My Double Helix Piercing Experience

Hello there!

This is a very different post from what I usually do, but maybe it'll help some of you guys out there thinking about getting cartilage piercings, or if you're just curious. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but it's a personal preference.

Before:

• Before I actually got it done, I watched a lot of youtube videos of how the procedure is done, just so that I could understand what was happening so it was less daunting when I went into it. This might make some people more nervous, but in my case it calmed some of my fears.
• Another thing I did was a lot of research into where the best place was, and in my city it happened to be the most intimidating shop, being the one that sells bongs, pipes, novelties and punk clothing, and although this seemed like the worst place, the staff were friendly ann comforting. They took their time and care to do the piercing hygienically. This may not be the case for other shops, but just do your research and maybe even spend time in the shop beforehand.
• Bring someone with you if you're really nervous. I held my boyfriend's hand and my best friend was in the room as well, which made the whole experience less scary.

During:

• I would have to say, this piercing was pretty painful, but with doing two at once in the same area made it hurt a lot more. It's kind of an intense burning pain, and it hurts a lot more than lobe piercings of which I have two in each ear. I didn't cry because it was a bearable amount of pain.
• If you really want this piercing, it's 100% worth the pain. Don't go in thinking about how much it's going to hurt, think about how good it's going to look and how happy you'll be when it's finished. If you need to take a little break between different steps of the piercing, your piercer should be more than happy to help.
• The reason the jewellery they used sticks out so much is to account for swelling, although it's not going to swell that much, and also because using a piercing gun for these kinds of piercings is going to damage your cartilage and increase the chance of infection. Only get them to use a needle.

After:

• This piercing was pretty painful afterwards, it gave me a migraine and it felt like it was on fire and someone had kicked me in the ear, but that settled down after a few hours.
• I wouldn't recommend sleeping on the side you get the piercing for a while, as this can move your piercing around and prolong healing time. It also hurts a lot.
• They gave me aftercare spray at the shop, but you can buy it at most pharmacies. I spray it on the area twice a day, and also spray it onto cotton tips and clean up the area.
• My piercings did bleed a bit the first few days, but I did keep bumping them and I'm taking a medication that effects skin, so this may be the reason behind that. If it does bleed, don't panic, it's normal and can easily be cleaned. Don't touch the area unless you are using a cotton tip, as this can transfer bacteria and cause an infection.
• If it gets itchy, which it is for me currently, almost two weeks after the piercing, this is part of the healing process, just try your best not to irritate it further by scratching. 

So there you go! I hope some of you guys found this helpful and I'm happy to answer questions in the comments. I'm sorry my ear looks a bit dry, it's still healing.

Au Revoir!

Zoe.x