I got my ear re re re pierced in the cartillage last night.  Yeah, I believe this is my fourth time.  Every time I got it done in the past, it either got infected or I was instructed to remove it during assignments when I used to model, so it would always close. Anyway, I went to the mall to get my ear pierced as I'd done several times in the past and was told that they aren't permitted to pierce the cartillage at shopping malls in Kansas, it's against the law. [smiley=huh.gif] I only moved here a year ago so, I was VERY surprised seeing that it's such a minor thing.  They recommeded that I go to a tatoo parlor, another surprise.  I wasn't looking forward to my tatoo parlor visit but I really wanted a new piercing so I decided what the heck.  

I went to the parlor and it was just as I expected... grimy looking guys with tatoos all over the place.  (I actually have a tiny tatoo on my wrist, but it was done in a parlor owned by a woman w/female artists so, it was still a really different environment than this) I felt a bit uneasy but in the end was actually, pleasantly surprised.  All of the guys had certifications displayed on the wall, they were all very knowledgeable about the whole process and took their work very seriously, they were even able to explain the reasoning for the Kansas ear piercing law.  Although, they were very tough looking, grimy (looking) guys, they were great and personable, it was pleasant.

The mall is a more fru fru place to get a piercing but, I was much more impressed with my tatoo parlor piercing experience and it was even less painful.  Apparently, because at the parlor, they use a needle that is much sharper than the one in the mall gun so it goes through a lot smoother and without "crushing" the cartillage. Who knew??? ::)

I'd avoid the mall piercings with the gun for any type of piercing.  Those guns are not as clean you would think.  :o

Glad your experience turned out positive.  Hopefully you won't need to have it re-done again!

I have a cartillage piercing, too.  I first had it done by Merle Normans-with a regular gun and the stud was sharp like an arrow.  I couldn't sleep so I eventually took it out.  I decided to have it redone at the piercing place where I got my other piercings:nostril, navel and upper lip (Monroe).  Turns out they only had to restretch the hole 'cause it didn't close completely.  I had them put in a captive bead ring and I love it.  I can sleep on it and it never bothers me!!
I would send anyone to a licensed piercing place-especially if that's their speciality.
I get tattooed at places that only specialize in tattooing.

Do they have you soaking it with warm salt water?

BIKERBRAID Mall guns not clean!?! Ewww, I never thought of that.   One thing my husband and I were very impressed with at the parlor was how clean they were. The guy disinfected his hands, then my ear and then he accidentally dropped the cloth on the floor.  It was funny because we both looked at him waiting to see if he'd pick up the cloth with his disinfected hands or not, but he passed the test, he left it on the floor until all was finished.

SAKINA Um, whats Monroe? I had the stud the other times as well.  I was glad they were able to give me the bead ring this time, I love it.  I still can't sleep on it yet, but it looks nice.  They pierce and tatoo at the place I went to, but they all have a specialty so the piercing guys only do piercings etc.  No, I'm not soaking in warm salt water, they gave me this H2O water in a can spray stuff to spray on my ear every 3 hours for 3 months.  I'm already slacking on the consistency though.

I just noticed that the spray is Purified Ocean Salt water, it's called H2Ocean and theres a picture of Zeus on the front.  So, I'm not soaking in salt water but I am spraying it. :)

A Monroe is the name of a type of lip piercing-it looks like a beauty mark or mole ala Marilyn Monroe.  It can be on the top or bottom lip-mine's on the top.

The salt water really helps with the healing-I never got any infections in my piercings.  I think my Monroe took longest to heal because of its location-whenever I speak or eat it gets moved around.  I had to put a cup w/warm salt water on the outside of my lip and swish it in my mouth, too.  I guess its an external and internal piercing at the same time.

Did I read that correctly: spray on H2Ocean every 3 hours for 3 months?  

It is important that you keep up the treatment, eventhough it will be inconvenient.

ooowww, all those piercings hurt just thinking about them!   I got my ears pierced by my college roommate back in 1965.   One of my children ripped one down as an infant (stupid me, wearing large loops).  Last year I finally decided to even them up (after thirty some odd years of being crooked) and got a second piercing in the lop-sided ear.  I went to the mall.  Now I have two holes in one ear (I wear a little diamond stud in the lower one) and just one in the other.  

oldkathy wrote on Oct 1^st, 2006 at 7:56pm:

ooowww, all those piercings hurt just thinking abut them!

The only one that hurt was the nostril, which feels a bit like getting punched in the nose but only for a few seconds.  I think I have a pretty high pain tollerance and having it done by pros reduced the trama, I have no doubt.

I also have two lobe piercings in one ear (left) and a single in the other.  I think I'm done with piercings, I have more tattoos I'd like to get...

Yes, you read correctly.  Is that what you had to do or does that seem extensive?  

I've found that a piercing in the lobe is more painful than in the cartillage, maybe it's just me.  I have my navel pierced also, and that didn't hurt at all until a few hours after having it done and then boy was it painful.  I wanted to go out later that evening to show it off but, I couldn't even bend over to fasten my shoes!!  Otherwise, I have a high tolerance for pain too which is amazing, because I used to be the complete opposite.

I have 2 holes in each lobe and 1 in the cartillage.  I think I want one more cartillage piercing so I can wear a stud and a hoop at the same time.

Right now, I only have one tiny tatoo of the sun on the inside of my wrist which is about the size of a quarter.  I keep going back and forth as to wether or not I want another one, I'm still undecided.  If I get another it'll most likely be a fairy or my husbands name, he'd really like that.

3 months seems too long to me, maybe it wasn't as long for me because they didn't re-pierce my cartillage, just stretched it to put in the bead ring.

I have a tattoo of a red OM on the inside of my right wrist, its about 2" x 2".  On my left hip I have a dragon, celtic style its about 4" x 4".  I wanted a dragon tattoo since I was 6 years old.  No one else in my family had one, my mom hoped it was a phase.  When I got my first real job and paycheck at 18 I promptly got the dragon tattoo.  Its just the black outline with shading, no color.  I chose the OM as my second to demonstrate to my students what OM looked like, since we chant it in every class.  I have lots of other ideas but haven't settled on one yet.

Yeah, I thought my after care Rx seemed a bit much but, I guess I'll have to get better at keeping it up though.  I don't want it to get infected.

Okay, so you got a tatoo to demonstrate what something looked like!?!... I'd say you're a VERY dedicated teacher. :)

When I had my ears done (nothing impressive: just one hole in each lobe) I was told to use surgical spirit - disinfecting the ears and the earrings.  The woman I had do it (she was based beside a hair salon in a department store) was very thorough
(she re-aligned the pen marks on my ears a few times because it didn't look right)- she asked if I had things like Hepatitis, any blood disorders, finishing with 'Have you had any immunisations recently?', which I had, so she wanted to do it the next week... which was Bonfire Night!!!  I was told to leave in the original earrings for three months, rotating them so they didn't stick to the insides of my ears, washing them with surgical spirit.
This is not all of my ear-piercing saga.  Ever since I was small, I was told that if I waited until I was 16 to get my ears done, I would get a pair of diamond studs.  The bribery worked, and on my 16th birthday, I got my studs.  Over the next weeks, I managed to get eczema precisely on my left earlobe  :-?, and it didn't go away until the end of October.  Then I went to get my ears done (the first time round), told to wait for a week, and eventually got them done eight months after my birthday!

All of your piercings sound very nice: one girl from my school a very long time ago went slightly over the top with the ears and had bars going around from the top of her ear to the bottom!   :o

Glad to hear that your experience was a pleasant one. Just goes to show you that you can't judge a book by its cover.

Actually, if I had my mind set on getting another piercing (which I do), the first place I would go is a place that specializes in piercings. I will NEVER have it done at the mall ever, ever again!!    :P

wrote on Oct 2^nd, 2006 at 4:19pm:

Glad to hear that your experience was a pleasant one. Just goes to show you that you can't judge a book by its cover.

Yep, I had that same thought :)

Good for you for making the right decision of going to a tattoo parlor for your piercing.  Those "grimy" tattooed guys aren't as bad as you think, most of them are the most respectful and artful people you could ever hope to meet.  They are also very dedicated to their professions and doing them correctly, as opposed to going to a shopping mall.  As far as I know, there is no way to sterilize the piercing guns that are used at the mall, they can be wiped down with alcohol or whatever, but they can't be autoclaved which is the only real way to sterilize.  Many nasty things are spread through those things, steer clear at any cost!

Sakina, I love the Monroe piercing, I think it is so pretty & sexy too.

I myself have about 15 or 16, I can't remember exactly without counting.  :P  I will agree that the most painful was the nose, I was stunning, literally.  Natural reaction was to pull away when feeling the pinch, it was wierd.  If I didn't do what I do for a living & have to look somewhat respectable ( :-?) I would have my septum pierced too, I've wanted that done for years, but I don't foresee that going over too well with my line of work.  It shouldn't matter, but it does.  :-/

maggie wrote on Oct 3^rd, 2006 at 3:14pm:

Those "grimy" tattooed guys aren't as bad as you think, most of them are the most respectful and artful people you could ever hope to meet.  They are also very dedicated to their professions and doing them correctly, as opposed to going to a shopping mall.

I'm so used to clean cut, nerdy ("square", as my husband says) guys that I expected the tatooed guys to be totally different.  My husband only recently, got his first tatoo but he's still a geek LOL!!  Anyway, I guess I had these images of the tatoo parlor guys being complete bad as*es, maybe spitting on their hands and rubbing them together before getting started (Actually, that was just a joke, I didn't really think it would be that bad, I just didn't know what to expect). I know, I was completely stereotyping and I'm pretty embarrassed to admit it.  But, I've definitely learned my lesson, they were really great, respectful and very professional. :)