It all started off a couple of months ago when I decided I wanted to get my snug pierced. I didn't really know anything about it; I just thought it looked extremely pretty and unusual! So I started to make my way through the stories of other people's experiences on BME. I pretty much read through every one to get an idea of people's different experiences of this piercing. I knew it was going to hurt because of the thick cartilage on that bit of the ear. I found out that the best jewellery to have in it was a curved barbell, and to avoid anywhere that said they'd pierce with a ring [as it doesn't lie properly along the hole of the piercing.] I had heard of PTFE before and knew that if I could then I wanted to have that put in rather than a metal CRB.
At A Glance Author Lydia Contact goodgirlswantbadboys@hotmail.com When It just happened Artist The young guy with the long hair and chest tattoo Studio Urban Piercings Location Reading, Berks, UK So armed with all my knowledge I'd gained from BME I headed off to Camden to find a piercing parlour. We went to Camden because we wanted to get it done cheaper than our local piercing salon. I had researched online as I knew some places wouldn't pierce under 18s [I'm 17]. I found a place called cold steel which looked really good and I had read about someone's positive snug experience there on BME, unfortunately however they don't pierce under 18s.
The first place we came across was Eclipse- it looked clean. My friend asked how much a tragus would be [£25 with a bar] and I asked how much a snug would be. He didn't seem to know what that was so I showed him on my ear, he said they could do it and that it was £25, I also asked whether they pierce with PTFE and he said that they would pierce with a straight barbell [not really answering my question!!]. I was feeling a bit weird about getting it done as he seemed to not know what I wanted when I asked, and not know anything about PTFE. I thought to myself if I know what this piercing is called and you don't and it's what you do for a living then I'm not sure if I trust you to put a hole in me, thanks.
So I decided to let my friend go ahead and I'd see how I felt after she got hers done. She went into the room with a woman with crazy hair and lots of piercings and got her tragus pierced, I asked if I could go in with her to watch but they said no [no explanation though] – I realise now that there's hygiene guidelines that say no one's allowed in with you [– which I found out when I came home and researched on BME.] She came out and said it was all good and didn't hurt much at all. As a snug piercing involves going through thick cartilage and I was scared of prolonged pain I decided against getting mine done. I wanted to get my snug pierced so badly I almost would've done it there and then, but it just didn't feel right.
I learnt my first lesson. – If you don't feel comfortable with the people piercing you then don't do it. I was getting serious bad vibes from this place; they weren't particularly friendly and only seemed to be bothered when money was being handed over. As soon as I said I wanted to wait and see after my friend got pierced, they lost all interest and ignored us from then on. It's not worth doing it if you don't feel comfortable as you'll regret it from then on!
So that brings us to today, a week after going to Camden and back home in Reading. I was in town with my friends and decided to just get on and get my snug pierced. I knew by now that I really wanted it, even though I knew it would be painful! I went to the only place I know of in Reading – urban piercings. I know they're good, and it's where all my friends go to get pierced. I went in and asked the woman at the counter how much a snug is - £30. I asked her what they'd pierce it with – and she said that the guy would probably pierce with PTFE – which made me happy! She gave me the usual paper work to fill out and checked if I had any medical condition etc – I was a bit surprised they didn't ask for ID. Then the guy appeared and sold me some saline solution and I paid for the piercing. He told me to go upstairs and wait.
I was a bit nervous; I'm great at quick decisions and doing stuff on impulse so to wait was not the best thing for me. But it gave me a chance to calm down and rationalise the pain I was about to go through. They guy [I didn't get his name] came upstairs and went into the room, a minute later he called me in and asked me to sit on the couch. He got a pen and I told him what I wanted – low but not too low and at an angle no matter what I don't want it straight. He said okay and marked it on my ear; I checked it and was happy with the placement of the dots. He wasn't particularly chatty but he knew what he was doing and his confidence put me at ease. He got everything ready, and measured the PTFE against me ear and cut it to the right length, and told me to take off my glasses. I sat on the edge of the couch and didn't feel too nervous, just excited.
He came up to me and told me to keep still and that the next bit would be uncomfortable – I closed my eyes and started to breathe deeply concentrating on that and telling myself no matter how much it hurt it would be over soon. He pushed the needle in from inside my ear to outside, I felt it go in, I kept on breathing, and the pain got more intense as he applied pressure to get the needle through and out the other side. But as soon as it was through the pain diminished a little bit. He asked me if I was okay I said yes – he then told me that it was going to be uncomfortable again as he put the PTFE bar in. I still hadn't opened my eyes and just concentrated on my breathing as he put the bar in. I had heard that this bit hurt the most but it was okay, I was very impressed at how quick he had been piercing it and putting the jewellery in. I went and looked in the mirror it was gorgeous!! I was so happy! He gave me the saline I had bought earlier and I thanked him and left. By this time my ear was throbbing, nothing that I couldn't handle, it didn't swell that much and didn't bleed at all.
My advice is go with your gut instinct – If you're happy with the place and the people then go for it, it's worth to ask if they pierce with PTFE as it's the best as this piercing tends to be quite temperamental.
If you want it enough then don't worry about the pain, I was, but it's over quick enough and its 3 hours later now and it doesn't hurt at all!
If you live near Reading then go to Urban Piercings they're great, they know what they're doing, professional, clean and friendly!