I had a 10g industrial done that didn't heal well. Two years later after making every effort to heal it I was forced to retire the inner helix. I missed it very much, partly because it came about as an "experiment" of sorts that I wanted very badly to succeed. As consolation I decided that I would get another ear piercing in the same vicinity to "replace" it.
At A Glance Author Moony Contact Moony@bme.anon IAM Moony When A month ago Studio The Chapel Location Albert Lea, MN Now, another piercing in that area involves going through major bits of cartilage. After all the problems healing the industrial I wasn't sure how soon I was willing to take on the hassle of dealing with another fussy, long-healing piercing. About six months after losing the helix I decided I was ready and it was time to bite the bullet (so to speak). I realized that my daith on that side wasn't pronounced enough to support a piercing, so if I wanted to have a new pretty I'd have to live with piercing the much larger rook. Pain isn't a big factor for me in deciding what to get pierced. It's a needle going through flesh (and cartilage, as the case may be)-it's going to hurt! I surmised that a rook would probably hurt less than my nipples and industrial did and that was good enough for me. I knew it might be even more temperamental and difficult to heal than the industrial, being in a thicker piece of cartilage, but I was ready to take it on anyway.
A coworker recommended the shop where she got her rook done. Her placement was good and she said the piercer was friendly, the shop clean, and the prices reasonable, so I decided to try there first because my usual piercer and artist had moved two hours away. My fiancee really wanted to be with me when I got it done. We attempted get it done on my birthday but living in the sticks like we do the piercing shops aren't open on Tuesdays, the day my birthday fell on, and she works every Friday and Saturday night. Two weeks later on a Friday night I was tired of waiting any longer and told her I was going by myself that night. I stopped at the shop and my first impression of it was "How does he keep the dust in check?" with collectible action figures still in their packages hanging on the walls. I was otherwise impressed with his setup and what I could see of the cleanliness and waited a bit to see about an appointment. The price he gave was reasonable but I found that he was really busy, that he might be able to squeeze me in an hour later. I told him I might be back later. Of course, by the time I got to my car I'd all ready resolved to get cash, eat dinner, and hurry back as soon as possible in case he really could squeeze me in.
Money, then food, then I returned. I waited another half hour while he finished up a tattoo and then he told me he was ready for me. I signed the requisite waiver and was glad to see two other waivers properly signed for underage tattoos done earlier. At least he was honest and legal. He ushered me into the room and told me to have a seat in the chair. I wasn't able to see any dust on the packages and none in the air and my worries there ceased. Then he told me to pick out my jewelry and I was worried again. He had loose curved barbells with acrylic balls in a plastic organizer and I was to choose one and drop it into a cup of disinfectant. Warning lights started going off in my head but I decided to ignore them. They're supposed to be individually autoclaved, and the fact that they had acrylic balls gave me the impression that they might be low-quality stainless steel barbells. Then and there I accepted any consequences that might arise in allowing him to pierce me with that jewelry, knowing I had jewelry of my own that I could have autoclaved and put in should I run into a problem and knowing he'd probably do the change for free. I did ask if he had any circular barbells, as that is what I prefer for cartilage piercings, and he did.
Everything else from here on out was done properly-gloves, individual packets of lube, individually sterilized needles that were thrown away after, and autoclaved forceps. While the jewelry was soaking and he was setting up everything else we chatted about pain, appropriate jewelry and gauges for different piercings, and made other piercing-related small talk. He didn't mark my ear at all and I was okay with that-I wasn't worried about it being centered and I figured he knew to go deep enough to avoid the cartilage cracking. As he picked up the forceps I asked if I even had enough room for forceps on my rook and he said yes, but he wasn't going to clamp them tight and were mostly for guidance of the needle. I grabbed hold of the sides of the seat of the chair when he picked up the needle, explaining that I wasn't really scared but wanted to make sure my hands stayed out of the way after he poked. He positioned the needle, asked if I was ready, and after I said yes he pushed the needle through. Or rather, tried to push it through. It took two medium pushes and one big one to get it through, and with each push I held even tighter to the chair. I heard an unpleasant sound (not a pop, but a tearing more like) and felt the needle progressing through the cartilage, a sound and a sensation that give me the creeps thinking about even today. Ugh. It didn't hurt as much as my industrial but nearly so.
After the needle was through he removed the forceps and warned me that putting the jewelry in was likely to be more painful than the actual piercing as circular barbells are a bit fiddly to get in, especially into a rook. It took a minute or so to work the jewelry in and another thirty seconds to get the ball screwed on. It didn't hurt more, just different-more sharp and bothersome than the burn and ache in the piercing. I checked it out in the mirror and instantly fell in love. I knew it was the perfect replacement for my inner helix. I had chosen rainbow balls to highlight the piercing a bit against my plain plugs and stainless steel rim jewelry and got the desired effect. He advised me to try to close the barbell a little bit after it'd settled for a while as he'd had to open it a little more to make it easier to get it into the piercing. He asked if I had my own aftercare regimen (smart man! doesn't miss a thing!) and I said yes. I paid him, gave a good tip, and left for the store to pick up aftercare supplies.
So far it's been nearly problem-free. It ached badly for the first week and a half or so but I imagine it was the cartilage settling that caused it. Two months later it lymphs as I would expect it to but otherwise doesn't hurt unless it's bumped or twisted badly. I mostly leave my piercings alone while they heal, and as I expected the few times I tried cleaning it as recommended with Purpose soap and warm water through a nasal aspirator it got extremely upset. Now I only bother it if I have a lot of crusties, and even then it's just a thorough rinse with warm water and a gentle swabbing with Q-tips to get the grunge off. I do love it a lot and would recommend one to anyone. I would recommend, though, others insisting on sterile, autoclaved jewelry. I made the decision for myself to be pierced without it but definitely advise others not to do so.