Finally doing it

I got my ears pierced in 1968 on a trip to California (by a friend with a needle and an ice cube). For many many years I wore earrings everywhere. Many of them were my own design, but I also had a tradition of buying a souvenir pair whenever I went on a trip and family bought them for me as presents. So I have a ton of earrings. But as the years went by, my ears got more sensitive. I had to stop wearing the heavier ones. I swapped out all my cheap ear wires for sterling silver as I started reacting to something in the cheaper metals (presumably nickel). More and more often I found myself taking long breaks from earrings and the holes would shrink. But they never truly closed up, and I was always able to force them back into service with a pair of stainless steel posts and a little patience. But once I retired and wasn't going to work every day, there was less and less reason to put on jewelry. Then COVID came and that was pretty much the end of personal ornamentation. It's been 3 or 4 years since the last time I tried to get an ear wire through, and I think the holes are really closed now.

But I miss wearing my old favorite earrings and for a couple of years now I have been talking about getting my ears re-pierced. A tattoo shop opened in my neighborhood, and I stopped in to ask if they did piercings. They didn't, but now the idea had taken hold. So today I decided to check out the tattoo shop's recommendation: Bevel Piercings in Uptown. Their website is clear, straightforward and trust-inspiring, their schedule for the day was wide open, and they are within easy biking distance. So I did it. I made an appointment for 1:30. It's kind of expensive, but my birthday is coming up and this seems like a good present to myself. I guess it's about time to leave. We'll see how it goes *ulp*

What should an old lady wear to a piercing parlor? Black, I suppose. A band t-shirt seems appropriate for Uptown. So... the Cats Laughing shirt it is!

Everything you know is wrong

Well, that was easy. Not cheap, but easy. I biked up to Bevel Piercings, picked out a couple of tiny little titanium posts topped with opalescent blue and green, and a pleasant young man with tattoos all over his body poked them into my ears. It hurt a lot for about 1 second per ear (which was a lot less painful than when Roberta did it 55 years ago). 

But then I learned that everything we all thought we used to know about piercing ears was WRONG. You don't need to put alcohol on them or twirl them around so they won't grow into your earflesh. You just have to spray them with salt water twice a day and then leave them alone. But you have to leave them alone for 4 to 6 months, because that's how long it actually takes for piercings to heal!  Anyway, that's what Justin says.

Okay, 4-6 months seems to be on the conservative side. The Internet informs me that there are two milestones: 6 weeks to what piercers like to call "downsize," which is apparently the point where you can remove the original stud or hoop and put in a slightly smaller one. And then some more weeks or months until "full healing" has taken place, down inside where you can't see or feel it. There is unanimous agreement on the 6 weeks interval, where "most of the healing" occurs. Estimates on how long it takes for "full healing" run from 2-6 months. 

Right now, my ears don't hurt at all, not even a tiny bit. We'll see how it goes.