Ok, so this is the story of my left cartilage piercing that I got a few days ago (Saturday 18th August). Its my fourth piercing so far, and the first I've had done in an actual studio, instead of some cheap mall; as my piercer said, I'm a "Woody's virgin!" so it was a bit of an experience for me.
At A Glance Author Emily Contact Emily@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Alison Studio Woody's Tattoo Studio Location High Wycombe, UK The minute I began to be interested in body modifications, and particularly piercings, I spent around three hours researching every tattoo studio and beauty salon in a 10-mile radius. After much time spent pouring over phone books, browsing Internet pages and traipsing round my local town center, I decided that Woody's Tattoo Studio in High Wycombe was probably the best bet. Having found an appropriate studio, the next job was convincing my mother to let me have the piercing.
This wasn't quite as hard as I pictured; I have learned that the best way to get her consent is to ask for some modification that is either incredibly dangerous, extremely disgusting or exceptionally visible. Its certain that she will say no pretty much straight away, but it is also guaranteed that she will then be open to whichever, comparatively tame, piercing I ask for. In this case, it was a helix piercing that I wanted. My chosen scapegoat; an 8ga septum piercing. Merely the thought of her eldest daughter walking round looking like a bull being led to the slaughter was enough to make my mother agree whole heartedly to my second proposition. Having already saved up the £19 needed to pay for it, I was all set.
I showed up at the studio at around 1.30 and was given an appointment at 3.15, as they were reasonably busy that day. I went off to have lunch, as I really didn't want to pass out in front of the man who will hopefully be taking me under his wing and giving me an apprenticeship once I've got my A-levels out of the way. I came back feeling decidedly ill (perhaps lunch wasn't the best idea after all), and once I'd filled out the consent form, Alison the piercer led me upstairs to the piercing room.
She was really talkative and friendly and seemed very experienced, which definitely helped calm the few nerves I had. She talked me through the procedure while preparing the room to make sure I felt comfortable while she was working. I knew most of what she was saying already, but it was reassuring to hear it coming from here. She scrubbed and gloved up, then sat me down and prepped me. She insisted I take my time choosing the placement, and once we had finally decided together where it would look best, she got me to lie down and relax.
She talked to me while she was piercing me, which helped keep my mind off things. She helped me regulate my breathing so I would stay calm while she actually pierced me. It didn't hurt as much I thought it would; if anything, I felt more pain while she was marking it than when she actually pierced it! I felt her cork the needle, and felt very pleased that I had finally done it. The follow-through with the jewelry wasn't quite as smooth as I had hoped it would be, but feeling her pop the ball into place made me feel very proud. I've wanted this piercing since I was about 10 years old, but between my parents and my school I had no chance.
Several hours later and I was beginning my aftercare routine. She gave me a bottle of Benzalkonium Chloride for daily cleaning, and talked me through the salt soaks, which I begin next weekend. I cleaned it using a Q-tip, as she had suggested, and this seemed to be a good method. I've never used Benzalkonium Chloride before; I had my earlobes pierced at the local mall, and the cleaning solution they gave me was practically water, so I just ditched it and used salt soaks. However, it really helped clear up all the dried blood and pus from the piercing.
So far, its all going well; I've had a bit of pain while touching it, which I'm generally avoiding except while cleaning, but other than that it feels fine. I had a slight shock when I woke up this morning to find a ring of black gunk round the jewelry. After a bit of cleaning and thinking, I realized that this was just from the ink she had used to mark the placement, and nothing to do with the jewelry; it's implant grade stainless steel, so somehow I doubt its rusting inside me! Sleeping is a little awkward, as I'm not yet used to having to sleep on my right side, but a few more nights and I should fall into a pattern.