When my friend from out of town was here to see a doctor, we decided we had to go get pierced together. When she got done with her stuff, I went and picked her up, and we headed to downtown Houston to my regular piercing studio, Taurian Piercing and Metals. I have been going to Taurian for about two years, and I trust the guys there 110%.
At A Glance Author Bribbitt Contact Bribbitt@bme.anon IAM Bribbitt When Three months ago Artist Byriah Dailey Studio Taurian Piercing and Metals Location Houston, Texas
We walked in just a few minutes after they opened in the afternoon and were greeted by the owner and senior piercer, Byriah Dailey. I find it amusing that I've been there so many times that they know me when I walk in. He asked us what we wanted to get done, checked our IDs, and we both proceeded to fill out the appropriate paperwork while taking part in some small talk.
I'd had my heart set on a rook-helix industrial for a long time, but I was stupid and had forgotten to bring the picture of it with me, so he wasn't comfortable trying it without being able to see exactly what I wanted. I was extremely disappointed and wasn't sure that I wanted anything else, but I was not going to walk out of there without a new pretty. While my friend was getting pierced, I tried to decide what I wanted to get done. I finally decided to get a snug with a 14g curved barbell on my right ear and leave the rook-helix area free for my future industrial.
When he was done piercing my friend, we went back to the front, and I paid for my piercing. He went in the back, scrubbed up, and got the room ready for me. He changed his gloves after touching every little thing. He even changed gloves when it seemed to me like he hadn't touched anything that wasn't sterile. He shoots them into the trash can like a pro. It's quite funny. Anyway, after marking, looking, and remarking, we finally decided on the perfect spot. He has an absolutely amazing eye for placement.
He had me lay down on the table, lean my head over so that my cheek was flat on the table, and concentrate on my breathing. I was extra nervous about this piercing for some reason. My face and neck were all red. I could feel it without even looking. He told me to take a deep breath and I knew it was coming on the exhale. I exhaled and what I felt next was something far more painful than I had imagined. It was the worst pain I've ever felt. Luckily, I didn't bleed much this time. Just a tad of clean up and I was all done.
When I laid down on the table and he said that he was going to bend the needle a bit, I didn't think anything of it. I figured he was just going to bend it a little bit so that it was easier to handle. When I saw the pictures my friend took, I saw that I was completely wrong. For some reason, he bent it into a very tight hook shape. Instead of pushing the needle through, he pulled the hooked part through my ear. And since the needle was bent so much, it was wider at that point and took extra effort to get through. It was the most painful piercing I've ever gotten. Cartilage usually doesn't bother me all that much. But this one was excruciating. Byriah felt terrible. He's always good at consoling and trying to make his clients feel better.
After a handful of ibuprofen and some time to calm down, the pain subsided. I wasn't able to sleep on my side for the longest time. The pressure hurt as much as the actual piercing did. Then a couple months later, I figured out a way to position my pillows so that my ear didn't have any direct pressure on it. I don't doubt Byriah's skill one bit, but I do question why he decided to use this technique on me. I'm hesitant to go back to him for future cartilage piercings. If I do, I'll specifically ask him not to try and hook my ear like a fish again.
So even after the worst piercing experience of my life, I absolutely LOVE my snug. I've had to change the jewelry and downsize to 16g because, as with all of my cartilage piercings, I got nasty bumps on it. Downsizing is the only way for me to get rid of them. They're almost gone now, and I'll be able to put my 14g curved barbell back in soon. I can't wait.
For anyone in the Houston area, I highly recommend Taurian. Both the senior piercer and his apprentice know their stuff, their studio is very clean and sanitary, they properly sterilize and handle equipment, they used only the highest quality jewelry, and they are 110% trustworthy.