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First of all: Happy 2024, everybody! 

    Instead of a review, I thought I'd start things off with something personal, something I'm pretty excited to share here on the blog. Back in 2015, I got my very first helix piercing. It's something I eventually took out because it wasn't really healing nicely. I mean, I got it with a piercing gun (I know, major red flag!) so I should've expected that it won't heal very well. It was prone to bumps, always very sore, and uncomfortable and honestly, it was not worth losing literal sleep over. A few years after taking it out, I got my second lobes pierced (with a piercing gun- again) and although it wasn't my intention to get them removed, I left them earring-less for too long that they closed up pretty quickly. I do intend to get them re-pierced in the future but maybe after I fully heal the latest piercing- or rather piercings I got!

    This piercing has been a long time coming and it's one that I've always wanted to get: an industrial. I just think that this piercing is so cool and in a way androgynous and it just fits my vibe, I guess. I mean, the conch, tragus, and rook piercings are cute and all but personally, I don't think I'll get them because they'll just prohibit me from using earbuds/earphones and you know what won't? An industrial, exactly.

@shaunnekimberly Gifted myself a piercing I've been wanting for a long time. Merry Christmas, self! 🎄 #piercing #industrialpiercing ♬ all i want for christmas - 𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗯𝘆 || 𝟭𝟭.𝟬𝗸

    I've always envied Linda Hallberg's and Ayesha Curry's industrials and the one that really pushed me to getting it is Ulya (aka Mama from TikTok!) so after our Christmas 2023 hotpot + grill lunch, I went to the tattoo and piercing shop to get it while my sister and her kids are getting their haircuts haha!

    The piercing shop I went to was RakisTattoo in Ayala Malls Feliz and although I only wanted to inquire, I just went for it before I could talk myself out of it. The process took around 15 minutes or even less and the pain, for me, wasn't too bad. Afterwards, the pierced areas were sore and tender, my ear was red but there was no bleeding whatsoever.

    Two weeks in with this piercing and let me tell you, the rumors were right: healing helix piercings are a challenge. I'll delve into this more on my next post regarding my industrial but long story short: it was, pardon my French, a bitch. My industrial got infected and dealing with it was something I'd never want to experience again (but let's be honest, I probably will again in the future)- like, no joke, it made me almost want to chuck the barbell out. But good news, I dealt with it and it's now looking and feeling better!

    Even though she still gets a little sensitive from time to time, I'll patiently deal with her tantrums because I love this piercing so much! Love how it adds a little touch of pizazz on my ear and I love how it looks when paired with the little ear crawlers I got in Baguio. I also cannot wait for it to heal so that I can shop for new barbells! But for now, yep, this is my sixteen day-old baby and she's a beaut!