I went in for my industrial a week ago. My best friend and I had an urge to get new piercings, so we had booked a few days ahead for me to do an industrial and for her to do her tragus. The appointment was for two thirty, so I called her at two to head out and she tells me she has a class and that's why we booked it at five. I am pretty scatterbrained, so I figured I got the times wrong and waited for her to finish before heading to the shop.
At A Glance Author Anna Contact Anna@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Deacon Studio Tora Tattoo Location Waterloo, Ontario We get to Tora and I start talking to the guy at the front desk. I said I wasn't sure if I had the right time and he told me it was fine to get it done now, but my friend would have to wait. During this time, Deacon starts measuring my ear and figuring out how he wants to pierce my ear. I fill out the forms and into Deacon's room I go.
Deacon has me sit in his chair and at this point I start getting nervous. I am really not good with needles and was having memories of getting my nipple pierced months before (which hurt...a lot). He spends what seems like a lifetime cleaning and disinfecting my ear. I don't think anyone has ever paid so much attention to my ear before. As we're talking, he starts telling me how he's going to pierce it. He tells me the piercing is going from my rook to my conch, at which point I realize he's got me mixed up with someone else. I had intended on doing a helix to helix industrial (snug?). I mention this and he tells me he can grab a new ring and if I want to do that. Then I started to think about it and realized that a vertical industrial would be even nicer. So on a whim, I decided to get a vertical industrial. I think Deacon thought I was crazy to just change my mind like that, but my friend told him not to worry – I'm very spontaneous and I won't regret this. (Tha t's a personal thing though, for a lot of people it's not good to make quick decisions) So he marks up my ear and gets more equipment. He used some funky tongs that he told me are usually used for septum piercings that will make this a bit easier. He tells me he's going to pierce my conch first and tells me to take a big breath. Before I can take a full breath, he's pierced me (which is great. I was so anxious, I'm glad he didn't do a countdown or something that would totally freak me out). Getting through my conch hurt a fair bit. It was pretty thick so I could feel the needle going in slowly. He then gives me a moment to calm down and gets ready to pierce my rook. This time, the needle didn't hurt at all. I don't think I fully realized it even went through my ear when it did. He then added the barbell. I checked it out in the mirror and absolutely FELL IN LOVE! This is definitely my favourite body mod so far (two tattoos and now two piercings). Deacon took a couple pictures of the ring and then went over aftercare instructions. This didn't take long – we had talked about aftercare as he was preparing my ear. It's pretty similar to any other piercing – saltwater soaks, wash with spectrogel, don't sleep on it etc.
When I got home, I realized that I had no gauze to use for soaking my ear, so I just tipped my head into a cup of saltwater and cleaned it off with tissues and lots and lots of q-tips. It bled for a couple days but it's fine now. I bought some gauze and now soak those with saltwater to make a form of compact to take care of my piercing. It's a lot easier and less awkward than the cup. The only problem with this ring is it's difficult to clean fully. I can't see the back of my ear too well, so it takes a fair bit of time to clean that part.
I've spent the last week trying to show off my piercing. Even though my ear is always visible (I wear my hair up), people rarely notice it. Most people just tell me that it looks really painful. The first person to notice it and compliment it was actually my prof! That was definitely weird. Already though, my friends are starting to get used to it and liking it. I think it looks pretty unique, it's somewhat discreet and looks beautiful from the back. If I don't want people to see it, I wear my hair down and it's not noticeable at all.
I would highly recommend this piercing, so long as you are willing to truly take time to take care of it.