The idea to get my conch pierced came to mind about a year or two ago. A coworker got his pierced and I immediately thought it was an awesome piercing. It wasn't one I thought I would ever get done, mainly because I was too scared of the pain. I've had many things pierced before- my ears, tongue, and navel- so I am used to varying levels of pain. I was just plain scared that getting my conch pierced would hurt way too much for me to handle. Thus, the idea was put on the back burner for future thoughts.
At A Glance Author Liz G. Contact Liz G.@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Andrea Studio Pangea Piercing Location Ann Arbor, MI About a week ago, I got the itch to get a piercing. I had gotten my helix pierced roughly 3 weeks earlier by Andrea at Pangea Piercing, but that didn't take care of the piercing itch for me. When the idea to get my conch became a final decision, I was at work, so I had to wait until after work to go over to the shop. Pangea Piercing is located right around the corner from my job, so I've been over there several times to get new jewelry, to get piercings, or to just say hi. At 2:00pm, I punched out of work, got my things, and walked to Pangea.
When I got to the store, there were a couple of people in there just chatting with Andrea. She said hi and asked what I was up to. I told her I was in the mood to get my conch done. Since there wasn't anyone getting anything done at the time, she got me right in. I filled out the normal paperwork and she gave me the aftercare form. We went into the room and she began setting everything up. Andrea used to be a dental hygienist, so cleanliness is something she is very meticulous about.
The piercing room is rather small. It has a cabinet on the wall that holds all the equipment, a storage unit on the other wall that holds the jewelry, and a small shelf that holds the liquids used during a piercing. She also has a tray for the equipment to sit on during piercing, a doctors table, and a small stool for observers to sit on if they choose to do so. As she set up the room, she was constantly changing her gloves. Whenever she opened a package, she showed me the little indicator from the Autoclave. After each package, she also changed her gloves. She had me hop up onto the table and lay down. She measured my ear for the jewelry and asked me what gauge I wanted. I decided on a 14g- not too large, but not too small. A 14g goes well with my other piercings. When she was done measuring my ear, she marked two spots where the piercing would go well and had me look at the locations in the mirror. I decided on the lower of the two, being that it was less conspicuous but still noticeable.
Following this decision, Andrea had me lay back down and she changed her gloves once again. She placed the receiving tube behind my ear, which was uncomfortable, and let me know what she was doing. She then had me take a deep breath in and as I let it out, she put the needle through. It certainly hurt, but nearly as much as my rooks or my helix. As she put the taper in and pulled the barbell through, it hurt a lot less. My ear instantly felt hot, but Andrea put something cold on it and it felt better immediately. Andrea asked how I was feeling and since I was a little lightheaded (which had never happened before), she had me lay down for a few minutes until I felt better. Once I was feeling okay, I got up and looked at my new piercing- it was awesome! It was even better than I had hoped and imagined it would be. She explained the aftercare process thoroughly- explaining the washing and sea salt processes. She also gave me a bag of sea salts to take home and use.
Throughout the process, Andrea was asking me if I was okay. She explained every step as she went, even though I had been in there many times before. She has such a great bedside manner- it's so hard to get worked up about a piercing. I have always trusted her and won't go to any other person for piercings now.
It's been a week now since I got my conch done. It's really sore, but I'm washing it like I need to and doing sea salt soaks every other day. I'm trying not to touch it, but when my ear itches, it is so hard to not touch it. The conch is more painful than my other piercings, but I love it. It was definitely worth getting!