#piercing fail

so when i first started getting piercings i didn't know anything that i do know and i wish i did. i've had my snug piercing for 14 months now and it has caused me nothing but problems. i got it done at a shop in a mall, not a kiosk but still in the mall. they did my helix and so i thought it was fine.

fast forward to now i have done so much research and educating myself on piercings. i have had a bump the entire time i've had this piercing and it has refused to heal. i did research myself this time (my friend found the place in the mall) and found a place that appeared much more reputable than where i went.

i had them look at my ear and expected them to tell me that my snug needed better jewlery. the guy looks at my ear for like 5 seconds and goes "yeah you actually don't have the anatomy for that piercing, that shouldn't be in there". he then went on to explain why my ear shape was wrong and that it was causing pressure and not allowing it to heal.

everything that this guy was saying was lining up way more with what i have researched than place in the mall. this guy knew what he was talking about and what he was saying made way more sense to me than the people from the mall. the guy i was talking to also knew the place i originally went to and testified that they weren't good and basically pierced my ear to get the money.

i'm basically sharing my story not only to vent my frustration at having to take out and lose a piercing that not only cost me money but 14 months of pain, but to encourage people interested in piercings to please do research and go to professionals

don't go to claire's. don't pierce yourself. don't go somewhere cheap. don't go somewhere that's just recommended by a friend/family member. don't go somewhere that uses cheap jewlery (surgical steel is just steel, it's not actually good quality). don't go somewhere that doesn't train their piercers (the place i first went had a sign that said "hiring, 18+, no training required 💀)

going to a place that you have researched and know that the piercers there have a history of doing good piercings and are trained and use good quality jewlery is the only way to get a good piercing. it's the only way to get a piercing done right. they can see what they are doing better than you can on yourself. they can also tell if you can have the piercing at all; i thought i could have my snug and i was wrong; the guy at the first place i went to thought i could have it and he was wrong.