I get asked so much about getting my ears pierced I thought I would do a post about my experience with getting mine pierced this January. This is something I looked at doing for some time, but I was looking for a way to get them pierced and not have certain people know it. I don't think there is a way to fully hide it and by the time I actually had mine pierced I had already decided to go full time. Still, not being out to everyone it was a little awkward at first but a positive move and a good way to kick off 2012. My wife was always supportive of me getting them pierced, even before I made the decision to do it and I will say she sort of pushed me to go ahead and take the plunge. We always exchange Old Christmas presents and this was her present to me. I wanted to wait until later in the spring, but I had decided 2012 was the year I was going to come out to everyone and transition so in Tammy World we don't hold back, I went for it.
What I felt was the best advice I was getting about where to get my ears pierced was to go to a professional piercing parlor even though I would have to pay a little more. My wife was willing to pierce them herself like she did to herself when she was a teenager, but I thought better of it:) Not being a fan of needles and also very concerned about sanitation, I wanted to do it right. Also I had heard reports of less than ideal piercing from the little places in the mall etc. There are not many good places where I live and none of them had the small initial stud I wanted so on the ninth of January this year we drove up to Raleigh (less than an hour away) and I got the standard ear piercings (both ears of course) and the smallest metal stud I could get for the initial period of at least 6 weeks. You should not take them out for at least 6 weeks and the girl that did them advised I wait two months.
There was some initial shock (maybe dismay) from my parents but my mom had warmed to the idea the next day. I told them I was just going to wear them for 6 weeks and then take them out. Actually it was my intention to, after the 6 week period, not wear any ear rings around them and in certain other situations. The one friend I was hanging around with said he couldn't believe it but the reaction from everyone else was positive or they didn't notice. Few will notice or say anything so a lot of the fears you may have about that are unfounded. However, it is not anything you can hide and from my experience you can throw away the notion of being able to go without something in the holes whenever you want to after 6 weeks.
So 6 weeks went by and I was really tiring of these ear rings. They were a metal ball and I wanted to wear something pretty. I had been following the instructions to turn and clean them everyday and other than the initial sting of the needle they never really hurt. Four days after the 6 week mark I had a business meeting I preferred not to wear them to so I took them out for 4 hours. When I got home I put them back in and the right one bled and I had a hard time getting it in. So it was not fully healed and I would leave it alone for a couple more weeks. I also had trouble getting that particular jewelery out and at about the 8 week mark I was in Raleigh and went back to the piercing place and had the ball studs replaced with ones with a shining faux diamond, still very small though. These also had a shorter post that did not tend to "stick out" of the ear lobe like the others had. I think the long post is advisable initially as its easier to keep clean etc. I let a few more weeks go by and one day I tried to take the new studs out and I could not get them out.
It had been about 3 months since my piercings and I was ready to begin to wear other jewelry and not just the little studs. I went back to the piercing place yet again and got them to take the stubborn studs out and I bought a shiny diamond looking pair with bigger stones and they had a back to them and were easier to take on and off. They are also fairly pretty ear rings and I wear them all the time now. I do like that the parlor I went to will change your jewelry when you buy new ones and they also use titanium which is least likely to get infected but more expensive. I do not think I will need to go back to them unless I want another piercing. It was close to the 4 month mark before I was freely changing the ear rings and got a chance to wear my big hoops and dangly jewelry I had bought. I have 6 pairs now not including the everyday rings. You do have to sleep in them, they are a 24/7 commitment. Only people that have had them pierced for years can leave them out with no potential consequences. I just don't want to risk them growing back together and having to go through the whole process again. It takes a long time, at least a year, for them to fully heal so until then and probably beyond you need to leave something in the holes. I know one girl who's work does not allow any jewelry that leaves plastic studs in the holes, but it must be noticeable too just not as much.
So for all you that have asked, this was my experience with getting my ears pierced. I think this is everything but feel free to write me with questions on this subject or anything else. I doubt I will ever have more piercing at least not anytime soon. Some girl's have a second (or more) ear piercing and that's a possibility one day maybe and I am beginning to think about some belly jewelry in the future but we will see. Tattoos don't interest me but if I ever do get one it will be small, feminine and in a place I do not have to look at it, like the back of my shoulder....
tammy i have been there and done that at age 52 ( now 56). i started out at my ear Dr. (a "cool" Dr. with longer hair and an earing in one ear for at least 30 yrs looks like a rock star) who is with an enormous group and he sent me to the mall since he said it's a lot cheaper. guess what using the clairs solution in stead of alcohol i ended up with an ear lope infection at week 4 when it should have allready been almost healed. so back to the Dr. but since he was booked i got one of the partners who showed me that both his ears are pierced LOL gave me cipro drops and it finally healed. ever since i use a longer post on studs as the backing sort of bothers the back of the earlope if it presses on it but otherwise no problem with it so far and this is over 3 years later. i'd like to get just one more set but i need to get over the chance of another problem.
ReplyDeletealso i had to be ready for my male friends with an answer "yes i got them pierced" and "because i wanted to " LOL which allowed me to open up about being transgendered but that i am not planing on transitioning.
as my male self i usually wear small pale pink safires as it blends in with my skin tones. the only thing is the backs sometimes get pulled off when wearing noise prevention ear muffs and wool caps in the winter. to bad guys haven't gotten to the point of being accepted when wearing cute seasonal dangley fish hooks...