I got the lower part (right across from my tragus) of my left conch pierced about three weeks ago.
At A Glance Author Heather Contact Heather@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Rob Studio Tiki Tattoo Location Mansfield, MA
I had been tossing the idea of having my tragus pierced for quite some time, but didn't know if it would be practical; I'm quite attached to my earbuds and didn't know if I would still be able to wear them considering I have very small ears (I'm only 4'10"). While home from college for Winterbreak, I was discussing my dilemma with one of my friends who happens to have just about every part of her ear pierced (some 20-odd in total). As she tried to assure me that it wouldn't too much of an issue, I noticed that she had the inside of her ear pierced. She explained that it was called a "conch" piercing and asked if I was interested in having it done. I instantly fell in love with the look and idea of having done. That night she talked with her boyfriend, Rob- a local piercer, who also did the majority of her piercings- about piercing my conch later that week.
That Saturday, my friend took me to the shop Rob worked at- Tiki Tattoo- to get pierced. I filled out all the paperwork, he made a copy of my license, and then went to go set up- the usual procedure. I won't lie, I was ridiculously nervous. (He, of course, asked to make sure I was alright/reassured me that it wouldn't be that bad.) I hadn't had anything pierced since my ear lobes, which were done when I was five with a piercing gun at my hairdresser's. My nervousness was really very pointless- although I'm sure the excess adrenaline didn't hurt- as it didn't hurt half as much as my over-reactive mind had imagined. I walked into the piercing room and Rob directed me to the dentist style chair. He asked me where I wanted. I had already decided that I wanted in my lower conch as my crus helix- which I learned is the little end of the helix that divides your conch into lower and upper- is higher and there isn't much space in my upper conch. Rob marked the spot, had me look at it in the mirror to be sure it was in the right spot- which it was- and then cleaned my ear. He then told me that he was going to apply the clamp and that I would feel a lot of pressure and that it might hurt. It was uncomfortable but not necessarily very painful. Rob then opened the needle and asked if I wanted his to count to three or to just go. (Personally I think the whole counting to three thing is kind of cliché in addition to the fact that I wanted to make up for my unneeded show of nervousness earlier; I've always had a very high threshold of pain and was, in some respect, disappointed in myself at my overreaction and thought that this was going to be more painful than I could handle.) So, I- being me- interrupted him and said, "Just do it cause..." I didn't even finish my sentence before he had already pushed the needle through my ear and announced, "Done." I was very surprised that it didn't hurt very much at all. Honestly, I think the clamp the hurt worse. Although I did hear a small bit of crunching as the needle pierced through the cartilage, (I thought it was kinda cool) it was over very quick and I don't really think that it would bother, even someone very squeamish, enough that it would be a problem. Next, he put the taper in and then threaded the jewelry through. I chose to have a barbell (sorry I don't know the length or gauge) opposed to a ring, and passing the curved part of the barbell through the straight hole did cause some pain and was definitely the worst part of the whole thing. Rob then explained how to clean the piercing and gave me an aftercare sheet.
I'd say that the third and fourth day after having been pierced was the worst. Just about anything, even air blown on it, made it burn. But come the end of the first week it was almost pain free. As of the end of the second week, I've woken up many of mornings laying on my left ear and I've worn my earbuds both with no real pain or too much discomfort. Now three weeks later, it almost never hurts. I have found that Q-tips are by far the easiest way to clean it. I wish I had thought of it earlier as I think it would have saved me a considerable amount of time and pain in the beginning. I do wash at least twice a day, almost religiously, and rinse it with salt water every other day or so. I will admit that although you're not supposed to, the past week or so I do tend to twist it around and play with it. So far it has seemed to have started to heal faster and scab less by twisting it ever so often, but that could also just be time. Overall, I really love my new conch piercing. Very rarely does it get in the way and not many people have one. I also like that, because of its location, it is fairly discrete; I had to point it out for my parents to notice. So, I hope this helps anyone that might have been on the fence about this because despite my apprehension and the pain it was more than worth it in the end.