"Oh my god. You want that there?" My friend asked whilst pinching a fold of cartilage in her right ear.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Ross Studio Star Crossed Tattoos Location Hong Kong "Yea. It's really pretty." I replied, looking at the rook piercing of the stranger a few meters in front of me.
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I was 13 then. Young and unknowledgeable. The only way I knew piercings were done was by a gun.
Out of desperation, I self-poked a piercing stud into my ear to create a second lobe on my right ear. I ran through a rough patch in life. Therapy, cutting, anorexia and piercings were thrown into my life; my helix was gunned for about US$3.
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Two more years later, I am 15. I have "healed", but my love for piercings have never diminished. Born two strict Chinese parents, my parents have always opposed to any type of body modification. Initially, I wasn't even allowed to get my first lobes pierced until I was eighteen. But I've always seen piercings as something beautiful, unique; something that separates me from the rest of the pack. I also think of piercings as something positive that makes me stronger; what doesn't kill me makes me stronger.
I have decided that I would like to get my rook pierced for my 15th birthday. But because of my "rough patch in life", piercings were very taboo in my family. I really didn't know how to ask my parents for one. Finally, a week after my birthday, my friend helped my ask my parents. They disapproved of it, but gave me permission.
I said that I wanted to go to a different place in the city; different from the last time I got my lobes pierced. Parents asked why, and I got into this whole "piercing guns are bad" thing. One thing I've realized is that adults always think that tattoo/piercing studios are shady and dirty. They always think that a booth in the mall is always cleaner. Walking into the studio, my mom was let out, "shit." She thought that it was very shady and looked uneasy throughout the whole process. But I thought that the studio was extremely clean and professional.
The piercer, Ross, went through all the steps with me, but what shocked me was that the rook had a one in ten chance of rejecting. It was rather a high percentage, and I thought that cartilage holds piercings well. I thought I'd take the chance, and I hopped into the chair.
"Is it gonna be pierced with a CBR?" I asked.
"What's a CBR?" Ross answered. I pointed to the CBR on the counter top.
"That's called a BCR, not a CBR." He said. I guess that British have different ways of naming jewelry.
He marked the spot on my ear, and I was happy with it. Now that I think about it, I wish I asked for it to be pierced deeper, as it looks like a sliver of skin is only holding it in.
He also explained to me that he'd normally used a 14ga needle and a 16ga BCR for a rook, but since my rook was so small, he'd use a 16ga needle instead.
I asked for a countdown. 1..... 2.......... 3............ It didn't hurt much. My gunned helix definitely hurt more. I didn't even know if it was through or not, since I didn't hear the "pop." I asked him if it was through yet, and yep, it was through! He then cut the cannula, and put the jewelry in. It didn't hurt, I just felt pressure. He then told me to sit up before he put the ball in to prevent the ball from dropping into my ear.
So now for the aftercare. I was told to use a cotton bud dipped in pre-bought "sodium chloride 0.9% for irrigation" (aka salt water) to get rid of the crusties. My mom was really worried about infections and asked what I should do if it does occur. To her surprise, Ross said to leave the earring in, and ask him about it, as infections are really rare. (unless you want the infection stuck inside your body, don't remove the jewelry!)
24th Feb: emerged from the studio with it being just the slightest sore. So little, I didn't notice it unless the strong wind blew and moved my earring a bit. That was quite a surprise, as I had my helix gunned a year and a half ago, which throbbed and was sore for two months.
25th Feb (day 1): woke up with no soreness at all. I cleaned it thrice a day, and no crusties have appeared... yet. It was still kind of hard rotating the ring. I washed it under the shower for a while.
26th Feb (day 2): Woke up with no soreness at all. I found crusties at the side of the ring. I really hated them there, and I picked them off in class/when I'm bored. My ear is sorer than yesterday, out of irritation. I then cleaned it 7 times that day, in addition to washing it under the shower for a while. It was easier to rotate the ring.
27th Feb (day 3): Woke up with no soreness at all. I promised myself that I would not pick the crusties off unless I was cleaning my ear. It was less sore, and I also washed it under the shower for a while. It was quite easy to rotate the ring.
5th Mar (day 11): The skin is kind of flaking off. I don't think I should use the pre-bought salt water anymore; it's quite drying. I tried tasting it, and it is definitely saltier than ¼ teaspoon of sea salt mixed into a cup of warm water. From now on I'll just stick to running it under the hot shower with the occasional sea salt soak.
14th Mar (day 20): I think it's really healing well. Crusties are getting less and less every day.
I went back to the studio on the 9th of March, because I thought there was rejection. (I hadn't realized he pierced it so shallow then!) Just in case. He said that it was totally healing fine. Also, I told him that the skin was flaky.
"The skin is flaky. Will the sodium chloride water bought at the grocery store be too strong? I switched to sea-salt soaks," I said.
"Really? How much salt with how much water?" He asked. I told him that it was "not any saltier than my tears." I should have said that it was way less saltier than his pre-mixed salt water. He told me ¼ teaspoon to a mug-full of warm distilled water.
I then asked him if I could buy some "BCR"s for my lobes. I asked him if it was "implant-grade stainless steel." He looked really impressed and said, "Wow. Most people in Hong Kong don't know much about piercings..." I left with four 14ga implant-grade stainless steel CBRs.
I've had a great experience with the rook. Extremely easy to heal, literally pain free, and looks very cute. Most people have never seen this piercing though. The most common question is "Did this hurt?" Honestly, no, it didn't hurt much.
I'd recommend this studio to anyone. Very clean, reasonable prices, and friendly staff.
Last of all, body modifications, in my opinion, are positive forms of self-expression. Sure, there are drug addicts with piercings and tattoos, but there are also drug addicts without piercings and tattoos. There is not link between modifications and drugs/sex, etc... Don't discriminate and modify your body as you please!
Feel free to email me via the web gateway if you have any questions!