad, who lives in California and whom I visit periodically throughout the year, just hated the way it looked. I finally convinced both of them, and when I went out to visit my dad in November, I said 'We're going to go to Haight Street today and get it done.' Reluctantly, he said OK!
We went to Haight St and found Mom's Piercing. I walked inside and it was a bit odd because I could see all the little partitioned sections of the room where people were getting their body mods done. It wasn't private at all. It was also really crowded, and people were pretty loud. There were a bunch of little toddlers in there too, which was weird and sort of irritating. Despite this, I wasn't bothered by how it wasn't really very private...and I quickly filled out the necessary forms. My dad decided he didn't want to stay for the piercing (he wasn't required of him to do so) so he walked around Haight for awhile. I waited for about 20 minutes, and finally the piercer in the back of the crowded and noisy room, Vaughn, called out my name.
Vaughn was extremely friendly and made me feel good about being there. He asked me if I had a preference for where on the upper cartilage I wanted the ring to go, and I said I didn't know. He said that I had a little crook in my ear where it would look cute, so he marked that spot and I approved. I was sitting on the edge of what looked like a doctor room bed type thing, and he cleaned my ear and made sure everything was clean. I guess I was too preoccupied to watch for everything he did involving sterilization, which isn't good (I recommend that you're always on guard for that kind of thing). However, I'd heard that Mom's was good with that, so I didn't worry.
I saw him with the needle and was shocked to see how long it was, but I wasn't nervous. It was a real adrenaline rush when he told me to take a deep breath, and on the exhale, he would push in the needle. That's exactly what happened, and it was a pretty interesting feeling...not much actually. Just a little burning. He cleaned it again and talked to me about aftercare. He told me to go buy a mild soap and clean it in the shower every day in addition to salt soaks three times per day. He also said healing time would be about 4-6 months (yikes!). I thanked him and walked out. Easy as that!
I found my dad who was walking across the street, and as I passed all the shop windows I would look at my reflection closely. I loved the new piercing. I can't wait to get another! As far as irritation goes, right now it is a little bit irritated as I little bump over the whole. I heard that this is not a sign of infection, thought, and that I just need to make sure I'm good with salt soaks. I haven't been doing those very much at all, so I hope it will go away once I get back into it. I'm going to wait the full 4-6 months before I try and change the earring and put in a stud (the ring is sweet, but a stud is just different and equally as cute).
Everyone who has seen it has told me it looks really cute, and a common reaction is 'Man I wish my parents would let me get a piercing...' I think that cartilage piercings are great because they are very subtle, but at the same time they add just a little bit of an edge. Now I always look for this type of piercing on girls' ears, and I can say I have one too. No more longing for one.
Definitely go out and get your cartilage pierced ASAP! If you're even thinking about it....DO IT. It's not something that people are going to hate at all, and you won't regret it. In fact, after awhile, you'll most likely want another piercing in a more prominent place.