My Worst Piercing Ever
Yesterday I went back to Tribal Rites in Boulder, CO to see about repiercing my 3rd hole from the bottom on my right lobe. The owner, with whom I had had a great experience with on my first and second trips, was not there. I had talked to the guy that was currently working before and he had been a bit rude to me on both occasions. By rude, I mean disinterested and bored while helping me. I may not look hard-core or look as attractive as the sorority girl waiting to get her "belly button" pierced, but I think I should be given the same attention as everyone else. Especially since I spend so much money on piercing (damn gold jewelry). When I arrived yesterday, I had to wait 5 minutes for him to stop talking to his friend. Ignoring all the bad vibes, I asked him if there was room to re-pierce. He looked it over and thought it would work, although I had a hard time communicating to him what I thought was wrong. I had him autoclave the ring that was in the current hole for the new pierce (the jewelry was fairly new, my decision to reuse it). What shocked me was that he took the CBR out without putting gloves on. It was a healed hole, but he had no idea where my ring and I had been. I filled out the paper work and he did not check my ID for age (and I've been told in the last 2 years that I could pass for 14).
20 minutes later we went to the back to do the piercing. I looked at the tray and every thing was in autoclave bags. He went on preparing without talking to me. He marked my ear and I asked to see it. He either didn't hear me or ignored me. I then did the most positively stupidest thing and didn't repeat my question. Then he pierced me, without changing gloves from the prepping, and without telling me what he was doing, of course. He had a hard time inserting the ring and he didn't exactly have a gently touch, either. Finally, he handed me the mirror. I wanted to scream! The ring had barely moved. I had wanted it repierced because the CBR was hanging lower than my 2nd hole CBR. He had lined up my holes (or so he said) instead. The CBR was still hanging a tad bit lower than the one in the second hole. I did tell him that the ring didn't look much different, but I didn't say how upset I was.
And that was the end. No aftercare instructions. This may have been my 20th pierce (whoo-hoo, I hit the big 2-0!), but I still want an aftercare sheet and verbal instructions. I know that I know what to do, but I've always believed that piercers have a duty to ensure that my pierce is well cared for after I leave the studio.
The new hole is very close to the old hole and it is probably only a matter of time before the CBR gets ripped back down to the original position. This whole experience was upsetting for a number of reasons. First, I'm mad at myself for letting it happen. As soon as I noticed things being a little off, I should have just left. If anything, I should have checked the mark. But I had the attitude that this was just a lobe pierce and it would be hard to screw up. I've been reading rab long enough that I know what a good piercing studio should be like. Unfortunately, I am not very assertive and now I guess I'm paying the price. Second, I now do not have a piercing studio I trust. I will never set foot in Tribal Rites again. The other studio in Boulder wasn't too great looking and I would never get pierced there. Future pierces will have to be done out of state. Luckily, ordering jewelry off the internet is easy enough. I also travel a bit so I can plan future pierces when I'm near a good studio. And third, I'm just mad that I was treated like shit and now I have a crappy pierce, too.
August 19, 1998 Update
As I was cleaning my new hole tonight, I noticed that it had indeed migrated/torn back to the original hole. I wasn't too upset because I was expecting this would happen. It's just annoying to have to do aftercare when I don't have a new hole anymore. It looks like it will probably leave a small scar. When the new hole is healed and fully closed, I might try repiercing it again -- with a competent piercer.
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