Okay, so, let's be honest. This isn't going to be the most exciting
blog post because I only actually have seven piercings in total, most of them
being in my ears... But as I have talked about some of my tattoos and want to talk about them more in the future, I decided to have a quick chat about my piercing experiences.
I'm awful when it comes to
piercings because I'm always much more terrified of them than I am of tattoos,
and tattoos heal within weeks but piercings take months, and the upkeep of them
+ lazy me isn't really the best combination. Nonetheless, I've gone ahead and
gotten pierced recently despite this. There are quite a lot that I'd like, but I don't think I'll get them, but that's going to be another post entirely in itself.
LOBES
I have two piercings
in each lobe, the standard and the upper lobe. I'm not sure if that's the
technical term for it, I have seen it being referred to as that before but I'm
no expert - piercing names are always so complicated, especially when it comes
to the ears as there's so many, haha. I got my first piercing at age I don't
even know, my mum thinks I was in the middle of high school but no way, it was
so much earlier than that, I think I might have been 11-13. I remember wanting
them done for ages,
nagging my mum about it constantly until she eventually relented. I don't
really remember much about the healing or what it was like getting it done. I
got my upper lobes done quite some time later when I was still in high school
(I left school for my sixth year) maybe around age 16, I think it was somewhere
like Jenners that did it, or Debenhams, whoever does piercings! Again, I don't
remember that much about it, but because I was older I know the healing wasn't
as scary to tackle this time round. I had no problems with either of these
piercings, and they healed well without any issues.
HELIX
OMG. This was
probably my worst one. Not in terms of the pain of getting it done or anything,
like any piercing, it's over in seconds. It was the healing. It actually took
about a year to heal, which is somewhat normal, but the average healing time is
6-8 months... I can't remember how exactly it all went, but I do remember one day,
when I thought I was in the clear, I changed it to a, I don't know the exact
name, but it had a thicker bar, and the front had a little screw on ball
instead of a butterfly back. Anyway, the thicker bar obviously changed the
piercing, so when I tried to go back to a regular stud, it went really gross
and had puss and wasn't healing properly until I put the thicker bar back in. It's
totally my own fault. Nowadays I still have the thicker bar in, and I defo
won't be trying to change it, like, ever! It's now perfectly fine and I'm
still glad I got it done cos I think helix piercings look really cute, but the
healing experience sort of puts me off getting further piercings - certainly
stopped me from getting my nose done for long enough! Also, I just spent like
half an hour going through old photos (dating back to when I was 16) and
because I took almost everything with a webcam and always had my hair covering
my ears, I cannot tell about my helix and what age I got it pierced. I
definitely got it done before I got my second lobe piercing, because I got my
first lobe & helix done at the same place, who stopped doing piercings by
the time I got my second lobe piercing... so, maybe 15?
NOSE
I thought about
getting my nose done for ages. Honestly, I've always liked them but always
thought, nah, too much effort. After the hassle of having my helix pierced and
how long it took to heal, I didn't think I'd ever get another piercing again,
even if it was partly my own doing that it was such a trial. I always thought nose
rings were particularly cute, but really didn't have the energy to look after
it. It was more of a sort of whim thing, really. I went into Studio XIII and
got my small tattoo done right away (this was around October 2014), and then
ended up deciding to get my nose done. I got a small silver ring put in (of
course) and the piercer, Sarah, was really cool about it. She told me what to
expect, told me to take a deep breath, and then pierced it. She was really
efficient and mellow about everything and told me how to take care of it and
not to change it for six months (which I had no intentions of doing anyway!).
I've always heard mixed opinions on what you're supposed to use on the
piercing, with some people recommending salt water, and others saying salt water
was really bad for it and all this. I was recommended Saline Solution which you
can buy from Boots for, like, £2.99. It was sore for quite a while which made
kissing a little awkward haha, and at one point I got a little bubble on the
outside of my nose. I dunno what that's all about but friends' with nose
piercings told me that they had it too and it would go away. It did go away...
Like, four months later >< Nonetheless, it did take about six months to
heal, and now it's a breeze! I haven't changed it, and I probably won't because
I enjoy my silver nose ring and don't want a stud or anything. I'm really glad
I got it done though, as I love it!
TRAGUS
My most recent
piercing, I got my tragus done in September 2015. It was over in seconds! I
went to Studio XIII as per and was pierced by Sarah again, who was as chill as
always. She marked where she'd pierce it, I OK'd it by looking in the mirror,
and once she prepared everything, she told me to take a deep breath. It was
pretty nasty to get done, like, the pain lasted for a second but you could
really feel the
needle going in. Oh, and you could hear the
crunch of it, haha! It was horrible! But like I said, it was over in seconds,
and the ring was in. It bled a fair bit the first few days. I applied saline
solution three times daily, like I did with my nose, using a cotton bud.
Surprisingly, it wasn't difficult to sleep on for around the first month and a
half, and I didn't really have any issues with it being really uncomfortable or
anything either. I had some problems after that period with not the piercing
itself but a spot on my tragus, which was really annoying! I dunno if that's a
common issue, as I didn't really look into it and just looked after it how I
would a regular spot whilst continuing to maintain the piercing separately. It
wasn't actually an issue with the piercing itself, it just seemed like a
separate spot that was next to it! It was very uncomfortable at times and still
bled a fair bit, but about four months in it started to clear up. I hated not being able to wear headphones as well!
So that's it, that's all of the very few piercings I have. I feel my experiences with piercings are so much worse than my experiences with tattoos. I suppose, though, it's a hole in your body. I just wish that they healed faster, I hate how uncomfortable and sore they are as they are healing, it sucks!
What are your worst & best piercing experiences?!
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