My Piercings & Experiences

Hello there!
So I thought I'd do a post on my piercings, my experience with them and a rating on pain etc. I am often asked questions about my piercings and so I thought why not write a post on them, as I know myself when I get piercings I love to watch videos or read peoples experiences and advice on certain ones. Fun fact, I actually am fully qualified with Studex on ear piercing, but only lobes and cartilage, as it was part of my training with my job at Claire's, but I am not qualified with piercing any other places, like other parts of the ear, nose, lips etc. But this post is just my own experiences, my own advice, and I thought it may be some use to some of you looking to get a few new piercings. Also everyone has different pain thresholds, so I will speak honestly about pain rating on each one, but like I said everyone is different but hopefully it will be a sort of guideline. And just as a reference I have quite a high pain threshold, which means that I can tolerate more pain than normal, I hope that makes sense? Or doesn't frighten anyone haha! I will rate the pain from one star to five, of course one being not bad but five being a bit of an ouch! But that being said lets crack on!


Here is a few helpful guides and diagrams on piercing names and places to refer to - PIERCING DIAGRAMS

Ears

So with my ears I did have a lot more piercings in them than I do now, but I will mainly focus on the ones I have in now, however if there is any questions you want to ask about any piercings I haven't mentioned I would be more than happy to give my advice. There are so many places you can have pierced on your ear and you can really get creative with the way you get them pierce, the studs you use and its something you can make really unique. So I'll start off basic with lobes.

Lobes - So this is the most common place to have a piercing, and will probably be your first piercing, if you had them done when you were younger or waited until you was a bit older. So I had mine first done when I was around 9 and to be honest I don't really remember it, haha. But it was only from around 16 that I started to get more lobe piercings. So I currently have 5 lobe piercings on each ear going up my ear, and thats the maximum I'll be able to fit on my lobes now and if I wanted to carry on all the way around my ear it would class as cartilage piercings. How on earth did you fit 5 on your lobes you ask? Haha. Well I have a lot of lobe space, and everyones lobes are different, but if you have more lobe space it will be easier if you are looking to get lots like myself. But if you have limited lobe space the only advice I would get is to map out your lobe. So this means measuring each gap and giving less room for big earrings. So you would only be limited to smaller studs but you would be able to fit more on, and each piercing would be pierced closer to each one as possible, but obviously not too close so it looks silly. I hope that makes sense. But generally the lobe piercing is simple and a great base to start if your looking to get more piercings around your ears. Healing time with full cleaning normally takes around 4-6 weeks which you can then change your studs.

Method - You can get lobes done with a piercing gun or a needle. I personally had all mine done with a piercing gun.

Pain - ⭐️


Cartilage - So this is more the dense bit of ear that starts from the middle edge of your ear all the way to the top, but more than likely those getting a cartilage piercing normally get it at the top. And thats what I have, I just have one hoop at the top of my right ear. But like the lobe you can get multiple earrings in that area but I would give a lot of time in-between each one, only because cartilage is a very difficult area to heal piercing wise, and you don't want multiple new piercings to irritate each-other and cause infection. With any piercing you have to take extreme care of it, and follow any aftercare advice given by your piercer, but I would say if you get a cartilage piercing its so important to clean and take care of it as its a very difficult piercing to heal, only due to it being on an area thats bone. But it does look really nice. However, it is a tad painful, not so much when you get it done but afterwards for me, its more of an ache, but it only lasts for around 24-48 hours after piercing. Healing time can vary on each person, but average healing time your looking at around 12-16 weeks with full cleaning and you can change your jewellery too from this point.

Method - You can get cartilage done again with either a piercing gun or a needle, and I have mine done with a needle.

Pain - ⭐️⭐️


Tragus - So this piercing is just that little bit of skin in the middle of your ear, above your lobe. The picture hopefully will show it better than I described haha! But this one I love, I love the look of it, and you can buy so many pretty studs or hoops to pop in there. So I had this done when I was around 17 I think, and I had it done with a needle. And with pretty much any piercing besides lobes and cartilage you have to get it done with a needle, as a gun isn't as precise and with small areas such as the tragus it would be impossible to pierce with a gun. But this one I didn't think was too bad, it was just an initial ouch and that was it. It healed amazing and I have never had any problems with it. Also just a tip, if you are a bit nervous about pain, you can find most piercing specialists use freeze spray, so the place I mostly go uses freeze spray on piercings and it just eases initial pain and puts yourself at ease also, so that could be something to think about if your looking for a piercing studio or a way to get piercings if your feeling that little bit nervous about any piercings. Healing time with full cleaning is around 12 weeks and you can change bars from this point.

Method - You can only get this area done with a needle.

Pain - ⭐️⭐️


Daith - Now, I had a trauma with this one. I went to a local piercing studio in Leeds where I was at University, and I went with friends as we was all getting one. So I went into the room and he proceeded to start, they didn't use freeze spray there which I was fine with it didn't bother me. However, he pierced it wrong twice, there was blood everywhere and it killed. Not going to lie haha! But I don't want stories like this to put people off, because I think this is a great time to mention how important it is to research piercing studios and read reviews and ask for recommendations and their experiences. Because this was a qualified studio, looked amazing, but when I got home and read reviews it wasn't good, haha! But yeah, research and feel confident with your piercer before you go through with it! I have a local one where I live and I have had near enough every piercing done with them, and they have been amazing and so professional and I know them very well and feel comfortable when I'm there. But back to the piercing, I love it now, it healed fine and I personally don't suffer with migraines, but this piercing is supposed to be amazing for reducing them as it is a constant acupuncture point. So if you suffer from migraines, I would definitely research more into that, as I personally only got it for the look.

Method - You can only get this area done with a needle.

Pain - ⭐️⭐️⭐️


Forward Helix - So this part of your ear is that little bit of skin above the tragus, like I said pictures will help a lot better! But I got this done a couple of years ago, and I love it, however you never really see it, especially when I have my hair down. But in this area you could probably fit a couple of studs, but similar to what I said about lobes, if you want a couple, it would be better to map it out so your not re-piercing to fit more or to make them look even. This one didn't hurt me one bit, it was really quick and healed really quick, especially to say it is still cartilage and is normally difficult to heal. But a lovely little one to add to the collection. Healing time is again around 12-16 weeks, similar to cartilage, and you can then change your jewellery.

Method - Unlike normal cartilage you can't have this done with a piercing gun as the space is too small. So this would be done with a needle.

Pain - ⭐️

Face

So there is so many places on the face you can get pierced, from lips to eyebrows to skin divers. I am not very helpful with this area as I have only had my nose pierced, however similar to what I have mentioned in the ear segment of this post is the importance of research. Especially with face piercings, you don't want any complications or your face to be effected by a botched piercing. So always research into the piercing, research various piercing studios, don't just settle on the first one you come across. Read reviews, if friends have been ask for their experiences, or even go into the studio or shop and speak to the piercers and see how you feel. But so so so important to look into these things, piercings are fun and can be addicting once you've started, but my advice is always do it properly.


Nose - I have had my nose done twice. I first had it done with a stud, and I didn't like it at all, I didn't think I suited it and I took it out. I had it done when I was 17. But then at the beginning of this year I really wanted it done with a hoop, as I had tried fake hoops and generally just loved the idea. So middle of this year I went to get it done with a hoop, and I absolutely love it! I love the look so much more and feel it really suits me and I am so happy. I got it done with a needle, and the pain wasn't as bad as I had thought, it did hurt a little but it was only the initial ouch and then I was fine. I went for a silver hoop, as I am not a fan of gold or colour and all my jewellery is silver, I am a silver girl at heart, is that a thing?! Haha! I initially had problems with healing but after a few more weeks, it healed fine, and is now completely healed and fine! Healing time is around 12 weeks, however like I have said everyone is different, some people may need a longer healing time and some shorter, so don't worry yourself on any piercing if yours heals earlier or later!

Method - You can have your nose done in some places with a piercing gun, however your then only restricted to studs, but you can get it done with a needle which offers either a stud or hoop. But you can get it done with either.

Pain - ⭐️⭐️⭐️


Body

There are only a few body piercings you can have, which can be skin divers, which are piercings in the skin, and the more intimate ones such as genitals and nipples. I am going to sound boring and like I am repeating myself haha, but like I've said research is so important when it comes to piercings, more so with more intimate piercings like body ones. But I do have my nipples pierced, I obviously am not going to provide a picture as I don't think plastering my boobies on my blog is the best idea! Haha! But I know nipple piercings are popular and a lot of people have questions and want to listen to experiences so heres mine haha!

Nipples - So I have both of my nipples pierced, but I got them done separately. I had one done, waited a few months and had the other done. I had them done at my local piercer who I love and trust and like I said has done near enough all my piercings. I felt so comfortable which is so important for such an intimate area to be pierced. It was done with a needle and I got a simple silver bar, as you can get hoops, but I just imagined them getting caught and bleh! But they healed amazing and I loved the look of them. I feel so weird talking about my boobs on my blog but oh well, haha! And it was a bit more painful, but not as bad as you would think. Mine healed quite quickly but normally healing time is around 12-16 weeks, and you can start to change the bars and you can get some really pretty nipple bars.

Pain - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So that is all my piercings, I hope this was helpful in anyway. But like I have said, always research and read reviews on places and piercers themselves. Read blogs like this one or watch videos and they are a helpful way to get advice and an idea of what you can expect. Always listen to the aftercare advice given by your piercer or studio, and cleaning and maintaining a piercing is so so important! But other than that, piercings are so much fun and you can be so creative with them and get some cool studs to create a unique look on your ears. I do plan to get more in the near future so I will do a part two with an update if that is something that would interest you.

If there are any other questions you have about piercings, feel free to leave them in the comments, and I will help as much as I can. I hope you enjoyed reading and it helped in any way!

Amy
x


Here are a few links that may also help and answer any questions!

Cosmopolitan - My first piercing!

NHS - body piercing advice page!

Body Jewellery Shop.com - Advice page

Youtube - Piercing advice videos!