I have gotten a lot of piercings of late. It all started when I got my lobes pierced when I was … 22? It was a spur of the moment thing too… actually not really.

I had been thinking about it for a while and I was in America with my aunty. Then, we were in the mall and we passed a Claire’s… hey! Don’t gasp! It’s already done!

I walked in and asked them about lobe piercings, and how much they hurt and the lady in the store was like let’s do it now! And I was like ok!

Yes, she used a gun and yes the jewellery she gave me to swap when the piercing was ready did immediately turn black and I had to take it out and keep in the starter jewellery for a year. It was cheap though. However, never do the gun folks, never!

My seconds, lobe, were done at Blue Banana, iykyk. They were done with a needle and omd, the healing was so much better. I was so shocked. Even the advise they gave me was better. In Claire’s they had been like you need to twist the piercing as it healed. In Blue Banana they were like leave it tf alone! I left it alone and behold! They healed better! And the healed hole for my seconds looks better.

After, that I got a third on my left ear lobe and an inner conch in my right ear. A conch is often mistaken for an orbital but it is not an orbital. That one hurt like a bitch! I went to a piercer in a tattoo shop for this one. She is my go to lady now, I will never go anywhere else. She is so knowledgeable, clean and I trust her. Oh… I skipped the belly button saga. I’ll come back to that.

So the conch, she said I had an expression of a silent scream when it went through! It hurt so bad! It was so sore for the entire day! I did it before going to New Zealand as well. I didn’t realise how much I hug people on my right side, do you know how many times I’ve hit it on the side of people’s face?!

The third on the lobe wasn’t bad, but somehow with the needle I feel like lobes be hurting more these days. It healed fast though, I literally had no issues with it and I have left it the fuck alone. The conch I had issues with, but I did leave it alone and eventually it calmed down. It was more to do with the irritation bumps and the swelling took a while to go down for the downsize.

Oh, I also heard the crunch. Only it wasn’t a crunch it was like the sound when you pierce leather. I have worked with leather and so that’s what it sounded like to me. It was so jarring.

The belly button saga, so before I found my current piercer I went back to Blue Banana to get my belly done as I’ve always wanted that. Guys, speak up if you don’t like something or are unsure. She pierced it crooked, and I can’t even be mad because I should have said something. It’s weird, it was in alignment with my belly button but not my stomach… I think I am not symmetrical. Anyway, it also rejected and became mad wonky, way more wonky than it was when pierced so I had to take it out.

Before taking it out I couldn’t sleep on my stomach. I hadn’t thought of that before getting it. You also have to watch out for it being caught on things.

I was so sad taking it out as I had really wanted one for ages. However, it also had mad irritation bumps. The belly button was the one that really taught me to leave piercings alone.

Did you know you can over clean? I feel as a black person we tend to do that more as my friend got her ears pierced, I went with her, and she later told me she had trouble. However, when she stopped messing with it by overly cleaning it, it settled down.

If you shower daily that is one cleaning down, so you only need to do one more. Like you can spray it with the saline after the shower and then once some time else and leave it at that. The shower thing only applies to body piercings as I don’t get my head wet when I shower.

I also would always put in a new ear piercing when I had braids done. Thus, I would have less chances to irritate the piercing with washing my hair. When I have braids in I wash my scalp every two weeks, so that’s two weeks of my piercing sitting pretty.

The last one I got was my helixes. I got a double helix on my left ear. They were ok. They literally did not hurt that bad. I took that as a good omen that they would heal well, and for the most part, they have. They have gotten bumps but I just clean them when they do and they calm down. I think the worst flare up I had was when I went to Lyon for an Ateez concert. I wore a hat because it was cold unexpectedly (it was January I should have expected lol). And I think the hat bugged them. However, I was able to eventually calm them down.

So, if I was to rank my piercings I would say going from bad to worse for pain, it is: conch, belly button, second lobes, helixes, third lobe and my first lobes. I don’t know what it was about the helixes but they really didn’t hurt that bad.

In terms of bad to worse for healing: belly button, conch, helixes and then the lobes. The rumours are true, it is easier to heal lobes than cartilage. The cartilages also take a lot of patience, like more than a year.

I only want one more piercing. I did want an upper conch or a flat as they can also call it. However, I wear glasses and the helixes were annoying for that when I first got them. Plus, the helixes are annoying for getting things caught in them, particularly hair, no matter if it’s braids or my natural hair. They do have a better time with my natural hair though. On an annoying scale helixes are at the top and conch is at the bottom.

So yeah, I don’t know if I want a flat. Plus, healing is annoying. My piercer did recommend a rook or a daith. I was shocked because rooks are ranked the most painful. I wonder if it turns out I would find them less painful than the conch.

But again… meh. I think a rook would clash visually with my conch. A daith would be nice and it’s in the ear so no hair getting stuck and glasses issues… but the healing…

Then there is also the stacked lobe option and that is looking the best right now. It’s not a bother, not too painful and heals quick.

My right ear feels bare compared to my left which is why I want something else. *sigh*

Anyhow, I am satisfied with what I have. I know I am not a face piercing person so I am not going to get any. I think from here on out I am more interested in tattoos. They hurt when getting them done but the pain fades after its done and then healing is just itchy.

I am glad I did the majority of piercings first, apparently there are people who get tattooed who cannot stand the pain of a piercing. That’s crazy to me.

What was your most painful piercing? And what was the worst and best healing?

 

P.S.: anatomy matters. I had wanted an industrial originally and my piercer told me I don’t have the anatomy for it. I also asked her about my belly button because I was thinking about getting it re-pierced, turns out, I didn’t have the anatomy anyway! *sigh*