What I have done:
Left ear: Tragus, Triple Reverse/Forward Helix, two Lobe piercings
Right ear: Helix, two Lobe piercings
First Lobe
I got my first lobe piercing when I was a baby, very much like most little Asian girls. Its like a rite of passage. I've stretched the piercing so I can wear navel rings in it, as I love that look.
I first time I had done this was alllll the way back in school, when me and my best friend Charlene had started watching Taiwanese dramas, and in particular, Devil Beside You, which starred Rainie Yang. She is just one of my all time favourite Asian actors, and is so so so pretty and talented. She would wear navel rings in her ears, which is what got us interested in it. So there started both our journeys collecting navel rings. (Google Rainie Yang earrings and you will see)
On an everyday basis I wear a 16g labret bar, as I cannot sleep with earrings in as they dig into my skin. So the labret bar are just so much more convenient, and I don't have to worry about putting earrings in every morning.
Helix
The next thing to get done was my helix. This was not one I put much thought into, and got done at claires when I was 14, pretending I was 16, so I've had it for 8 years now. Not that I didn't have parental consent, just that it wasn't a piercing they did for under 16's, and as I found out later, one they had stopped offering.
->They did it with a gun, which is a big no no for that part of the ear. The gun could shatter your cartilage when it goes through due to the force. I believe that the gun is what made my experience so painful.
-> It took more than 9 months to heal.
-> I couldn't sleep on the same side of earring for that amount of time and it was just plain annoying.
-> Hair gets caught in it easily, and therefore tugs, making it worse.
-> It took me ages to be able to change the earring, going on I think 1&1/2 to two years.
-> I would even experience some bouts of pain upto a couple of years ago.
->I would wear normal earrings with it as thats what Claires put in for me. This is also incorrect as it is supposed to be a barbell or ring, which is a bigger size, gauge, than that of a normal earring. Normal earrings are 18g (1mm), whereas helix ones are 16g (1.2mm).
-> I only changed the bar to a 16g one last year, and that was quite something as I was forcing it in, and thus causing more pain. But after that passed, there is no more pain.
After writing this down I realise what an ordeal it has been, but no matter what, I love this piercing, and am considering a second.
Charlene has gotten hers done as well, and her experience was not as horrible as mine. So I guess the factors stated above really make a difference.
Update (1.06.14): we both went and got the second helix done together yesterday and the lady commented on how 'dainty', thin, her cartilage was. This comment was not passed onto me, so it is a possibility that my thicker cartilage is also a factor.
I first time I had done this was alllll the way back in school, when me and my best friend Charlene had started watching Taiwanese dramas, and in particular, Devil Beside You, which starred Rainie Yang. She is just one of my all time favourite Asian actors, and is so so so pretty and talented. She would wear navel rings in her ears, which is what got us interested in it. So there started both our journeys collecting navel rings. (Google Rainie Yang earrings and you will see)
On an everyday basis I wear a 16g labret bar, as I cannot sleep with earrings in as they dig into my skin. So the labret bar are just so much more convenient, and I don't have to worry about putting earrings in every morning.
Helix
The next thing to get done was my helix. This was not one I put much thought into, and got done at claires when I was 14, pretending I was 16, so I've had it for 8 years now. Not that I didn't have parental consent, just that it wasn't a piercing they did for under 16's, and as I found out later, one they had stopped offering.
->They did it with a gun, which is a big no no for that part of the ear. The gun could shatter your cartilage when it goes through due to the force. I believe that the gun is what made my experience so painful.
-> It took more than 9 months to heal.
-> I couldn't sleep on the same side of earring for that amount of time and it was just plain annoying.
-> Hair gets caught in it easily, and therefore tugs, making it worse.
-> It took me ages to be able to change the earring, going on I think 1&1/2 to two years.
-> I would even experience some bouts of pain upto a couple of years ago.
->I would wear normal earrings with it as thats what Claires put in for me. This is also incorrect as it is supposed to be a barbell or ring, which is a bigger size, gauge, than that of a normal earring. Normal earrings are 18g (1mm), whereas helix ones are 16g (1.2mm).
-> I only changed the bar to a 16g one last year, and that was quite something as I was forcing it in, and thus causing more pain. But after that passed, there is no more pain.
After writing this down I realise what an ordeal it has been, but no matter what, I love this piercing, and am considering a second.
Charlene has gotten hers done as well, and her experience was not as horrible as mine. So I guess the factors stated above really make a difference.
Update (1.06.14): we both went and got the second helix done together yesterday and the lady commented on how 'dainty', thin, her cartilage was. This comment was not passed onto me, so it is a possibility that my thicker cartilage is also a factor.
Update (16.04.15): It’s been 11 months since I got my
second helix done now, so it’s about time I updated this and mentioned how this
one healed.
->
A lot better than my first one.
->
It was a proper bar, and they froze the area before piercing it.
->
It did become infected, several times actually, but sleeping on it was a lot
easier. I would cover my ear with plasters for the first month or so when I washed
my hair so shampoo wouldn't get into it and increase risk of infection.
->
I was able to change the earring a lot sooner, a lot, about 2 months after. I
switched it to my usual labret gem so it was in tune with the other earrings.
-> I've found that my ear does better with bio-flex bars than metal ones. Which
might be something you might want to look into if you find metal ones irate your
piercing.
Tragus
I never actively pursued looking for new piercings at this point in life, but I had seen it once on a customer in New Look and fell in love. I'm sure there were other factors as well. I vaguely remember Charlene talking about it. So we decided to go get it done together. She chickened out and ended up getting her second (or third) lobe done instead. She eventually got it done though. She's kind of a piercing junkie like me! Got this when I was 19, and in my third year at college.
So I went and got it done at a proper piercing place this time. Dolly Rockers in the Oasis Market in B'ham. It was £24.
-> They froze the tragus area, I'm not sure what with, and used a needle.
-> It wasn't a nice experience, but not painful.
-> I was virtually pain free after the first couple of days, and sleeping was not an issue.
-> 16g earring
-> Easiest to use with a labret bar earring that screws in front, if using a bar. It makes putting it on so much easier.
-> For me, this was a very easy piercing to deal with, and is probably my favourite.
-> Earring wise I've gone from ball, to a flat stone, to a flower, to a heart. I love the flower, but felt like it was time for a change. However, the heart was not a look I liked on me, and reverted back to my trusted flower.
Second Lobe
I can't remember when I got this one done, but again, not a painful one. I don't understand when people say that lobe piercings hurt. But I guess everyone varies. Like my first lobe, it is also stretched to fit a 16g earring.
I think I want a third one done.
Triple Reverse Helix
This was one I had been considering for agessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss, after seeing it on Pinterest.
And definitely not a rash decision. First of all its three piercings. Three times the money. Three times the pain. Three times longer. The actual experience of getting this done was the worst so far. I got it done at Devils Own in Leicester in 2013 when I was 20.
-> Cost me £60 for all three. Its normally £25 per, but because I was getting them done the same day I saved £15.
-> It was also frozen, so it dulled the pain
-> However, after the second one I felt like I was going to pass-out/puke, maybe both. The lovely guy offered me a glass of water and we took a break. After 5 minutes, we did the third.
-> This took a while to heal. I think it kept getting infected as there would be puss around the piercing, under the skin, for a while. It eventually healed though.
-> I think that the one main advice would be to go to someone who had done this piercing before. Mine hadn't and I feel that the placement of the earring, and the angle is a bit off. Its not a huge issue, and one that I've dealt with.
-> 16g earring
-> Choosing earrings for this one was so difficult. Because of the angle, most earring backs would show. And I did not want that. The earrings that I first had were metal labret bars, which were way too long. I then tried short ones, but still didn't like them. The next thing which I wore for ages were retainers with a small crystal. Retainers are made from plastic bars, so they are supposed to be more or less invisible. But I could still see them, and so ended up cutting the round bits of the flat back, making that bit smaller and hence less visible. I have eventually moved onto using nose bars. These are a lot smaller, perhaps a 20g, so smaller than a normal earring. However, these are perfect, and look like how I want them. I would suggest getting the bars that have a little ball at the end as to keep them from falling out. I had to go through the hassle of losing the ones you bend so many times and it was so annoying.
While they look like what I want, they do not look like the picture I had originally seen.
Left Ear
Yes, my earlobe has a bit of extra skin on it. I was born with it :)
I realised after looking through these that all my earrings changed! Not just the reverse helix.
I'm thinking of changing my helix to a ring rather than a bar. I did buy one but cannot find out how to open and close it. I had to use my pliers to pry it open, I am not putting that in my ear. The one ring I have been lusting after though, is this by Maria Tash. I haven't seen anything like it before and its just gorgeous. The price however, not my cup of tea. At nearly $500, I think I'll get over it.
Labret bar earrings worn in lobe and helix from here
Tragus Flower from here
Nose studs used as earring from here
Feather navel ring from here
Charlenes Ears
I never actively pursued looking for new piercings at this point in life, but I had seen it once on a customer in New Look and fell in love. I'm sure there were other factors as well. I vaguely remember Charlene talking about it. So we decided to go get it done together. She chickened out and ended up getting her second (or third) lobe done instead. She eventually got it done though. She's kind of a piercing junkie like me! Got this when I was 19, and in my third year at college.
So I went and got it done at a proper piercing place this time. Dolly Rockers in the Oasis Market in B'ham. It was £24.
-> They froze the tragus area, I'm not sure what with, and used a needle.
-> It wasn't a nice experience, but not painful.
-> I was virtually pain free after the first couple of days, and sleeping was not an issue.
-> 16g earring
-> Easiest to use with a labret bar earring that screws in front, if using a bar. It makes putting it on so much easier.
-> For me, this was a very easy piercing to deal with, and is probably my favourite.
-> Earring wise I've gone from ball, to a flat stone, to a flower, to a heart. I love the flower, but felt like it was time for a change. However, the heart was not a look I liked on me, and reverted back to my trusted flower.
Second Lobe
I can't remember when I got this one done, but again, not a painful one. I don't understand when people say that lobe piercings hurt. But I guess everyone varies. Like my first lobe, it is also stretched to fit a 16g earring.
I think I want a third one done.
Triple Reverse Helix
This was one I had been considering for agessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss, after seeing it on Pinterest.
And definitely not a rash decision. First of all its three piercings. Three times the money. Three times the pain. Three times longer. The actual experience of getting this done was the worst so far. I got it done at Devils Own in Leicester in 2013 when I was 20.
-> Cost me £60 for all three. Its normally £25 per, but because I was getting them done the same day I saved £15.
-> It was also frozen, so it dulled the pain
-> However, after the second one I felt like I was going to pass-out/puke, maybe both. The lovely guy offered me a glass of water and we took a break. After 5 minutes, we did the third.
-> This took a while to heal. I think it kept getting infected as there would be puss around the piercing, under the skin, for a while. It eventually healed though.
-> I think that the one main advice would be to go to someone who had done this piercing before. Mine hadn't and I feel that the placement of the earring, and the angle is a bit off. Its not a huge issue, and one that I've dealt with.
-> 16g earring
-> Choosing earrings for this one was so difficult. Because of the angle, most earring backs would show. And I did not want that. The earrings that I first had were metal labret bars, which were way too long. I then tried short ones, but still didn't like them. The next thing which I wore for ages were retainers with a small crystal. Retainers are made from plastic bars, so they are supposed to be more or less invisible. But I could still see them, and so ended up cutting the round bits of the flat back, making that bit smaller and hence less visible. I have eventually moved onto using nose bars. These are a lot smaller, perhaps a 20g, so smaller than a normal earring. However, these are perfect, and look like how I want them. I would suggest getting the bars that have a little ball at the end as to keep them from falling out. I had to go through the hassle of losing the ones you bend so many times and it was so annoying.
While they look like what I want, they do not look like the picture I had originally seen.
Conch
You know how I said don’t get piercings without first thinking about it? My own advice went out of the window here. I got into town after an appointment one day, and was like, yeah, I'm going to Blue Banana and getting my conch done today. And that’s that. Done at blue banana in Birmingham in February 2015, paid £10, due to a deal, this is probably what made me go get it done.
You know how I said don’t get piercings without first thinking about it? My own advice went out of the window here. I got into town after an appointment one day, and was like, yeah, I'm going to Blue Banana and getting my conch done today. And that’s that. Done at blue banana in Birmingham in February 2015, paid £10, due to a deal, this is probably what made me go get it done.
This was
one hell of an experience.
->
They didn't freeze it. There was no freezing. I should have run away then and
there. So please guys, ask if the piercer freezes your cartilage first.
->
I actually screamed this time. I've never screamed before. It was more of a
gasping scream than a long scream, but it happened. The cartilage in this part
of ear is MUCH thicker; probably one of the thickest parts, so there is bound
to be pain.
->
I was given my papers with a bag of salt and instructions on how to clean it,
and I left.
->
There’s a Tesco opposite so I thought I’d go get some Paracetamol to help with
the pain. Welcome horror story. I was on the escalators and felt something cold
running down my neck. I touched it and blood. I hastily asked one of the staff
if I was bleeding and she said yes, and walked away. Like it was normal. Could
have at least offered to help. So my panic attack started. But I'm cool headed
enough, so I made my way to the windows where they had some sort of railing
going round where I placed my bag, got some tissues and a mirror, and cleaned
myself up. All the while still thinking I was dying. I've never bled from a new
piercing before so I was not prepared. I sorted myself out, took a picture of
my tissue to send to all my friends, got my pills, and left.
->
There was no need to cover this piercing, and healing was a lot better than my
helix. This is probably down to location, where by the helix gets a lot of
pressure on it when you sleep, the conch does not.
->
Changing the earring was a little difficult, as sometimes the earring wouldn't find it was through to the other side.
->
Infections were common place, but never too bad. I've put a bio-flex bar in it
and the infection is going away splendidly.
Left Ear
Yes, my earlobe has a bit of extra skin on it. I was born with it :)
 |
| This is my ear a few days after getting the triple reverse helix, wearing curved barbells. Wearing a straight bar with a ball in my tragus, flower navel ring, and normal pink studs in my lobe. |
 |
| First attempt at a new set of helix earrings. Wearing clear metal labret bars tragus earrings in triple helix and tragus, with normal pink studs in my lobe. |
 |
| Second attempt. You can see that one is a metal earring and the other two are plastic. You can also see that the skin around the top one is a bit swollen. This was 5 months after getting it done. Was wearing blue 'retainer' earrings in two of the lower helix piercings, and the same clear metal one as before in the top piercing, with a flower bar in my tragus, blue stud, and feather navel ring in my lobe. |
 |
| Most recent tragus earrings; using nose studs. New flower bar in my tragus, same as before, but one stone fell out when I changed it. Wearing two labret bar earrings in my lobe, one is clear and one is blue. |
I realised after looking through these that all my earrings changed! Not just the reverse helix.
Right Ear
 |
| Wearing all three labret bar earrings. |
I'm thinking of changing my helix to a ring rather than a bar. I did buy one but cannot find out how to open and close it. I had to use my pliers to pry it open, I am not putting that in my ear. The one ring I have been lusting after though, is this by Maria Tash. I haven't seen anything like it before and its just gorgeous. The price however, not my cup of tea. At nearly $500, I think I'll get over it.
Labret bar earrings worn in lobe and helix from here
Tragus Flower from here
Nose studs used as earring from here
Feather navel ring from here
Charlenes Ears
 |
| She has her rook pierced as well, and look! 9 piercings as well. From what I've heard from her and other people, it was one of the most painful piercings, and while I do want it done, I don't think I want to go through that quite yet. |
I hope that this has inspired or helped you guys in deciding on piercings!
Much love, Nigar
Much love, Nigar
i actually love them all. but I love piercings, would get tons but can't handle the pain. had to close down one in my cartilage because it just wouldn't heal. so sadly only have four, out which i only wear in three (because I lost the fourth one and never got a replacement (it's been 5 years since the loss)).
ReplyDeleteThe tragus one was so painless! As long as they freeze it first anyway. But if you do wanna get something done, I would totally recommend the tragus.
DeleteI didn't used to like the look of pierced ears. I even tried closing the ones I have. But recently, they've grown on me. I've been meaning to get a second lobe piercing for a while now.
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