Piercings!
- Lauren Fran
- Jan 5, 2017
- 7 min read
Piercings. Ah, yes.
I thought, before I started the blog post properly, that I'd mention now that I am not a professional. I do not pierce people, I'm not qualified, I am simply a woman with quite a few piercings. Therefore anything I say unless stated otherwise is not fact, it is simply opinion, and anyone looking to get a piercing should do plenty of research before following through, as many piercers will give you different information about prep, after care, and jewellery.
That being said, this post will cover a variety of topics. Pain levels, healing times, jewellery suitability etc.
There'll be one or two photos of my own, but besides that all of the other photos, I have taken from the internet for educational purposes. For a disclaimer, head to the end of the post.
Enjoy!
Listing them off quickly, so you can scroll to whichever one you want (listed in order as detailed further on) The piercings I'm going to discuss today are as follows. !. side nose piercing. 2. lobe piercings (standard and upper). 3. helix (or upper ear) & auricle piercings. 4. rook piercings. 5. conch piercings (inner). 6. tragus piercings. 7. forward helix (or daith) piercings.
The photo below describes the piercings, but remember the names do change slightly, and the positioning is sometimes questionable. No matter what I, or anyone online says in terms of names and labels, it's worth simply asking your piercer what they call the piercing, as prices often change depending on the placement.
Be aware that names do change pretty regularly. What is called daith on the photo above, I would call a forward helix, and the daith isn't actually labelled.
On the left image, there is as follows: Helix (upper ear) x2 or (auricle), rook, conch and lobes.
On the right side, there are lobe piercings again, tragus and forward helix (sometimes known as daith)
1. The first piercing I'm going to talk about briefly are the common nose piercings. These are really popular at the moment, especially with teenagers, and is a little less 'daring' than a septum piercing (I LOVE those). I've had my nose pierced twice, though I no longer wear jewellery. Some piercers will use some sort of numbing cream or spray, and they should be using a needle or professional piercing equipment. NEVER a gun. Gun's aren't great for anything, but are often used for lobes, as there is only soft tissue to pierce. I'd give this piercing a pain rating of about 4/10. I've got a pretty high pain tolerance, and while I can recognise that this hurt a little more than others, it's nothing unbearable. It does make your eyes water though, and it can make you sneeze. Usually, they'll pop in a small screw stud for you until it heals, and then you can change it for a ring etc.
2. Lobe piercings. - These are the most basic piercings you can get, and easily the most common. They're the least painful, too, I'd give these a 1 or 2 out of ten, depending on your tolerance. They only pierce soft tissue, rather than cartilage, and so they heal way quicker than the other piercings I'll discuss too. Piercers will often charge £5-£15 per piercing, as you can get them singly. You can see I've got three on each ear, and you can pretty much fit as many as you want depending on the size of your ear lobes.
3. Helix or upper ear piercings - (auricle?) I've never used the term auricle for a piercing before, but after a bit of research, it seems some piercing shops will use this to describe a piercing lower down than the helix piercing (I have both a helix and an 'auricle' in the photo on the left, though the helix is pretty low too). I've bunched these together because I think they're pretty much the same thing. They're not too bad in terms of 'pain', I'd give these maybe a 4? Possibly lower. They take longer to heal than a lobe piercing, and if you're not careful are prone to developing lumps and infections etc. Mine cost £20, but they can cost anywhere between £15 - £40, just make sure you're going with an experienced, professional piercer. You can wear all sorts of jewellery with these piercings, and they're really popular at the moment. As you can see I have a stud in one, and a horseshoe ring in the other. Takes around 6 months to heal. Can take up to a year.
4. The rook piercing is similar to what I call a daith, or what many are getting for its newfound properties: the reduction of migraines. This is a little further inside your ear, and mine has currently got a ring in it, rather than a barbell. This hurt a little more than the helix, maybe a 5 or 6, as the cartilage is thicker and overall I found this area to be a little more sensitive. I did, however, find this easier to heal, as you're less easily able to sleep on it and cause irritation. This'll usually cost a little more too, mine was £25. It takes around 6 months to heal completely, as do most of the cartilage piercings, and so there's no early changing of jewellery if you don't want to cause issues. Not everyone can have this (or the daith) as the cartilage is not big enough. It's worth checking with your piercer, but if you'd like to send me a photo, I can usually tell from that whether or not you'd likely be able to get one.
5. Conch piercing - This one is a little more uncommon. This is considered the 'inner conch' and is way in your ear. It's through much thicker cartilage, and often the piercer will check your ear to make sure there's no chance of piercing through blood vessels, as they are prominent in this area. This one definitely hurt a bit more than the others, but was in no way unbearable. It was also one that took the longest to heal. I believe it was around 11 months for me in total before it was entirely pain free and comfortable. This also cost me £30, and some shops will not to do it as not all of them will have much experience with them. It's a really cute piercing, though, and different if you want to have something a little less common. I'd give a pain rating of about 6, or 7. Do remember, though, that while it hurt, it was only for a couple of seconds. It wasn't enough pain for me to react openly, or even make a sound. It just hurt a bit and was sore afterwards. I LOVE this one. It's really really nice, and looks good on everyone.
6. The tragus is another one that has come into popularity recently, and for good reason. It looks nice, you can wear a variety of jewellery, and while it's favoured, it's still not even slightly as common as the lobe piercing, so you won't find that everyone has one. I had a few problems with bumps and the like when trying to heal this, and eventually found that a mix of sea salt, tea tree oil and chamomile reduced the bump until eventually it was non existent. If you'd like to know the 'recipe' I used, or if you have any other questions, feel free to leave me a message. This healed in about 8 months, with issues, and is another one that not everyone can have, dependent on whether your tragus is large enough to be unlikely to reject the piercing. Rejections can happen on anyone with any size, though. Cost me £15 at the time, but everywhere charges a bit more for them now.
7. Finally, there's the forward helix piercings. Some seems to call these daith, but for the sake of this post, I'll stick with the former. I got mine done the other day, hence the black and white so you wouldn't be put off by any slight redness. This cost me £20, though that's on the lower scale in terms of prices. This was a little more painful for me that a helix piercing, perhaps a strong 6, and there was quite a lot of soreness for a day after. So far though, it's healing pretty well with a basic sea salt clean every so often. I can't tell you yet how long it takes to heal, but i'll keep you updated. I got this because the area that's considered the daith (migraine piercing) wasn't large enough for one, so I changed it up. I really like it, and it's one that fits my weirdly shaped ear. I thought I'd address that if anyone was wondering. Yes. My ears are very unsymmetrical. Nope, I don't care. (I'm just half elf, see). This one also tends to get tangled in my hair a lot. Sigh, issues.
I hope this helped a little if you were considering getting a piercing or two. I know it's a difficult decision, especially if you're new to the world of body modification. Remember, if you don't like the piercing, you can always take it out, and there won't be a noticeable hole after a while, as long as you haven't stretch it, etc.
If you have any questions, feel free to write me a message on the 'contact me' page, and I'll get back to you within a day or two. You can subscribe if you want notifications when anything super interesting comes out (hint hint: giveaways).
Thanks for reading! Sorry this was so long!
Lauren Fran xx
Disclaimer - Any images displayed are done so under fair use, and are there for educational purposes. There is no personal gain from this post, and no copyright intentions.
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