I already have a few piercings here and there; two sets of earlobes, helix, tragus and navel. I got these to celebrate important events in my life like finishing my degree or starting my first job as a teacher. I had been meaning to get something else done to congratulate myself on getting a new job, but what to get? Facial piercings were pretty much out for me so I decided to carry on decorating my ears. Browsing through BME I saw a picture of a woman with a heart shaped piece of jewellery in her ear and was sold immediately. I wanted that! I printed it out to wave excitedly at everyone who would listen to me and several people who couldn't care less.
At A Glance Author sian Contact sian@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Marc Studio Riverside Tattoo and Body Piercing Location Gravesend After a rock-bottom week at work I called up Riverside to make sure that Marc still worked there (he did all my other piercings about two years ago) and made an appointment for the Friday at 4.30. The rest of the week dragged so slowly and Friday took forever to go away! I found myself clockwatching for a good hour.
Finally, I was out of work and on my way. I grabbed some chocolate and a drink as I had been told to before and checked in at the desk. They handed me the paperwork to fill out while I waited for Marc to finish prepping everything. When I was done I flipped through some of the tattoo books and had a chat with one of the artists. Finally, Marc popped up and told me to head on downstairs where he would give me my new mod. Yay!
He ran through all of the usual stuff, autoclaved instruments and needle in their packets with the arrow to show they were sterile. He laid everything out and got some ink to mark up my ear. It took a couple of attempts to get the positioning right, but after excitedly waving the picture at him, it was finally ready to go! He even popped in a spare ring so I could see what it would look like once it was done. I was starting to get a little nervous at this point. Like lots of people I am not a fan of the needle and seeing one makes me feel a little.... funny. Not sick but just that uneasy butterfly feeling.
Now the time had come to lie down, tie my hair back and start with the deep breathing (it really does help calm you down). While Marc re-gloved I thought about past experiences and other peoples accounts here on BME. I know lots of people say they heard a POP or CRUNCH when the needle goes through, but I have never had any of that. Maybe this time would be different? The thought of hearing something crunching through my ear was a little gross though!
My ear got a thorough cleaning with the antibacterial soap stuff, a little dry off and Marc got ready to pierce me. He told me to take a deep breath a hold it while he counted down and pushed the needle through. Before I knew it Marc was reaching for the jewellery and I was laying there with a needle in my ear. Wow, I was expecting it to hurt a little, previous piercings were sore right after they were done but this time I didn't feel anything. No pops, crunches, blood or screaming! Even the ring went in easily although he did have to go at it with the pliers to close it up a little. For me those things are even worse than the needles, I'm paranoid that they will slip and twist my new addition. I got the usual aftercare talk and a handy bit of paper with all the instructions on it, the size of the jewellery and when to go back for a check-up.
It's now been about a month and a half and it all seems to be healing up well except for a tiny bump. I figured that's mostly due to me sleeping on it, as i'm trying to train myself to sleep on the other side it seems to be getting smaller. I did have a minor infection (again, sleeping on it, argh!) but some tea tree and regular cleanings helped shift it. Apart from that healing has been uneventful so far. A few people have commented on it but I mainly keep it hidden under my hair until it's healed up more. I plan on getting some custom jewellery made for it so I can show it off in the summer. Overall it's been the most hassle-free piercing I have had and I would definitely recommend it to anyone! Infact, it's rekindled my love of piercing so much that i'm now planning on more new additions to my collection!
Happy piercing everyone!