Having just start uni and made a big life change, my friend decided she'd like a tattoo to commemorate this new phase of her life. Sharing this experience was something I was very interested in doing, but having no finalised tattoo idea prepared I decided to cross one of my piercings from my to-do list. Having thought about which piercings I'd like to get next made me more certain of my impulse decision because I knew it wasn't something I'd later regret.
At A Glance Author Mell Contact Mell@bme.anon IAM MissBox When Six months ago Artist Abigail Studio Sunderland Body Art Location Sunderland, UK
Of the 2 piercings I narrowed it down too outer labia were out of the question because I was on my period and I wanted to talk to the piercer about them and plan them out well (it's an important area after all) and an Inner Conch piercing is something I'd wanted for a long time. I have 4 helix piercings in my right ear and only a rook in my left, so I thought I should balance them out with something prominent and bold like an inner conch. I took my friend to Sunderland Body Art, a studio where I knew one of the piercers and had nothing but good impressions from her about their professionalism and practices.
I had something to eat and did some shopping and ran some errands before calling in to the studio, I'd learned from my dizzy spell after my tongue piercing that they really mean it when they tell you to eat something before hand. Eating a Refresher bar with a fresh tongue piercing is not something I'd hoped to ever have to do. I was starting to get really excited and somewhat annoyed when my friends suggested looking in another store. I was ready to be pierced now!
I walked my friends to the studio after everybody was all shopped out, my friend was getting her foot tattooed and so a lot of walking right afterward would be out of the question. Two other friends were accompanying us who kept my anxiety the excited kind rather than the nervous kind.
I went to reception and asked about my piercing/prices etc in order to give my friend a few minutes to see if she was comfortable being tattooed here. After having filled in my details and signed verifying my age and health I took a seat and waited to be called. I had pre piercing butterflies and was excited to have my shiny new addition.
My friend chose her design, size and placement and took a seat with me. After a mix up over who had been called (apparently there were two Mellanies in the shop at the time!) and a brief catch up with Abigail, my piercer I was taken upstairs to where I'd be pierced.
Abigail and I chatted while she cleaned up and prepared the equipment with which I would shortly be stabbed. We decided on barbell length and ball size. I chose a bigger ball because I wanted it to be really noticeable and prominent in my ear, to balance the 4 piercings I had in my other ear. She said she often compared it to a pearl sitting in an oyster, which I loved because it really does look pretty. I chose a barbell over a ring because I could foresee healing with a ring to be more problematic due to my long hair and for my first inner conch I'd like to simplify healing as much as possible. I'm very tempted to get another when this one is healed. This time with a ring, though. I can handle the healing now and I can't bring myself to get rid of my beautiful barbell.
Abigail gestured for me to see in the chair as it was lower than the bench and obviously being able to see clearly where to mark is important. I was dotted up and told to check in the mirror. The other piercer at the studio popped his head around the door at this point to remind me that they called it an 'inner ouch' and that I was very brave. Surprisingly the joke calmed me down and I was more relaxed than before.
I checked the placement and it was just where I'd imagined. I nodded my approval, sitting back in the chair to await the piercing. I took a deep breath in and exhaled as the needle was pushed through.
It wasn't nearly as painful as I was expecting, maybe around a 6/7 on a scale of 1-10. I felt a sort of burning and then a pinch as the jewellery was inserted. The pinch was admittedly about a 7/8 but really wasn't anything unmanageable and was over in a split second.
I checked it out in the mirror and was thrilled. The bigger ball looked really great in my ear and really complimented my rook piercing. It was over really quickly and is definitely worth it. I was handed a sheet on aftercare and told to come back if there were any problems etc.
I said goodbye to Abigail and met my friend downstairs who was waiting for the tattoo artist to call her up. She seemed pretty impressed by my piercing and I was told I really suited it, which made me happier than I already was.
I would definitely recommend both an inner conch piercing and Sunderland Body Art. My piercing looks great.
Salt soaks were really awkward. I bought some cotton wool pads and used them on the front and back of my piercing. After a few weeks it had really settled down and I could just rinse it in the shower to clean off the crusties. It's been 7 months now and it's still a little tender but is doing great. Crusties are still...crusting though. I always knew it'd be a bugger to heal though, because my rook took around a year to fully settle down.
I love my piercing. The next on my list are nipples! I'm still mulling over the outer labia. One thing at a time!