I have pretty much always had a fascination with piercings. As a kid I got the standard lobes as most people do but time went on and my interest grew. Every time I saw something new and interesting I would think "oh! I'd like that!"
At A Glance Author ally Contact ally@bme.anon When A year ago Artist Helena Studio Helter Scelter Location Jersey, Channel Islands Then one day my sister and I came across BME and starting browsing all the shiny possibilities. I'd already got quite a few piercings by that point but mostly pretty standard stuff and I was searching for something new and unusual....something that no one else had.....something unique. Whilst looking at ear piercings I came across something that I immediately fell in love with......the snug. It was so cute. I thought it would be the perfect choice for me and my sister agreed. I'd never seen anything like it and I knew not one single person who had it. I wanted it so much, but being underage I would have to wait, and there was no way in hell that my mum would permit me to have it.
I thought about it and thought about it, the more I thought the more I wanted it. My 18th birthday finally came around and so I made my decision to go ahead with it. And so, dragging my boyfriend along with me for moral support, we went to the tattoo studio in town. I dithered around for a bit, meaning I wussed out first time round then got dragged back by my boyfriend and told to stop being so silly. Then made an appointment for that afternoon as they were to busy to see me there and then. I don't think that the snug piercing was a common request, or even if they'd been asked for one before, as it wasn't listed as an option nor did the assistant immediately understand what I wanted, but I explained it to Helena (the piercer) and she seemed to understand what I was after. I'd been to her for my navel piercing and that was a success so I trusted her as a good piercer.
I came back for my appointment and went through, leaving my boyfriend outside. I sat on the chair and had aftercare explained to me. I had my ear cleaned and marked up. When I was happy with the placement she prepared everything and then clamped my ear. I thought that was pretty painful in itself and I often find that clamping is the worst bit, and with that in mind, I hoped the worst was over, but I was about to be proved extremely wrong. As she started to push the needle through I thought I was going to pass out. It seemed that she was having some trouble pushing the needle through which is fair enough, it being quite a thick chunk of cartilage. Nothing on earth could have prepared me for how painful it was. It took all my restraint not to scream. Never having had a problem with piercings before I was surprised to find myself feeling faint, I found it that painful. But then finally it was all done. She popped the jewelry in and it was all over. I guess it must have been the dizziness because everything at that moment seemed extremely funny and I couldn't stop laughing. This earned me quite a few strange looks from both staff and customers, but I couldn't care less. I sat there for a bit, recovering, as my legs had turned to jelly and I couldn't so much walk, as wobble out.
When I eventually came out and couldn't decide, from the look on his face, whether or not my boyfriend was amazed, confused, or just plain grossed out, but I paid and left feeling happy that I had just gotten my long-awaited dream piercing.
I've had quite a few hiccups with it since then. I got lumps on both the entry and exit holes which numerous people told me were keloids but after all this time and a lot of research into the matter, I think they were wrong. I've had the bar changed to a plastic one and been using tea tree oil and they finally seem to be shrinking down.
I've had various comments on it, both good and bad, especially bad from my mum, but I think she may be finally coming around to piercings, as she didn't throw a fit when I returned home at Easter with a nose stud. I love my snug, it is my favorite and most unusual piercing, even though it has caused me quite a lot of pain and aggravation, but I forgive it because it's so pretty. And oddly enough, I still to this day, have only ever seen one other person with it. I definitely got what I wanted, an unusual piercing.