At A Glance
Author	Sasha
Contact	Sasha@bme.anon
IAM	himynameissasha
When	Six months ago
Artist	Bryan
Studio	Amused
Location	West Lafayette, IN

The Piercing:

I had been set on getting a conch to conch industrial for a few months. It took little begging from my mother as I was under age, and poor Bryan my piercer was always looking for something a little less "mainstream" to do. I really don't even know how I came up with the idea, because I hadn't seen any pictures of it, but one day it was just BAM! I WANT A BAR FROM THIS PART OF MY EAR TO THAT PART OF MY EAR!

The Procedure:

I had had a conch piercing in the same ear previously, and that was probably the most painful of my piercings so far (eyebrow, labret, septum, helix), so I was expecting some unpleasant pain. I just walked in to see Bryan as I figured he would not be busy, and he was not, so we got the party started. I was eyeing the 2 inch barbell thinking that would adorn my ear, but nooo I only got the one and one half inch one. I lay down on the table and Bryan marked me up and changed gloves about two hundred forty seven times and then we were set. I started my breathing and my mom was at my feet. It hurt, badly. I thought he was done with the whole piercing and he only had the top hole half way done. I was trying not to squirm, but the pain was nearly unbearable. I don't remember it enough to describe it, but I remember it hurt like a bitch. Blood was running down the back of my neck and the back of my jaw and face and it took a while to get it cleaned up. Eventually he was finished, and I just lay on the table for a few minutes to regain my composure.

When I sat up I could not wait to see the pretty piece of metal in my ear. It was so conspicuous, yet beautiful and attention grabbing. The ultimate oxymoron.

Aftercare:

Salt soaks were a pain. But I bared them. Pretty much I just filled a cup with the solution and held it to my ear, soaking myself in the process. Looking back, it would have been better to lie on the floor, but I hadn't thought of it then. They were awesome for my throbbing ear. I stayed off of it while sleeping, and kept my hair up so everyone at school could view it. It was pretty easy healing. It bled a little here and there, but it was far less than I was expecting. Crusties were the worst part, there were a ton of them, and it was hard to keep the barbell from moving at all, so a few got pulled into the hole now and then, which did not feel so nice. I began to develop some scarring on the bottom hole, but I somewhat expected it since it seems common in industrials.

Retirement:

Unfortunately, my conch to conch industrial had to be retired when it was still a baby, two or three months old. I had to take a trip to the hospital and was required to remove all of my jewelry. It healed up pretty well, was a little sore, but I had other things on my mind at the time and didn't really notice it otherwise.

Now, the cartilage where my piercing used to be is very thick, while where my other conch piercing is very thin, so my ear is kind of odd. It is not exterior scarring either, its deep and on the inside. I'm contemplating getting it pierced again, but I have some other things in the works before that will come up again. And I'm afraid that the scar tissue will equal IMMENSE pain when I do redo it. It still aches from time to time, and I'm not really sure why. I'll just be sitting and my ear will start to ache. Maybe it's lonely for its long lost piece of metal.

Evaluation:

Do not let the pain scare you, this is a BEAUTIFUL piercing. For me it was very rewarding and the healing process which I experienced was relatively easy. It was definetly worth it, even for its short lived life.

Next up I am planning on a nape piercing, my first adventure into SURFACE PIERCING! I am nervous and excited. The plans are to put a ninety degree surface bar into the back of my neck, finding the time and money is the challenge at the moment. It will be quite interesting to see how it turns out. I'm sort of afraid of it rejecting and leaving me with an ugly scar, but scars will fade and an adventure into a new form of piercing is always good. So yeah, look for that experience coming up as soon as I'm not young and poor!