About two years ago, maybe a year and a half I'm not sure, I went to the tattoo parlor across the street from my school, who once a year does a free piercing week where you just have to supply a tip. I walked over there with my friend who wanted to get her cartilage pierced; it was my second year of college and I wasn't really into piercings and all of that quite yet. I had three piercings in my lobes and my navel and one tattoo, but that was all at the time and I wasn't sure if I wanted any more than that. I waited in the lobby as my friend filled out all the paperwork that she needed to and while I was out there I saw another one of my friends come out of the piercing room. We chatted for a few minutes and I asked her what she got done, she told me her "snug" and I had no idea what that was until she showed me. I had never seen that piercing before this day and I fell in love with it instantly.
At A Glance Author Steph When Two years ago Like I said, I was not planning on getting anything at all pierced that day but I was teasing my slightly conservative friends by telling them I was going to get my nipples pierced, and I can't say I was entirely kidding, I knew I wouldn't be able to go through with it but because it was free, if I was going to get a piercing I would have wanted to get something crazy that I would not normally pay to get done. I think of it like receiving a gift card for Christmas, I always buy stuff with a gift card that I would not normally buy for myself but I always wanted, because it isn't costing me any of my own money, and this piercing would only cost me a tip. But I knew that the people I was with would really freak out if I got my nipples so I decided to get my snug.
I was excited about this decision but I was also slightly disappointed because I really wanted to get something wild and I didn't find ear piercings of any kind to be wild. Anyway, I went into the back room with my friend and she got her cartilage pierced, no problem. I tell the piercer that I am getting my snug, all the while joking around with my friends who came in with me and the piercer (who has, since then pierced my industrial, both of my conches and tragus', my nipples, my VCH and deep hood also)asked me where I wanted to be pierced. I was very confused and I said "My snug" and he smiled and said "Yes, I know but where on your snug?" I gave him another strange look and he explained that your snug goes down your ear and you could get it pierced in many different places on it. I continued to give him a strange look and he laughed and offered to "hook me up" and I knew that was best because I had no idea what I was talking about lol.
So he marked my ear and had me look in the mirror as he explained to me that I would have a curved barbell in my ear when we were done, I ended up getting it pierced much higher than anyone else's I have seen, it is right at the curve of my snug that curves toward the rook of my ear. I absolutely love the placement of it, but I am moving ahead of myself. He told me to sit down and he brought forward the tray with all of his sterilized stuff on it. This was when it hit me....HOLY SHIT this is going to be done with a needle. I, of course, knew this to begin with but it didn't really hit me until I saw the needle, because it wasn't a straight needle, it was curved in a funky shape, this is when I began to get nervous.
I didn't really have enough time to freak out because the next thing I knew I was being pierced. Now, since this was two years ago I do not really remember exactly what the pain felt like, all I remember is swearing my head off and gripping really really tightly on the bench, trying my hardest to make my hands hurt in hopes to make my mind think about that rather than the intense pain going through my ear. Then just like that, it was over. It hurt to get it done and it was throbbing right afterwards and I was sitting in shock thinking, HOLY SHIT, why did I do that to myself?? But it was over and I was thrilled that it was over and I wouldn't have to feel that pain again.
I left the shop and for the next three days my ear throbbed so badly I thought it was infected. So I made an appointment with the doctor on my campus and she explained to me that it wasn't infected (Thank goodness, I thought I had done something wrong because it was so hard to clean since it was swollen so much) but that when you get any kind of wound, including piercings, that your body sends as much blood to that area that it can in hopes to heal the wound, and since your ear gets little to no blood, especially in the cartilage, the blood was surrounding my ear causing it to throb. She told me to take ordinary salt and put it in hot water and dip a cotton ball in it and hold it on my ear for about ten minutes. I thought this sounded strange because I had heard about sea salt soaks but not with regular salt but I didn't care, I was in a lot of pain and would do anything to stop it.
When I got back to my room I threw salt in a cup of hot water and the SECOND that cotton ball touched my piercing, the pain went away! The throbbing stopped and I have never had a problem with it at all!! I LOVE the way it looks and it began my whole love of piercings and tattoos which I am thrilled about because I feel like it has opened the door to a whole new part of me I never knew about. I have never had a single problem with it, I have a slight bump on the back of my ear now which is actually going away on it's own and I'm not even sure it has to do with that piercing, but when I went to this guy again to do my other piercings, he took a look at my snug and asked me if it was comfortable. I was like, um yes it is and he said "Really??" I said "Yea, why?" and he explained that a lot of people have problems with that piercing just because of the area, that I guess it gets in the way or something I'm not sure. Maybe I didn't have any problems because of how high I got it pierced, I'm not sure I am just in love with it and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is considering it. It definitely hurt to get pierced, but it is so worth the pain!! Get rid of your fears and just do it!!