So recently I just got my left cartilage pierced (on Nov. 16, 2K13). I thought that it would be an interesting idea to share this experience with you, and I also thought that this would be a lot of fun.
I got my cartilage pierced at a professional tattoo&piercings shop with a 16 gauge needle. I personally don't recommend getting your cartilage pierced at Claire's, Icings, or even Piercing Pagoda because they all use guns, and those are more traumatic for your cartilage than a needle. A hollow needle actually removes the skin and bone where your piercing is going to be, when a gun pushed the earring directly in your ear. Having your cartilage piercing done with a gun can and possibly will make your cartilage shatter.
My piercer marked my ear with a marker, and sanitized everything and pulled out a clean, new needle still in the packaging. The told me to breathe continuously and before I knew it, my piercing was done. Of course, I still had the needle in my ear, but that actually didn't hurt much. A part I clearly remember is feeling the needle go through the first layer of skin, the bone, then the last layer of skin. It didn't hurt too bad, but it was a strange enough sensation. I got a silver flatback for my initial earring - when he put in the earring, that was the worst part. I would say maybe a 2 out of a 5 pain scale, which really isn't that bad. It felt hot and a bit sore throughout the day, but nothing unbearable. Here's a picture of the piercing, right after it was done -
Cartilage piercings are notorious for being extremely irritable and easily infected. The healing period is a lot longer than a regular lobe piercing. You have to be very careful for the first several weeks to not pull or tug at it, and clean it vigorously. To clean it, I use H2Ocean (around 10 dollars from amazon.com) twice or three times a day. I spray a bit into a clean cup so I don't waste anything, and let a Q-tip soak it up. Then I push the earring to the back (VERY GENTLY) and clean the front part. Then I push it forward (ALSO VERY GENTLY) and clean the back. Then I make sure that the ball part is still screwed on tight (ALSO VERY VERY GENTLY). Then I leave it alone - try your best not the touch it!
Something I realized really early on from having this piercing is that it gets caught on EVERYTHING. I'm going to have to wear my hair up for several weeks so nothing gets tangled up while the piercing is still fresh. I'm super careful when pulling on and off my shirts, and keeping my hair from the piercing at all times. The second day of having the piercing, I was just out of the shower and was putting my hair up with a towel, but it got caught in my hair and pulled so hard that I started crying. Holding your phone up to your ear while calling people is a problem too. I slammed my phone up to my ear once and I freaked out because it hurt so badly. The piercing is really sensitive so try to keep your hair pinned from it until it heals a bit. Here's a picture I just took of my ear -
Yes, I did get my second holes done the day after my cartilage piercing. I got it done at Piercing Pagoda,where I got my first holes. Piercing Pagoda, unlike Claire's or Icings, use one-time use guns so there isn't any chance of other peoples' blood or anything getting on to you. I felt safe about that, and because I had good experience there my first time, I felt okay with going there for my lobes. But for cartilage, DO go to a professional place with a needle!
As you can see in the picture above, the redness has gone down significantly. It's been healing nicely, absolutely no problems at all. It's still tender to the touch, which is expected. I've had some crusties lately, but that's a sign of healing so I'm good with that. Overall, I LOVE my cartilage piercing and how it looks, can't wait until it fully heals (which can take up 6 mo-1 year). I'll keep you guys updated soon, and thank you for reading! :)
