Conch piercing questions

Lip Piercing, Belly Piercing, Nose Piercing, Tongue Piercings and more.. (Non Ear Stretching)

by akPhilly » Wed Sep 26, 2012 4:15 am

I've been wanting to get a conch piercing for a very long time,but I don't know if it's going to work out for me-the skin on the inside of my ears in that area get somewhat oily,& believe it or not,when someone's skin produces too much oil,it can cause peeling & flaking.It's basically similar to if someone has any kind of dermatitis of the scalp,often times it's due to too much oil.So basically,to reduce it,I just have to keep my ears from getting too oily,so my concern is that if I get my conch pierced,that it's just going to be too difficult for me to keep my ears clean without irritating the piercing.I don't know how similar the healing process would be to an industrial,but if it's anything like that,I know it's not something that is the fastest healing,& I just don't know how difficult it'd be for me to care for without irritating it.Because if I didn't keep my ears less oily,the flaking would get worse,& that probably wouldn't be the best thing for the piercing,& at the very least,a mess.I don't mean to gross anyone out by saying all this,but it's something I've wanted for a long time,but I don't want to go through all that if it's just not going to work out for me.Also,when someone has their conch piercing stretched,is it basically the same process of stretching your earlobes,or do you have to get that thing where it makes a big hole in it all at once,cause I don't think I'd want to do that.
AkPhilly,
Philadelphia,PA
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3/4" (19mm) earlobes
14g industrial
12g tongue
7 tattoos
retired septum (though considering resurrecting it :),monroe,navel

WANT: both conchs,& microdermal,& more tattoos!
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by corazon_de_oro » Fri Sep 28, 2012 4:27 pm

I don't think it would be good big of a deal... if you do sea salt soaks and clean the piercing it should keep your ear from getting too oily. You could also just take a q-tip and clean around the piercing every now and then.
It's possible to stretch a conch piercing but cartilage takes a LOT longer to stretch than earlobes. Like, my right conch is over 3 years old and I still don't think it'd be ready to stretch. It's easier with cartilage to just get a dermal punch if you know you want a large gauge piercing.
I'm Lindsay.
I have 1/2" lobes and 11 piercings: left helix x2, both conches, both nostrils, septum, navel, and VCH.
My lobes are small but I know a lot about stretching and how to do it safely, so message me if you have any questions!
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by akPhilly » Sat Sep 29, 2012 7:44 pm

Wow,I guess piercings like that just take a long time to heal-it took my industrial a long time to fully heal,& the cartilage on the conch area seems to feel thicker.I don't think I'd do a dermal punch-I've seen it on videos,& I don't think I could do it.Plus,dermal punching seems to be a method that some say is fine,& some say isn't good,& I'm going to say it might be a safe bet that the piercing place near me may not do it-they do a whole lot of different piercings,some of which I've never even heard of,but they're so strict & by the book that if that method is the least bit controversial,I'd bet they don't,but who knows.And that's the only place in my area that specializes in piercings only.There is this other place,but it's shady,& the owner's a real whack-job.But I may at least try-I guess I could always take it out if it was too difficult,& I should do more research on it-some say that the reason oiliness causes peeling is because the natural bacteria's on people's bodies can feed off the sebum,& therefore making the skin die faster than normal.
AkPhilly,
Philadelphia,PA
Image
3/4" (19mm) earlobes
14g industrial
12g tongue
7 tattoos
retired septum (though considering resurrecting it :),monroe,navel

WANT: both conchs,& microdermal,& more tattoos!
akPhilly
 
Posts: 202
Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2012 10:18 am

by corazon_de_oro » Sat Sep 29, 2012 8:32 pm

Well dermal punches are perfectly fine for cartilage, just not lobes. Basically, if it's easy to stretch, you shouldn't punch it, but if it's hard tissue like cartilage that can't be easily stretched, a punch is your best bet. I always tell people to stay away from punches in lobes because they remove tissue that you'll wish you had later, and lobes are easy enough to stretch that there's really no need to do that. That's why it's better to pierce soft tissue with a large gauge needle that doesn't remove any flesh. But with cartilage, a dermal punch is usually better than a large gauge piercing because a piercing with a needle will put more stress on the fistula since the tissue is just moved to the side rather than removed, if that makes sense. I've actually heard of people doing tiny (like 14G) dermal punches for cartilage just because it's easier to heal.
Honestly, most people I've talked to who've had dermal punches in cartilage say it's not that bad, even though it looks pretty gruesome. I don't think the healing process is any more difficult than a normal piercing either.

I don't know where you live but in the US it's kind of hard to find a piercer who will do dermal punches. My piercer actually says they're illegal here and she's a member of the APP so I'd think she knows her stuff. But punches are pretty common in other places, like the UK.
I'm Lindsay.
I have 1/2" lobes and 11 piercings: left helix x2, both conches, both nostrils, septum, navel, and VCH.
My lobes are small but I know a lot about stretching and how to do it safely, so message me if you have any questions!
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corazon_de_oro
 
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Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2009 12:21 am
Location: Huntington, WV

by akPhilly » Mon Oct 01, 2012 2:49 am

I live in PA,so if they don't tend to do it at most places in the US,I'd doubt they'd do it at the place I go to.I've seen it enough times on Youtube,but maybe they were in Canada,or it wasn't done legally.I'd originally thought a conch piercing was the one where they make a hole at the very top then another at the very bottom sort of behind your earlobe& connect it vertically w/a barbell,but I don't know what that's called.I like that one,but I think just a regular conch piercing would be a whole lot easier-it'd probably be really hard to clean any flaky skin w/a barbell kind of blocking everything.They can do it w/a teeny short barbell right?I think I'd rather have that than where you'll see a hoop going around the whole outside of your ear.
AkPhilly,
Philadelphia,PA
Image
3/4" (19mm) earlobes
14g industrial
12g tongue
7 tattoos
retired septum (though considering resurrecting it :),monroe,navel

WANT: both conchs,& microdermal,& more tattoos!
akPhilly
 
Posts: 202
Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2012 10:18 am

by corazon_de_oro » Mon Oct 01, 2012 3:46 am

The one with two holes that you're talking about is usually referred to as a vertical industrial or conch-to-conch industrial. Industrial or scaffold is just a word for any two piercings connected by the same barbell. I agree, those are very cool piercings!
Yes, you can have your conch pierced with a small barbell or labret. Mine were done with 16G labrets. It's actually better to have them done with labrets/straight barbells instead of rings because rings move around too much and can prolong the healing time.
I'm Lindsay.
I have 1/2" lobes and 11 piercings: left helix x2, both conches, both nostrils, septum, navel, and VCH.
My lobes are small but I know a lot about stretching and how to do it safely, so message me if you have any questions!
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corazon_de_oro
 
Posts: 1743
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2009 12:21 am
Location: Huntington, WV

by akPhilly » Tue Oct 02, 2012 4:16 am

Well,I like the little barbells or labrets better anyway.I looked up the vertical industrial,& there's even more variations on that piercing than I knew-some start at the conch,some on the top & go through your rook too,& others too.It does look really cool,but I think just having a little ball inside the middle part would be a whole lot easier.
AkPhilly,
Philadelphia,PA
Image
3/4" (19mm) earlobes
14g industrial
12g tongue
7 tattoos
retired septum (though considering resurrecting it :),monroe,navel

WANT: both conchs,& microdermal,& more tattoos!
akPhilly
 
Posts: 202
Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2012 10:18 am


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