Hey – so I’ve decided I want to get a piercing…nothing too extreme (for now), but a simple ear piercing to start things off. I’m a dude, btw.
So, first, how much do these babies hurt? I can deal with pain, even if I can be a bit of a wuss. Secondly, what kind of rings are there, and what do you ladies think typically look best on guys (not that this will dictate what I get, but it’s good to get a feel for it)?
Also, how long will the piercing hurt for? I have a motorcycle – would I be able to wear my helmet soon after getting the piercing? Finally, how do I go abut finding a reputable place to get this done (as opposed to some places that dips the needles in aids first or something)?
I’ve got six piercings in my ear, all of which aren’t in the cartilage but rather the usual skin flappy area. It only hurt when I was a child, but after my first pair, the others didn’t hurt…I must have had 10 piercings all in all, including the repiercings for when the holes closed up. It itched more than hurt, to me. I had mine done at the piercing pagodas that you find in malls, never had any problems with them.
Go to a body piercer. Not only will they do a great job, you might just get the hankerin’ for another one…or two…or three…
Your ear will sting a bit after the piercing and bleed a little, but you shouldn’t have any trouble getting your helmet on afterwards. Make sure to follow the piercer’s aftercare directions and you’ll be fine.
Thanks for the tip – I found one in San Francisco that has nearly all perfect reviews. They mentioned though that they use a needle instead of a gun; is that truly better? Or does it even matter?
A needle will punch a clean hole through the earlobe while the gun rips the tissue. You can’t properly sterilize a piercing gun, while the needle is used once then discarded. I wish I’d had known about this when I was getting my ears done. I had nothing but trouble with them due to them being done with a gun, and now that I’ve been dealing with professional piercers, I know better. I just got my 5th piercing in my left ear, up in the cartilege while I was in Ottawa and it’s already feeling better than any of the other holes in my ear did.
My only piercings are in my ears–one each–when I was 13, and it was the chain accessory store called Claire’s (mall store) that did it.
They used the gun. And it was more startling than painful. They used the usual extra-thick studs to do it, and told me to apply Neosporin to them twice a day, front and back, and not to remove them for several weeks…
I don’t recall any soreness or any reaction at all, really, other than the split-second sensation of someone poking me with something sharp. By the time you say “Ouch!” the pain is over already.
I should mention that I have no phobias concerning shots or needles, however.
You won’t be getting this done with a piercing gun; the piercer will use a sterile needle (you’ll see him or her pulling it out of a sterile envelope that they use for autoclaving) and a receiving tube. Your piercer will display a certificate in bloodborne pathogens and will be wearing disposable rubber gloves. You may see his/her membership in the Association of Professional Piercers. Everything used in the procedure will be laid out on a paper towel and will either be disposable (gloves, pen to mark the spot they’re piercing) or sterilizable.
The shop will have a variety of jewelry available, but you will most likely get a captive-ball ring or a fixed ball ring. The CBR is a ring with a gap in it, and the gap receives a ball with two dimples. Tension holds the ball in place. The fixed ball ring has the ball welded to one end, and the piercer bends the ends together after inserting it into your piercing.
You’ll be asked to take a deep breath and count to 3. On 3 you’ll get pierced on the exhale. Your piercer has seen grown men that think it hurts big time, delicate women who don’t even wince, and everything in between. So swear if you want to; it probably won’t bother them.
It hurts pretty intensely for a minute or two, and then it may be sore afterwards. It likely won’t bleed much or at all. You’ll have to do daily or twice-daily after care for about 6 months, according to written instructions you will be given. You will probably not sleep on that side of your face for a while.
CBRs are good if you don’t plan to change the jewelry out often (or ever). They’re kind of a pain to put in and take out, though, especially if it’s a lower, thicker gauge-- something the OP should consider if he wants to wear different things. (Then again, it’s important to leave the jewelry in for a while as the pierce heals, so a difficult-to-remove CBR is a good way to enforce it.)
Any thought by the OP on the size of pierce he wants, or where in the ear it will be?
You will probably get something between 20 and 12 gauge.
There’s a chart on this page explaining gauge in terms of inches and millimeters. IIRC, when I had my right earlobe pierced, the guy used a dermal punch at 10 gauge. But generally, unless you ask, they’ll probably give you a higher number (smaller thickness).
When I got mine done, I just went into a Claire’s in the mall, and had them gun some studs into my earlobes.* I waited the suggested 6 weeks, the forced some 14ga hoops into the tiny hole. That hurt more than the gun, and there was some superficial bleeding. I waited another month or so, and shoved some 12ga CBRs through my holes. All the while, I was taking the necessary cleaning and sterilizing steps to mitigate any infection. I think I might go up to 10ga, even though I’m happy with the thickness of the 12s.
*The pain wasn’t that bad with the gun. It felt like someone chomping on my ear for a split second, rather than any stinging. It was over as soon as it started. My wife said I didn’t even blink.
Having had both done to my ears, I 100% support 11811’s recommendation of going to a reputable piercer who uses a needle. I had four piercings in my earlobes and one in my cartilage done with a gun and although eventually the lobes healed up fine (the cartilage never did), I was plagued with complications and infections for years before that, and I was very good about after-care. Or, I should say, I followed the instructions of the teenagers at the mall who did them, who - in retrospect - had no real clue what proper aftercare was. All of my needle-piercings (ear cartilage, nostril, belly-button) healed up much better, faster, and less painfully.
When a piercer explained to me what happens to the tissue with a gun vs. a needle, he took a piece of paper and shoved a pencil through it. Look at the back and the paper is a torn mess. Then he used a hole-punch on the same piece of paper. It removes a clean circle of paper leaving neat edges behind. Suddenly it made a whole lot of sense why a needle (the hole-punch) is a far better option than the gun (the pencil). So please, please, do not go anywhere near a mall-piercer with a gun. Just don’t do it. To me it’s like allowing the kid behind the counter at McDonald’s to give you an apendectomy.
Do piercers still balk at doing anything thin? I had 14 gauge ear and tongue pierces, and (at the time), piercers use to claim anything thinner was like having a cheese slicer installed in your flesh, and a couple thought I should have had 12 in my tongue at minimum. 14 was nice and thin, and with a good snag, slice! Always struck me as a bit old-wives’-tale-esque, and in the decade I wore my tongue pierce, my only problems were chipped teeth.
Oh, in reference to the OP’s question about jewelry costs, CBRs and barbells aren’t too expensive. IIRC from a few years back, basic hardware is <$20, usually tossed in as part of the cost of the pierce. The last two times I bought 14 gauge curved barbells, I paid $10 or so. Specialty jewelry is more.
For overall pierce cost, there is (or was, circa 2000) a general feeling that one should tip your piercer, and I tipped $10 on a $50 fee that included jewelry. Some piercers will give you a little bottle of antiseptic cleaner, too.
I have a polo shirt which has magnets in the collar-instead of buttons. It gave me an idea-could you place small magnets under the skin-the, you could stick things on your skin, without piercing-has anyone tried this?
I’m pretty sure my first piercings with a needle (both in the cartilage) were done at 20 gauge.
Good point in mentioning tipping. You want your piercer to be glad to see you when you come back for another piercing.
My understanding with aftercare is that, as with tattoos, there are several options. A reputable shop will recommend a good aftercare regimen and/or warn against poor choices (Bactine and betadine are out, IIRC) and also provide approximate healing times, which differ for the various anatomical locations. The shop I go to recommends warm salt water soaks.
For anything with threaded parts that screw together (like a barbell), make sure that the jewelry is internally threaded. This minimizes or prevents the threads from contacting and irritating the pieircing.
The shop I go to also has a frequent piercing card so that the 5th one is free (but not the jewelry).
I got my ear piercings done with a gun (not in a mall, but in a pretty classy upper east side type jewelery store), and I never had any trouble with infections. They weren’t even all that sore after the first day or so…I never really got the supposed benefits of using a needle. Maybe it would’ve been different if it was some random Claire’s type store in a mall, huh?
Incidentally, they told me I could take the gold studs out after about two weeks. I waited for about a month to be safe with my first piercing and I still have my second piercings in–I’ll probably wait another week before I change that one.
