Here is an account of how my favourite piercing to-date came into existence, in as much detail as I can remember:
At A Glance Author sugarsmack Contact sugarsmack@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Jacob Studio Next! Location 1068 Granville St., Vancouver
To be honest, getting my rook pierced wasn't the initial plan. I've been wanting to get my tongue pierced since I turned thirteen, and I already had enough lobe and helix piercings. Seeing as my parents wouldn't let me get my tongue pierced until I turned eighteen (a few more months now...) I decided to get something else pierced to tide me over. Surfing BME(of course), I came across a variety of fairly nice piercings, but obviously the rook won. I didn't want anymore on my face (I have a nostril piercing) and it didn't look as painful as the daith. I'm not a baby, but my pain threshold isn't as widespan as some.
So, after I had the money I marched downtown to Next!. I've been there before to get my sisters tattoo done, and the place is well known and respected (It also smells very nice.) I told the nice girl at the front desk I wanted to have my rook pierced. She asked me how old I was (I turned 17 a while ago), then asked me to fill out a form (How many piercings I've had done/What kind, When was the last time I've ate, etc.) I had just eaten lunch with my sister about ten minutes before, and it turns out this was a good thing. I suppose it would leave less of a chance for fainting or something along those lines. I'm not a fainter to begin with, thankfully.
As for jewelry, there was a limited selection of curved barbells (none of which I was looking for) so I ended up picking a 14 ga cbr. (The cbr turned out to look quite pretty.) By the way - cbr stands for Captive Bead Ring. I thought I'd mention that because I remember not knowing what cbr means and feeling very frustrated. =)
I was being pierced in a group because it was my first time getting pierced at Next! so it actually took a long time 'til I actually got poked. In my group I listened to the aftercare lesson given by Jacob, where he went through everything from risks, healing periods for our various piercings to come (my whole group was getting their naval pierced – no joke), and the aftercare Next! recommends we follow. While talking, Jacob had slipped the long Q-tip thing he was toying with through his septum with the rest of us unawares the piercing had even existed (very funny and odd that I hadn't noticed a Q-tip penetrating his nose!) Then, it came for actual piercing time. The first girl didn't want the rest of us watching her get pierced so we all filed out and waited one by one to be pierced.
My turn came up, and after figuring out how he wanted me to be positioned Jacob told me to lie down on my back with my head propped up. I was on the most part very comfortable, the room was pretty and smelled good. He put his gloves on and started getting his stuff ready, telling me everything he was using is sterile and has been through the auto-clave. He cleaned my ear, let me show him my preferred placement, and positioned everything. The whole while he was letting me know exactly what he was doing every step of the way, which was very reassuring. He told me I was going to breathe in and out three times, and he was going to pierce on the third exhale. Oh yeah, and he gave me this gauze with lavender oil on it to smell (He said it helps to relax. Jacob is a very nice piercer.)
And then it happens. I breathe in and out three times, and on the third exhale Jacob pushes the needle through my rook. True to most of the stories I've read, there was a definite feeling of pressure more than pain. He then told me he was putting the jewelry in, (this part was kind of uncomfortable but not unbearable) and fixed the bead on and everything with relative ease. I now have my rook pierced! He told me to check it out on the mirror, and it was perfect. I reeeally like it!
It's been almost a month now and I've had no major problems. Right after I had it pierced it was incredibly sensitive and a tad hurtful, but it wasn't anything a couple Tylenol couldn't fix. I've been cleaning it twice a day with Q-tips and Next!'s recommended Neutrogena bar soap (no perfumes or dyes), and I have an Epsom salt soak every once in a while to speed the healing process. It's looking and feeling better every day!
If you've been seriously thinking about getting your rook pierced, I say go for it before you change your mind. I know some people say it hurts a lot, and some say it doesn't hurt at all, (and some people say its in between – like me) but really you need to go and find out for yourself. Everyone is different, with different pain thresholds. Even if mine hurt a lot, I wouldn't regret it one bit.
And that's the honest truth. I hope this has been somewhat helpful! =)