I've never really felt the urge to put holes in my body, even at the age where everyone seems to at least have had a lobe done temporarily, so I was surprised when I saw a picture of a 6g conch with a CBR in it on BME and decided that I...liked it. This was not, however, something I wanted to undertake lightly; being a medical student, i understood the commitment necessary to heal a cartilage piercing, and I spent the next 2 months researching the piercing (online, visiting piercing studios, just talking to people in general) and debating with myself whether I should take the plunge.
At A Glance Author p3n9u!n Contact p3n9u!n@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Paul Studio Flesh Impressions Location Broadbeach, Gold Coast, Australia
As time went by, I came to fall in love with the way it looked, it's relative rarity, and the way it screams "ow!" without being too in ya face. I was worried, however, as to how other people would view it. Now, before I hear cries of "fuck em! who cares what other people think?", please hear me out. I'm a medical student, on the lowest rung of the long, long career ladder and archaic heirarchy that is the life of a medico, and this piercing could, for example, be the difference between a place in a training program for surgery (hurrah!) and proctology (boo!).
I did manage to reconcile my dilemma, however, and decided to go ahead with the piercing. I was introduced to Paul at Flesh Impressions by my other half, and was immediately impressed by his friendliness and knowledge. The studio itself was amazingly clean and well kept, and gave off "good vibes", indefinable feeling that it was a "good" place.
I originally wanted to get pierced at 6g, but, unfortunately, I wussed out. I'd been told by a number of people that the conch is probably the most painful place on the head to get pierced, and never having been pierced before, I didn't have a frame of reference as to how much it was actually going to hurt. Seeing the massive lumen of the 6g needle...umm...freaked me out.
I decided to forge ahead with a 10g, and hopefully stretch up to a 6 very, very slowly. Unfortunately, the jewellery I wanted (blackline 10mm barbell) was not in stock, and I had to wait 2 weeks for it to be ordered in.
The big day finally came, and I asked my girlfriend to come with me for moral support.
Paul was excellent throughout the whole thing...calm, collected, in control. After signing the relevant forms, the nervousness started. I remember watching Paul moving about getting everything ready, and catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror, as white as a sheet. I sat on the bench, palms sweaty, heart beat way up, as Paul marked my left conch, checked the placement, and made sure I was happy with it.
The piercing itself? There was pain, of course, but nowhere near as much as I expected. I felt a sort of pressure, and the needle was through. The jewellery was next, and truth be told, I didn't even feel it going through for some reason. 3-4 out of 10 on the pain scale? Extremely manageable and bearable (attributable to Paul's expertise, I'm sure). No crunching noises, no life-changing pain. It bled about 2 tablespoonfuls, and then stopped by itself. I felt no soreness, no pressure; I was aware that I had a foreign piece of metal lodged in my ear, but that was about it.
The look and placement of it? Beautiful. Due to the placement being near the outer edge of my conch, it looks like my ear's cupping a little black pearl.
That was 5 days ago, and truthfully, I'm a little worried, but not for the reasons you'd expect. I've had absolutely no problems whatsoever with the piercing, cleaning it twice a day with antibacterial solution and salt soaking it every other day. The ear itself is not sore at all, I haven't had any lymph or blood coming out of it, no crusties that I've had to clean off (is that weird?), have managed not to bang it on something substantially and am adjusting to sleeping on my right side well. But it seems to me like a case of "everything's quiet...a little TOO quiet." I expect a long, arduous healing process ahead, but one that will be worth it in the end. I would be ecstatic if my ear heals without giving me any more trouble than it has already, as I've had no significant swelling/discharge/soreness etc...one can hope, no?
So would I recommend a conch piercing? With reservations, yes. Please go to good piercer with experience; I've seen too many photos and read too many experiences where something has gone wrong. My biggest tip? Use a barbell instead of a ring variant that's long enough to accomodate for swelling during the initial healing period, as this minimises unecessary trauma to the piercing (dangly, heavy things getting caught on your clothes in a fresh wound?). Other than that...enjoy!