So I had been wanting a piercing for a couple months, but was told by my parents I had to wait for my 16th birthday. In those months pre-birthday I looked up piercing almost every day and went back and forth between a septum, lip ring, madonna, or a clavicle piercing. Every time I was sure I had found the perfect one for me, I changed my mind.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact iluvyourface@yahoo.com When It just happened Artist Myself Studio A bathroom Location My friend's room The night before my birthday I spent the night at my friend's house. It was about one in the morning and we decided we'd self-pierce our ears. I had never done it before, but she had so she went first. We got a lighter, one safety pin, ice, and pain reliever. Then we looked up how to self-pierce your ear on the internet. (We only looked at one page and only skimmed through it).
We took our pain relievers before piercing and then she held the safety pin over the lighter. It took her about an hour to get it through and then she found a stud (I don't know the gauges, but it was just a normal earring stud.)
While she was trying to put her earring in, I disinfected the safety pin with the lighter again. I realize now sharing the pin wasn't very sanitary even with the lighter. Then I got a pen and tried to mark the spot I wanted. The pen wasn't showing up very well, but I eventually found the perfect spot. I took the ice and held it to my ear, but I was getting anxious and couldn't wait any longer so I took the pin and tried shoving it in my ear.
It was a lot harder than I expected; I had thought it would just slide through. I got it in half way then had to pause. I paused so many times through the whole thing, its not even funny. I would push and twist the safety pin for a little, then stop. My ear turned red. It didn't hurt much at first until I finally got the tip of the pin through. Once the tip got through it hurt a bit, but some instances it hurt more than others. Whenever I took a break from trying to push the pin through, I would hold ice to my ear but mostly in the back part because that's where it hurt the most at touch.
It took me around two hours, no joke, to get that sucker far enough through. It was around three in the morning and my friend had gotten bored and fallen to sleep. I pushed really hard and then I heard this sound, more than felt it go through. I got a little freaked out because I wasn't expecting that sound. It was weird, I don't want to say it was a popping per se more like ripping, but that word doesn't feel entirely right either.
I sat and read for 15 minutes; my ear was throbbing and hurt if I tried to move the safety pin. Then I took the pin out, found a stud I liked and I found the opening of the hole. I got it half way through, but couldn't get it all the way. I got scared and took out the stud. At that point I remembered that I should have put peroxide on the stud first, so I poured some onto it before retrying.
My next attempt at getting the earring in didn't work either. That time I couldn't even get it in half way. I kept trying to find it and started to freak a bit. I was tempted to wake my friend if I didn't get it in soon. I got the safety pin again and tried to see if I could get it through, it went through the hole and the tip of it could be felt on the back side of my ear. So I took it out again and tried to push the earring through once more. I got it half way through again and my ear was starting to really hurt. I took a deep breath and moved it a bit so it was angled the way I thought the exit was and pushed.
I heard that weird noise again and it was through!! I was so excited that I just looked at it for a few seconds from different angles. Then I placed the back piece on the stud and started to ice, but decided not to. Because once I got the earring through it stopped hurting unless I pushed on it. I could even twist it (with slight discomfort, but just barely).
When I woke up the next morning (at around 11, ha-ha) My ear was red and hurt a bit, but I really liked it. My friend had given up on hers. I cleaned it with peroxide and then started to twist it because I didn't want it to get stuck in one place.
I got home and debated whether I should hide it from my mom or show her. I ended up showing her, and I was more nervous about telling her than I was when I was actually doing it. I knew she'd be okay with the piercing... just not that I didn't get it professionally done. I was right, she wasn't happy that I did it myself, but said it looked nice.
It's been a day (almost two) my ear still hurts when its moved or when I clean it, but its not red anymore. I wouldn't advise anyone to go about getting a piercing like my friend and I did. Thinking about it now, we weren't very sanitary with our choices: we shared the safety pin, did it in her bathroom and didn't clean the part of our ears we were piercing. I barely remembered to clean the ring itself and we hardly looked up any information on it.
I really like it and I hope it doesn't get infected, I think I'll be very lucky if it doesn't. All in all I'm glad we did it (even though hers didn't work out) it was a nice way to remember my birthday, although next time I will not pierce myself again partly because I don't think I'll have the guts and secondly I might not be so lucky next time. But I am going to get another piercing PROFFESIONALY done in a few days. Wish me luck!