So if you're reading this to try and decide if you want a cartilage punch: do it! It's absolutely amazing: you won't regret it! Ok, having said that, here's the story of mine.
At A Glance Author Steph Contact Steph@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Pineapple Studio Shaman Body Piercing and Modification Location Austin, TX This summer characterizes for me a period of transition between just kind of getting along in life and actually beginning to take myself seriously. I just got a BS degree and am going to grad school in August, so I feel like I'm finally actually doing something worthwhile and interesting. Naturally, my view on my mods has followed suit. Up until now, I have pretty much just gone into the tattoo/piercing shop and went "Cool! I want to get this right now!" I do have some custom drawn tattoos, but they are still all pretty small and were done spur of the moment. As I began giving more thought to this kind of thing, I realized that is it infinitely better to put a lot of time and money into something amazing as opposed to getting a quick and cheap mod that's just pretty cool.
Ok, so my first step in this process is a dermal punch on my flat (just what it sounds like: the top part of your ear which is really flat – this seems obvious but it took me awhile to figure out it was called that). I wanted to pierce that area before I considered that it was possible to do large gauge cartilage piercing, and as soon as I saw the pictures of this kind of thing on BME, I knew it was what I really wanted to get. But it looked so scary! I didn't know if I could handle an entire chunk of my ear being removed! My piercings have never really hurt during the actual act, but they tend to heal badly. Especially my cartilage ones. But, as I learned upon going into Shaman Body Piercing (inside the Golden Apple studio in Austin: coolest studio I've ever been to – check it out if you're in the area) regular cartilage piercings don't actually remove any tissue and since the dermal punch does, it tends to heal better. Well, hearing this allayed my biggest fear, so I decided to go for it.
I went in and talked to Pineapple, one of the piercers there to decide on gauge, placement, and jewelry. I had originally planned on about a 2g punch, but apparently Pineapple's motto is 'go big or go home' and he convinced me to get it as big as possible. I agreed to a 7/16" punch but it turns out he couldn't find the equipment anywhere in Austin to do it that big, so I settled for 00g. (I'm glad it worked out this way; I'm not sure any bigger would have fit on my ear!) We talked about how it would work, ordered me the jewelry and I was all set to come in next week to get it done. Since I'm used to doing this kind of thing spontaneously, the waiting part was extremely hard for me. By the time I finally went back in, I had almost talked myself out of it and was scared out of my mind! Fortunately, Pineapple was totally cool about it and actually put up with me: I think the best thing he did was get started right away and not let me stall. He was very professional and let me see how he cleaned and set up everything, telling me how he would punch it at a 0g, then taper to a 00g and slide the jewelry in (done this way to minimize bleeding). Still, I was totally freaked out as I lay down and went through breathing exercises. I kept wanting him to wait longer, but I'm glad he just made me go for it. Finally the moment of truth came: "Ok, just one more breath" and on the exhale I felt the punch go through. This part I cannot come up with words to describe. If I compared it to an orgasm would you think I was crazy? All I can say it is was a huge rush of pure excitement and adrenaline accompanied by a sound like the breaking of a carrot (I believe my first words afterwards were, "That was the coolest sound I have ever heard"). I honestly can't even say that I felt pain at this part: I'm sure that being so jacked up on adrenaline had something to do with this. The taper and then the plug went in and I couldn't even feel it. The first thing I did feel was that my ear was wet. Well, I was expecting blood so that was alright. I stayed laying down for a while to let it finish bleeding and get all cleaned up. I spent most of this time laughing, I'm not kidding this is the coolest experience ever. When I finally got to sit up and check it out in the mirror, I was completely thrilled. I could see straight through my ear!! Wow, I love this piercing!
I was a little faint feeling and shaky for just a few minutes, and my ear definitely stung for a few hours after, but honestly that was the extent of what I felt afterwards. The next day when I woke up, it didn't hurt at all! My first thought was that it must have fallen out or something, but everything looked fine. This is just that easy of a piercing. Usually my cartilage piercings hurt pretty badly for a good week or so afterwards, so I'm still amazed by how good this one feels. It seems like actually removing the tissue is much better for your ear than just pushing it aside. Four days later, I went back and had a shorter plug put in. This bled a little bit, but still didn't really hurt. It's been almost a week now and everything is going perfectly! Now I'm just trying to figure out where to get my next one! After this I will never get my cartilage pierced with a needle again: this procedure sounds scary, but it is really sooo much easier!
**Favorite quote of the day: Pineapple (as he's cleaning up my blood): "You're modified now, girl!"**