After being an absolute sucker for symmetry when it comes to modifications, I decided I desperately needed another nostril and another conch piercing to set my balance back to normal after feeling wonky for a while! Today I decided to take a trip into Holier Than Thou in Manchester's Northern Quarter, my favourite shop! I introduced the girls who work there to my friend who wanted a pierce and a stretch of an old tragus from them, but ended up not getting anything done after she saw my stabbing and it put her off.
At A Glance Author ruby IAM ruby When It just happened Artist Kate Studio Holier Than Thou Location Manchester's Northern Quarter, UK I asked them about getting my other nostril done, but they didn't have the jewellery and Kate wasn't prepared to pierce me with the only 1.2mm internally threaded labret bar they had, which was steel and also 10mm long, which in hindsight would have been far too long for a nostril piercing anyway. I understood her point and placed an order for an identical piece of jewellery to what I already have in my left nostril. I then asked her about cheek microdermals as opposed to cheek piercings, but she told me the success rate was extremely low on them due to the high movement of the area, which I understood completely.. And eventually I got round to asking her to do my other conch, which Kate said she'd happily do with a labret bar, as last time Marcus did it with a barbell and I had to get them to change it after a month of an angry ear!
I used my IAM discount card and paid before I went in, which I think makes the experience a whole lot more worthwhile if you don't have to come out and pay afterwards! After filling out the form I'd seen far too many times Kate led me into the studio and I sat down on the bed, taking off my white cardigan as I didn't want to run the risk of bleeding on myself! I asked her a few different questions and we talked about allsorts of random topics that really helped me to calm down and clear my head. I always find that the staff at Holier Than Thou are easy to talk to and will happily answer any questions you have about almost any topic! They also have the amazing ability to calm you down and prepare you for the experience ahead. After my last conch was so painless and easy, I was worried I'd led my guard down on this one and it was going to hurt a whole lot more than I remembered last time, which Kate admitted was a problem with getting matching piercings.
Kate did several glove changes throughout the procedure, as is the strict regime for all Holier Than Thou staff! She marked me up as symmetrical as she could with the purple ink and cocktail sticks, and after looking in the mirror and much deliberation as to whether the dot matched my other hole, I just told her to "Stab in that general area!" as I was sure she'd probably get it as near as she could anyway, as my other conch is in a pretty recognisable position (exactly level with the tiny curve of cartilage in my ear, as well as being sat in the deepest part of my conch bend). I realised I was feeling exceptionally calm at this point, when normally my palms would be sweating and I'd be getting nervous – I wasn't even sure if this was a good thing! I sat back down on the bed and Kate picked up the needle and told me not to worry. She told me to take a deep breath, which I did with extreme noise just to confirm to myself I was ready! And as I exhaled she pushed it through smoothly; much to my disappointment this one didn't 'pop' either! The pain was slightly more intense than I remember last time being too, and I got my first head rush, even though I'd eaten some Chinese food and a bit of chocolate before going in, but thankfully I wasn't a fainter by nature so I didn't worry about ending up on the floor!
Kate popped the needle into the sharps bin and fitted my jewellery (a labret bar) which was a lot easier than last time, even though it still pinched a bit! I bled a bit more this time, which is unusual as I'm not normally a bleeder. Kate said it was likely it was down to the increase in temperature, which made sense as last time it was freezing cold in January. She held some gauze on my ear and once I'd clotted up a bit I was set to go. My ear felt as though it was pulsing for quite a while afterwards and I had to buy some ibuprofen that I'd forgotten to take with me!
I said "Bye!" to the girls and said thanks; hopefully I'll get a call soon to tell me my jewellery for my double nostrils has arrived!
As always, the service and standards at Holier Than Thou was impeccable – I've yet to find a fault!