Recently I added two beautiful additions to my body. Helix to Rook industials, one on each ear. These have to be one of the most painful piercing procedures that I have ever experienced but in my mind, they were well worth the pain I endured.
At A Glance Author Rachel Contact reg1123@aol.com Artist Derek Lowe Studio Body Work Productions Location Cleveland, Ohio Ever since the first time I saw an industrial I fell in love with it. Of course until somewhat recently I had only seen the standard helix to helix kind. They have always looked beautiful to me. And although they have become quite popular, they still appear to be unique and quite stunning on most people who adorn them. When researching into industrials more however, I found that I enjoyed the aesthetic value of the less traditional ear industrials more. I discovered conch to conch, tragis to antitragis, and other industrials of the sort. When examining my ears in the mirror I decided that I would love industrials which went from my helix to my rook.
Never having seen a helix to rook industrial before I became even more interested in it. I have tried to make all of my 16 piercings unique so far, and I decided that these additions would be something that I would definetly love to have on my body. When it comes to my ears, i will not do something to one without the same being done to the other. Realizing this made me take into consideration the physical stress of having these two piercings done at the same time.
So I made the appointment at Body Work Productions for a saturday evening after work. The twenty five minute drive there seemed to take at least an hour. When I finally arrived at BWP I checked in, filled out the necessary paperwork, payed for the procedure, and proceded to the waiting room where I chated with others waiting to be pierced and attempted to ease the many butterflies that had turn up in my stomache.
Derek finally called me back and the anticipation grew knowing that I was so close to having the industrials that I've always wanted. The first thing he asked me was if I was sure I wanted them both done at once. I decided on regular 14 gague barbells and he then retrieved them from the back room. Upon his return with the jewelry, he carefully explored the anatomy of my ears and spent over a half an hour dealing with placement and such. When the placement was satisfactory to both of us we prepared for the initial piercing.
Derek had me lay down on my back for the procedure. With my head tilted we decided to pierce my left ear first. He spent quite some time with the recieving tube and needle to make sure that everything was straight and would go smoothly. When we both felt ready he pierced a hole through my left helix. The pain was not bad so I automatically thought that this would be easy. I soon realised that I was very wrong. Not knowing how painful a rook piercing can be I didn't expect much (after my conches I figured this would be childs play). When I felt I was ready he began to pierce my rook. The pain was almost excrutiating. Have a few cartilage piercings I have never heard the "popping" noise which frequents them. Boy did I hear it with my rook. All I felt was the pushing and pushing through the skin. When he was finished, The left side of my head was throbbing. But the jewelry went in smoothly and Derek gave me time to recuporate (sp?) before we started on my right ear.
After about 5 minutes of rest Derek began to check the placement again on my right ear. And again, he lined up the needle and recieving tube to begin the piercings. Starting with my helix again he put the needle though. This piercing was considerally more painful than my left helix but I was prepared for my second rook which I knew would be quite a bit more painful than the first one. And again, everything was lined up and the needle continued through my rook. Once more I heard the popping and felt the excrutiating pain, but thinking about the final outcome made it all somewhat tolerable. The jewelry was inserted, the balls were screwed on, and I rested on the chair/table for another ten minutes before Derek let me sit up to see the piercings.
When I felt ready to sit up and take a look at Derek's most recent work (He helped me to do so) I was so stunned. My industrials were beautiful! The placement was perfect and they were perfect. Of course my ears were bright red and slightly bloody, but it was all worth it.
Aftercare was considerably strenuous. I didn't touch the jewelry or use soap for three days. Pure sea salt soaks alone were reccomended. I was limited to not sleeping on either of my sides for quite some time. And they were sore for about a month afterwards. Even now, about two months after the piercings, they are still acting as though they were brand new. The swelling has dissapeared and the redness is gone however, the still experience "crusties" from time to time.
I would highly reccomend these piercings to anyone interested. Although I do suggest to keep in mind the healing and stress that they put on your body when considering this piercing. And to anyone in Northeastern Ohio, I would definetly reccomend Derek Lowe at Body Work Productions for any ear piercing needs.