Okay, first things first. My name's Cat, I'm 16 and I'm from Manchester, UK. Ever since I got my ears pierced for the first time when I was 8 I've been addicted and fascinated by all body modifications. Since then I have added 15 more piercings to my body. I have my lip pierced, my nostril, septum, tri-navel and my ears have 11 piercings all together including 2 plugs, tragus and now my left rook!
At A Glance Author Cat Contact Cat@bme.anon When A week ago Studio Holier Than Thou Location Manchester, UK So the story about my lovely rook piercing all began about 2 years ago. While looking at pictures and reading experiences on BME I came across the rook. Immediately I fell in love with it but when I read other people's experiences describing the pain I kind of chickened out. Since then I got my navel pierced 2 more times to make it a tri-navel, I got my septum pierced and I did 3 standard ear piercings myself [which you shouldn't do!]. The rook was always at the back of my mind, but I always managed to find an excuse.
My school was very strict about any jewellery, we weren't even allowed 1 set of earrings! So after I got suspended for a week for getting my lip pierced 2 years ago, I decided to wait until I left school before I got anymore visible piercings.
So the time came, all my exams were over and I finished secondary school about 3 weeks ago. The first act of rebellion I did was dyeing my hair bright red since we weren't allowed 'extreme' hairstyles and then I knew I had to get the long awaited rook piercing.
Last Saturday my friend Portia asked me if I wanted to go into town and the thought of getting my rook pierced was in my mind right away. So I gathered all the money I could find in my room and set off.
I decided to go to the studio, Holier Than Thou because it was where I got my septum pierced, they are very professional and probably the least expensive studio I have ever been to. As me and my friend walked up to it I wasn't nervous at all. Normally before any piercing I get butterflies in my stomach and get really, really nervous, but this time I was fine.
When we stepped into the shop I realised I was in for a long wait. There were about 5 people waiting with the forms filled out in their hands, and for quite a small shop, it was very crowded. So I went up to the counter and told the girl at the desk that I wanted my rook pierced. She said that I could and gave me the form to fill in. It was very thorough, it had the usual name, date of birth, address etc. It also had a check list of all possible medical issues and previous piercing problems. I signed my signature and handed it in.
While waiting I looked at all the different jewellery and chatted to everyone who was waiting. After about 20 minutes the piercer called me in to the back room. I still wasn't nervous, which was really weird for me. I didn't catch her name but that was probably because she wanted to get everyone pierced before they closed and there was about 4 more people waiting. She told me to sit on the chair while she set everything up. The room was very hygienic and the piercer was wearing an apron, clean gloves and had a mask around her neck. She got out the fresh needle, cleaning wipe, and a pen. Then she asked me what jewellery I wanted and I asked for a ball closure ring. She looked in the draws where all the jewellery was stored and chose the appropriate size ring.
She asked which ear I wanted piecing so I told her that I wanted my left rook pierced. She cleaned my ear with an antibacterial wipe and picked up the pen and marked it with a small dot. Then she told me to check it out in the mirror on the wall and see if it was exactly where I wanted it. It was quite hard to see the dot since it was on the inside of my ear and it was so small. Before, I had been worried that my rook was going to be too small to pierce because it's smaller than most people's I have seen. But she had marked it so it would be quite deep and in the exact position I wanted it.
She told me to sit on the bench and explained how she was going to pierce it, what gauge the jewellery was and that she found it easier to pierce rooks without clamps. Then she changed her gloves and opened the package with the needle inside. This is normally where I start panicking and getting extremely nervous when I see the needle but I still didn't feel any of that.
She told me to lie down on the bench and turn my head to the side so it was easier for her to see what she was doing. She told me to take a deep breath in and out. When I breathed out she pushed the needle through. Now honestly, it did not hurt! It only felt like a sharp pinch for about 2 seconds and that was it. She explained to me that the needle went through nicely and that she was going to insert the jewellery. This felt weird, it still didn't hurt but there was a bit of pressure. I heard the ball click into place and then she wiped up any of the blood surrounding the piercing. I sat up and told her about other people saying that it really hurt, but mine didn't. She thought it was funny how people always act tough to their friends saying it hurt loads when it really doesn't. So I hopped off the table and went to see my new piece of metal. It was beautiful! I'd wanted it for so long and now I had this perfect little piercing. It was definitely worth the wait.
I thanked her and went back into the waiting area. I paid the girl at the counter £15 and was given an aftercare sheet. My fiend looked horrified by the piercing but I didn't care! I loved it! Walking back to the tram station my ear began to ache a bit but nothing too bad. The cool breeze helped calm it down.
When I got home I prepared some salt-water solution and cleaned around the area. Sleeping was fine as I sleep on my right side but I was conscious not to snag it on any clothes or my duvet.
It's been a week now and I absolutely love my rook! It's healing nicely and my ear doesn't hurt at all. The piercer said that it can take from 3 to 6 months for a rook piercing to heal fully which does seem like a very long time but I can wait. I still can't stop staring at it every chance I get.
But now I'm starting to get the piercing craving once again. I'm thinking of getting 2 microdermals on my sternum, but it's going to be a while before I can afford that.
If anyone is thinking of getting a rook piercing, go for it! I know everyone's pain threshold is different but mine honestly didn't hurt that much. I love it so much!