It was that time again. I was getting the itch, and I just knew I wanted another piercing. I was looking for something interesting and unusual, something that would be a good conversation opener. I decided to choose something fairly discrete, despite contemplating a bridge piercing.
At A Glance Author littleredgrrl Contact littleredgrrl@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Yvonne Studio Metalworx Location Paisley, Scotland It had been arranged with a group of friends that we would go to our local piercing studio the next day, and I was undecided. I thought I might just get my lobes pierced again and consult my piercer about stretching my first set of holes. However, I stumbled across something in the BME Wiki that made me change my mind completely: the rook piercing.
Rook piercings are fairly usual here, and I have only seen them on one other person. I jumped, thinking that it look fantastic. I quickly did as much research as possible into it and looked at as many photos as possible. I definitely had to have one.
The next day, I entered the studio and greeted my piercer. Out of all of my friends, I was the first to be pierced. As ever, it was an exciting and scary feeling. I lay down on the piercing bed as Yvonne made a mark on my ear. When we were satisfied with the placement, I made it clear that I would prefer a barbell to a BCR. Away we went.
It was a curious feeling, and definitely the most painful of any of the piercings I've had done. It felt like the needle was going through one layer of cartilage, then pausing and pushing through a softer mid-section, before exiting again. Yvonne then removed the needle and trimmed the plastic tubing that was holding open the new hole in my body.
Here is where the problems started. She tried to insert the barbell, but it wouldn't go through. I didn't question this, as I was in complete agony. The problem may have been, as my friends who were watching suspect, the shape of my ear; or it may have been as others have suggested: Yvonne did not use a big enough needle. Whatever the reason, I lay on the bed in a lot of pain, my nails digging into my palm. I was really worried she would tell me that the piercing wouldn't work for me at all and I would have to let it go.
What felt like twenty years later, she finally admitted the barbell would not go through the hole. I accepted this with good graces, considering the circumstances. She suggested we roll with a BCR, and I agreed readily. I just wanted the plastic tubing out of my ear!
She inserted the BCR with minimal problems and I sat up to examine my new piercing. The whole area was very red and tender, but it looked fabulous. After paying the considerably excellent price of £20, I stepped outside to answer my phone. I automatically held it up to my right ear, the one I had just had pierced – big mistake. I immediately swapped to the other ear and tried not to whimper down the phone.
However, it's now been around a month and the piercing has been really good. Rooks are often called the crankiest of piercings, but mine has been generally very easy to care for. There was a lot of pain around the back of my ear for the first week or so, so much so that I couldn't put on my glasses and was pretty blind for a while. The pain is still there, if I rub the back of my ear, but it is far less painful. I can wear glasses again and tuck my long hair behind my ear. There has been some pain over the last month, especially when the ball of the BCR becomes caught under the cartilage of my ear or when I sleep on it (I obviously didn't think it through properly and pierced the ear on which I usually sleep). I have adapted, though, and now sleep on my left side. It was really odd to wear earphones in my right ear after the pain had stopped, but I am now used to any brushing against the BCR by the earphone.
There has been no lymph secreted or crusties developing. There was some dried blood surrounding the piercing for the first few days, but it cleared up quickly. The aftercare was simple, and my piercer gave me a free bottle of solution to wash it with.
It was painful at first, and I am still disappointed I couldn't have the barbell. I am aware of the potential danger that BCRs can bring in fresh piercings, and have already caught it several times on my hairbrush or whilst drying my hair with a towel. I would definitely recommend this piercing to everyone, especially people interested in unusual ear piercings, but I would warn them to be ready for some pain and to try to get a barbell for it. It's just too easy to catch a BCR on everything!