I first discovered this site when looking for help with DIY tattoos (My boyfriend's name on my pelvis, faded now, but will remedy that soon). I was initially anti-piercing; I thought the lengths people would go to to look 'cool' were ridiculous. But after looking at the pictures of different types of piercings, it began to grow on me. First I wanted a lip ring. The issue was, my mother and stepfather were completely adamant against that. They were not even going to consider it. I decided to wait to get it professionally done, so the artist could give me a retainer (hasn't happened yet, but hopefully soon). Next I tried for second ear piercings. They would have to "talk about it". At this point the idea of a DIY had never entered my head.
At A Glance Author Anonymous Contact Archaeismus@netscape.net When It just happened Probably not the smartest idea, but yesterday I took a needle to my face and body, just poking around, seeing where it hurt most and least and thinking about the piercings I wanted. I unintentionally poked a little too hard into my earlobe (I already had two regular ear piercings) and it went through a couple layers of tissue.
Hmmm. That didn't hurt. My normal ear piercings were boring. They needed something else. And now I /really/ wanted this. I am generally incapable of showing self restraint, and this situation was no exception.
I decided to do just one piercing on my left ear, near the existing one. I figured if I was to do piercings on both side, I wouldn't be able to match them up and they would look fucky.
So I grabbed a needle and sterilized it with a lighter, burning myself a few times in the process. I waited until it had cooled down, and then put the needle to my ear and pushed hard while pulling my earlobe forward.
The needle didn't go through quickly, in one fell swoop, like I had thought it would. It was excruciatingly slow. It did hurt, but surprisingly, the pain was definitely tolerable. I think I have at least a moderate tolerance for pain. Anyways I was about halfway through when my mother called me downstairs to watch our show on TV.
Ugh. I took the needle out. After examination I could see blood in the hole. I squeezed my earlobe and blood streamed out, more than I thought it would. I wiped it away, went downstairs, and next commercial break I went racing up into my bathroom to finish the job.
Obviously my method wasn't so effective. I needed some sort of backing. Cork? Eraser? How bout a fucking apple? Nada. I needed something that would support my ear, and that I needle would be able to stick into. Out of desperation I unwrapped a pad, folded it a few times, and put it to the back of my ear. And in the needle went, again, a few layers at a time. It was the oddest feeling I have ever experienced, and not a little frustrating; I was pushing as hard as I goddam could and this was so /slow/. My hands were sweating, and more than a few times by hand began slipping on the needle, and I had to stop to dry my hands off.
Then it was through. I moved the pad and felt the very tip of the needle sticking out the back. The hole needed to be bigger. I shoved some more. The needle did /not/ want to go all the way through, and all this pushing wasn't exactly pleasurable. Fuck it, I thought. I took the needle out, found a gold earring, and stuck it in.
The earring didn't want to go all the way in either.
I sure as hell wasn't going to repierce it again, so I jammed the earring in as hard as I could. /Finally/ the earring popped all the way through. Relieved and rather proud, I snapped on the back and cleaned it with some hydrogen peroxide. Then I arranged my hair as to cover it, practically skipped downstairs, and watched the rest of the show inwardly grinning at the fact that my mother had no idea what I'd done. I figure if I'm careful it will be a while before my parents notice it. Maybe I can bullshit them into thinking I got it professionally done, at least.
I've been washing it with the peroxide daily and rotating it. Earlier there was a little dried blood and crust, but definitely not an excessive amount.
Okay, so I only pierced my earlobe. But I found it to be a very satisfying experience, and I love it. Obviously I did a few things wrong, but if you think you are relatively competent I would suggest a DIY piercing, at least for a lobe piercing. Anything more I will leave to the professionals (for now ;]).