Piercing Piercing Experiences Ears Conch Industrial

I got my first piercing; a vertical conch to conch industrial (like I said) pierced on July 18th, 2000, then got the single barbell on August 11th. I don't think that this was the best choice for my first piercing just because it hurt lots and took a lot of measuring and such that I really wasn't used to, but I am incredibly happy with it now and its feeling really good. Its getting toward being healed(I think . . . ), the top hole feels really good and hasn't had any crusties for quite a while, the bottom one is taking a little longer but I think its just about there too . . .

As for the actual piercing experience, Im not going to say that it was the most positive experience in the world, but for that I have no one to blame but myself, I was really quite nervous, and kinda pumped at first but that kind of faded after a little while in the chair. There was a lot of measuring needed, that im really glad he did, but personally, I don't really enjoy people poking around on the side of my head, especially when I don't know what they're doing, so that sort of bugged me. As well as the inevitable pain, of course the actual piercing really hurt, and I wasn't really prepared for that. I almost passed out, which again was my fault, apparently it would have helped if I ate something earlier in the day, but I was nervous, what can I say . . . Rob was really good, he made sure I was ok, told me when to breathe and when he was going to put the needle through and everything, and didn't seem to mind taking a little break after the first one was done (after I just about passed out), we went outside, he had a smoke, and just took it easy for a little while which that helped a lot. The second one(the bottom) didn't hurt near as much, but I think that's just because I knew what it was going to feel like and I relaxed quite a bit.

I kept thinking that he was actually piercing it when he was marking it, because I was paranoid and didn't know what it was going to be like, and the pen/measuring thing felt kind of sharp... I've heard people say they could hear like the crunch of the cartilage when the needle went through, I, personally, didn't hear anything. I just felt sort of a hard push, then like a burning sensation. It hurt lots, but the pain only lasted an hour or 2, if that.....(I think), then not at all, unless I touched it (cleaning....).

As far as the aftermath goes, it went really well, I pretty much cleaned it with bactine twice a day (still do . . . ), and followed Robs instruction, didn't play with them, didn't touch them, etc . . . At first he put in 2 barbells, which I hear is pretty typical, and im really glad he did that too, I don't think I could have handled cleaning both holes at once without messing things up, as well as, I think the barbell fits a lot better than it would have if he did it all at once. I haven't had any problems with it, besides mistakenly trying to put my earphones in(about 2 months after getting the single barbell), behind the bar and I think that might be why the bottom is taking longer, it didn't really hurt physically, but im pretty sure it hurt the healing a bit . . . Even despite that though, it feels really good . . .

It's a bent 16 gauge barbell, he bent the ends so it would fit(the piercings weren't totally in a straight line, which sort of bugged me at first but then I realized it was for the better) the ends are angled and the middle part is vertical, so it looks like it's a straight, vertical, bar from the front, because the bends are really close to the skin so you almost cant see them, but you can tell if you look at the back, it doesn't match up.... It still looks really good, and nobody really sees the back anyway(my hair covers my ears)

Even though I read a lot on B.M.E. before getting it done, I don't think anything can prepare you for the actual feeling of getting pierced. It does hurt, lots, but its sooooooo worth it, im really really happy with it, I love the way it looks, I love the way it feels, and its amazing. I would recommend this to anyone who really wants it, sure it hurts, but it looks soooo cool and the pain doesn't last forever. As with all piercings though, know what your getting into, make sure your piercer knows what he/she's doing, and take care of it!

I've now got an orbital in my outer cartilage, parallel to the industrial, and its doing well, he just went straight to the ring with this one, and it seems alright. Next Im going to get either a lobe orbital, again parallel to the other 2, or maybe an orbital around the industrial, or an industrial through the orbital, or maybe just a big lobe piercing, like 6 or 4 or so.... I don't know, I'll figure it out when I get money.....
-Steve