Q. Hi Jordan –
How are you? I wanted to ask something kind of random about your upper ear piercing. 1) How much did it hurt? 2) Will it not heal correctly if I sleep on the side of my head?
Thanks!
Allison
A. Truth? This piercing is pretty annoying. I love it enough that I’m willing to tolerate its annoying-ness, but that’s just me. Something that you should know before you get one yourself is that cartilage piercings take a weird-long time to heal…and I’m honestly not sure that they ever heal to the point that regular lower-lobe piercings heal; mine is a good six months old now and still bugs me if I press on it or sleep on that side (I have to sort of cup my hand around that ear to keep it elevated off the pillowcase when I sleep on my left).
I go to a hair salon where all the girls have millions of piercings, and we always commiserate about this (mostly because I’m a nut about making sure to let anyone and everyone touching my head know that they MUST NOT GO NEAR THE EAR; nothing less fun than having an upper-ear piercing yanked on mid-haircut; agggg). So I don’t think it’s just me: these things do kind of keep on being uncomfortable for a long-time post-piercing. If training yourself to sleep on the not-pierced side and being generally mildly irritated by the piercing in the long run isn’t something you’re okay with…do something else.
Like buy a new sweater; that’s always fun.
Some recommendations if you do decide to get one:
– If you’re on the East Coast, go to Addiction NYC; if you’re on the West Coast, go to Body Electric.
– Buy Provon Antimicrobial Soap for post-piercing care.
– I cannot tell you how much I love the jewelry that is sold at Body Electric; super-unusual gold, precious stone and wood designs that go way beyond what you’ll find at traditional tattoo/piercing parlors. They don’t sell it online, alas, but it’s worth giving them a ring and discussing what you’re looking for.
