Ear Piercings

I think it’s about time I tell you about a new obsession of mine, since that’s what this blog is for. This obsession involves paying a stranger to put metal through my ears, which is weird, but I am totally loving it. Some of you might remember a post I did ages and ages ago in which I mentioned that I’d had my second ear lobe piercing done (back in February) and it all kind of took off from there:) The way I’m wording this makes it sound like I have like seventeen piercings or something. I don’t, I have six. Just to be clear.

So, I thought it might be interesting to write down everything I know about my ear piercings and stuff, if any of you are interested. Also, about 45% of my tumblr is now just pictures of peoples ears and I thought that maybe I needed to address that.

I got my ears pierced for the first time when I was ten. It was kind of a bribe from my mom, because I had to move to a new school for year 6 and I was really not happy about that:) I had it done at Claires who were really great actually. They used a gun, which, I promise, is totally safe for your ear lobes. That also means that your ear is pierced with the earring, so there’s no messing around with the needle. Each little ‘gun’ is packaged and only used once, so it’s perfectly safe and hygienic. The procedure was completely fine too, I think the most painful thing was the little countdown they did:) My ears were done at the same time by two different people, so it was literally over in seconds. I can honestly say that I didn’t even feel it,  it was just a very quick pinch and then it was over. The after care was really simple, I just had to use the solution on my ears twice daily for six weeks. That sounds awful but when you get into a routine you don’t even notice.

My second ear lobe piercing was exactly the same, except for the fact that it was four years later and the ear piercing chair was on the other side of the shop. It was also slightly more painful because of where it was on my ear, and it was more ache-y for an hour or so afterwards, but other than that, no problems.

This is the part where it gets a little bit more interesting. I had my cartilage (helix is the fancy word, I think) pierced about eight weeks ago at a place called Signatures. Originally, I was going to go to Claires again because it was familiar, but I did a bit of research and realised how dangerous it would be to use the piercing gun on your cartilage. What it does is basically force an earring through you ear, which is fine for your ear lobes, but it can shatter the cartilage. I went to Signatures instead, and the lady who worked there was really professional and brilliant. She basically froze my ear (which is the weirdest feeling ever) and then used a needle. This basically removes a tiny section of your ear, which sounds horrific but it’s so much safer than a gun. I barely felt it, it wasn’t until afterwards that it ached a bit. I bought a completely different after care solution from her, because she said that the stuff from Claires was useless. I never had a problem with it, but this new one was in a spray can and it was way more convenient. I had to use it twice a day for two weeks, every day for the next two weeks, and then every other day for the final two weeks. This is what it looks like-

And finally, three days ago, I had my tragus pierced! Which is awesome and I love it. I’m not going to say much more about it because my friend Cass has done a really good post about when she got hers done:) I will say though, it was definitely more painful than any of the others, but even that was just an ache. This is what it looks like-

I apologise for the really, really awful pictures. New found respect for all those people who put pictures of their ears on tumblr.

So that’s it! I realise now that this is probably the most boringly long post ever, but if you kind of skim-read you might find something useful:D There are definitely a few more piercings I want, (second right cartilage and left auricle) but I don’t think they’ll happen for at least a year or so. We’ll see:)

X