I don't know for how long I wanted a conch piercing...but from what I do remember is that ever since I saw pictures of a conch, I have wanted it but only at a small gauge like 14 or 12 gauge. So it was only of recent that I wanted to go bigger, like 8 or 6 gauge. Thus begins my story.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon IAM meechums When Six months ago Artist Marc Studio South-Dragon Location Tokyo, Japan On Sunday, January 11th, I walked into South-Dragon, which is where Marc works as a solo piercer. I told him beforehand that I would visit that day, although I wasn't sure what time, so he was expecting me, and knew what I wanted. We talked a little bit, deciding what kind of jewelry and what gauge I should get punched at (large gauges, starting from 6g, are better off being dermal punched since you can't stretch cartilages). It turns out that he doesn't have a 6g tunnel, but has barbells instead. I wanted a tunnel, so that was a little disappoint for me...but then he said he had tunnels one gauge up, which is 4g. He also mentioned that there wasn't much of a difference between 6 and 4g (at least that's what I think he said), so I decided to go for the 4g instead. With that decision made, Marc went to go put the equipment needed and the tunnel (which has one flare, by the way) into the autoclave.
While that was done; he invited me on a short trip to the pharmacy nearby to pick up some gauzes. When we got back inside, we talked for a little bit since the autoclave takes a little while to sterilize the jewelry, and it eased my nervousness a little about the pain. Then the autoclave was done, and it was time was very, very near to getting punched, so I was nervous all over again when I walked over to the table you would probably see often in doctor's offices. He then drew a curtain around the area so we could have some privacy (although some of the tattooists who worked there was curious to see the procedure, but weren't allowed to...thankfully, since it would have made me all the more nervous). While he was setting up, he explained to me what he would be doing, and shined a light through the conch, to see if he would hit any big blood vessels, if there were any at all, which there weren't. He didn't make any marks, so I suppose it was freehand, and cleaned my ear with s ome kind of alcohol wipe. Changed gloves, and we were ready to begin when he said, "Are you ready?" It took me a while to answer...and I knew if I don't do this now, I probably never will, so I answered an equivalent to a "Yes." He told me to breathe in deeply, and then let it out...then he will punch. This I did and he began to apply the dermal punch slowly into my inner conch. I remember saying "Fuck," out loud, because it was such a sharp pain, which only lasted for a second. And to my surprise, I didn't hear a "crunch" like most people have heard in their experiences...in fact, I didn't hear much of anything (then again, it could have been the blood in my ear that was the cause). What was the most surprising was how quickly Marc did the procedure. As soon as the punch was all the way through the ear, he quickly tapered it up a gauge, and put the tunnel in – and I didn't even notice! When he said he was done, I probably had a funny, disbelieving look on my face because it was so quick. But it was, and so he proceeded to clean up the blood which flooded my ear canal, so I couldn't hear very well (it was like being underwater), and around the hole, which took a lot longer than the piercing itself. I probably looked like a bloody mess although I wouldn't know because I wasn't able to take pictures (obviously) and forgotten to ask someone to take pictures of the procedure although I don't know if Marc would have approved.
After the cleaning up, I was allowed to sit up slowly, and he asked me if I was fine, which I was. Then Marc drew back the curtains, and everybody in the studio took a look, and seemed to like it. I took a look myself, and loved it instantly. It looked awesome! (Especially since you can shine a light through it, which looks neat.) Marc then showed me the chunk that came out of my ear, and again to my surprise, it was small and quite thin looking. Oh, and I did keep it, but didn't eat it (I don't think I have the guts to). He also gave me some o-rings, if I happen to lose any, which I'm thankful for. I sat on that table for a little while, just talking to Marc and the other tattoo artists about my new addition and how much it hurt and whatnot. After he checked to make sure I'm fine, I proceeded to walk to my bag to pay him, and then talked to him a little bit more until it was time for me to go, since it was almost closing time.
I couldn't be more than happier with this piercing. Sure, it was painful, but not as painful as I thought it would be. And the whole procedure was nice and quick, thanks to Marc.
Now, the healing process starts. So far it seems to be doing fine, although I have this little painful twinges from time to time, and before I clean my ear there's bits of dried blood around the hole, and during the cleaning there's a little blood, but not too much. I can't wait until it's fully healed, although it takes up to a year to heal because it's a cartilage piercing...but it's all worth it, at least to me!