Rook Piercing Experience for BME
At A Glance Author Keri Contact Keri@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Nicole Studio Top Shelf Tattoo Location Bayside, NY You know how some kids always say that once they turn 18, they're going to get piercings and tattoos and this and that... and 90% of the time, they don't? I guess that wasn't the case for me. I turned 18 in May of 2007 and immediately got my 4th lobe piercings, 2 helix piercings... and I was just dying to get another piercing. I toyed with the idea of a tragus, an industrial, another helix piercing... but none of that sat well with me. I'm severely neurotic and I need all my piercings to be in a certain order. I decided the best option to keep things even would be the rook piercing.
I looked at every single picture in the BME galleries. Literally every picture. I read a handful of experiences, but I didn't find anything descriptive enough to help me. I don't really know what I was looking for, but since I passed out last time, I was really intimidated about getting another piercing.
I went back to Nicole, the sweet girl that did my 2 helix piercings. I gave her my ID and she said, "You've been here, you know the drill." I told her that I wanted a curved barbell, not a CBR, and that I wanted it to be longer than the usual barbells because I don't like my piercings to be tight. I also asked her if it could be don't without aggravating my 2 helix piercings, which are only a month old.
She told me she'd done so many of these that she could do it with her eyes closed. I laughed but asked her to keep her eyes open! She turned on some music and I watched as she gathered all her tools. She picked up the needle and I was like, "WAIT!!!!"
"What?"
"Mark it first!"
Usually I trust her judgment - I told her to use her better judgment last time - but the truth is that I was scared and I felt like wasting some time. She marked it for me and I looked in the mirror. I was like, "Yep, you got it..." I sat down and a guy who was waiting for a tattoo asked if he could watch. I said of course he could watch. He asked what I was getting... when I pointed, he said, "Cool, that's gonna look awesome!"
Nicole told me to tilt my head and I felt the needle. It felt like a warm pressure. I can't say that it hurt, because it wasn't pain... it's just that I felt the needle go through, and that's a very unusual feeling. It did make a crunching sound, but I didn't really notice it too much. The second the needle went through, she said, "You're done. I'm gonna recline the chair so you can lay down." I couldn't believe how fast it was over. It was a little bit more intense than my helix piercings, but it felt almost the same. It just felt warmer.
The guy who was watching said it was the "illest thing" he had ever seen. He grabbed his own rook and pinched it, and made a face. He just said, "Wow..." and told me it looked great. I tipped Nicole and left to go get some food.
After about 10 minutes, it began to sting. The stinging feeling lasted about 15 minutes, and then it went away. Now, I don't even feel it (although now that I mentioned the stinging, it sorta just came back). There is a little bit of dried up blood on it, but not that much at all. I'm very glad that I got this done. As soon as I began to feel the warm pressure, it was over.
If you are considering a rook piercing, or any piercing for that matter, I would suggest going to a piercer that makes you feel very comfortable. I love how Nicole does everything freehand (never used a clamp ever, so she said) and does everything so quickly.
I think that the best aftercare method is LITHA (Leave It The Hell Alone), and of course washing it with Dial antibacterial soap whenever you take a shower. I do sea salt soaks every other day, and I never EVER touch my piercings while they are healing. It's tempting to touch them, but I find that the urge to touch them goes away if you keep a small mirror with you so you can LOOK at them instead. Nicole told me she would do a snug piercing for me for half off, since she loves that piercing so much (I do also!). I'm not getting any more piercings until the ones I have heal up. I got all of my dream piercings on my left ear, and I am waiting for those to heal so I can do the ones on my right ear.
If you have any questions about my experience, feel free to email me at livesoundtech at gmail dot com. If you live in the Queens, NY area, I HIGHLY suggest making the trip to Top Shelf Tattoo on Bell Blvd. For me, this experience was worth the traveling.
-Keri