Two of my dream piercings are rook and conch. I have a few questions though!

1. I'm wondering what sides I should get these on. I think rook would look too cluttered on my left, with my industrial being right there. I also think conch would make that side too "chunky" (I intend to wear a ring after healing), and my right side is virutally bare except for a 14g helix.

So, a) conch on left and rook on right, b) conch on right with rook on left, c) both conch and rook on right. Suggesting only one of the piercings is okay, too!

2. I'm on the phone a lot! I'm not going to be getting these at the same time, though, and I can put the phone on either side easily. But even after healing, do rook or conch get pretty pissed about long term phone use? I'm assuming so, depending on the jewelry. Especially for rook.

3. How many of you have successfully healed a rook? I'm really worried about this one.

Thanks a lot! Probably some dumb questions, but I'm really curious.

 I'm thinking of taking both at the same time, both in my right ear, this week.

I can't help you yet.

Edit: I have four lobe piercings + an industrial on my left ear, and only two lobe piercings on my right. That's why I'm taking them in the same ear. To be more balanced.

I have double rooks in my right ear, and a large part of my decision to go with that side is that I'm on the phone a lot as well. They're about 5 weeks old now, and I was shocked to discover that, although I tried to avoid it, I had no problem sleeping on them, even on the first night. I probably could have been on the phone (carefully, no leaning it on my shoulder) without much of a problem. I also have double daiths in my left ear (about 3 weeks old), and they are an entirely different story, which was surprising to me, because they're so much more tucked into the ear. Sleeping on them is ok, but not great, and being on the phone can make them really sore. I'm lucky enough to have a hands-free headset (that I normally wear on my left ear) that I can wear on my right side to give my ear a break.

Other than that, the daiths and rooks both have been behaving well. My rooks are far from being completely healed, but it's been pretty uneventful thus far. I only had a few mornings where they were pretty painful, and if you do decide to get one, be prepared for a decent amount of swelling. I know everone reacts differently, and you're considering one instead of two, but mine are still swollen (but not grossly so). 

As far as aesthetitcs go, that's entirely up to you. I only have the doubles and one lobe done in each ear, and that looks good for me. It's all about what looks good to you and where you can fit them in.

Hope that helps! Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

BTW--I highly recommend getting the rook done with a curved barbel instead of any kind of ring. They are much more stationary and will interfere with your daily life a lot less. 

 1. your choice

2. I've never had a problem

3. rook and conch were two of the easier piercings I healed.

i had my left rook for awhile and it healed nicely with a CBR in it. after healing i never had problems with it getting irritated unless something got between my ear and my pillow at night eg my headphones. so you should be find with talking on the phone. 

Wow, okay! Thanks for the responses. I've heard that rooks can be quite fussy and figured that it would be hard for me to get along with one. So, it's surprising to hear from you guys that it wasn't really difficult!

Paperwhite - I do intend on healing with a curved BB and also a straight BB for my conch (maybe even bring glass if they'll let me.). I want to take the safe road with these two!

Now I'm starting to lean toward both of them on the right, and getting them done on my birthday (October).

Feedback is still very wanted!

 Well, I don't have any personal experience with a rook, but I can tell you about my conch. 

First of all, if you have any friends you haven't seen in a while that are especially good at tight, bone crushing hugs, make sure to tell them to be gentle BEFORE they start running towards you. Not a fun pain having someone knock their head into your ear the second day it's pierced. I don't think I've ever had that knees-getting-weak-might-faint-or-throw-up feeling before. 

I have a LOT of trouble healing cartilage piercings, but my conch was probably the easiest for me to heal so far. This could be from a number of factors you might want to keep in mind.

1. I had it pierced with a 13g needle and 14g jewelry put in. This put a lot less pressure on the surrounding tissue and in my opinion, sped up the healing process a lot. As long as you don't mind a little extra blood during the piercing process, I definitely recommend doing this. 

2. I had it pierced with a barbell (which it sounds like you're going to do anyway). The rest of my cartilage piercings were done with CBR's, and while I like the look, in the future I'll be starting off with straight barbells (or plugs)  in all my piercings if at all possible. 

3. I cleaned it only with Saline, compared to SSS. While I like the feeling of a nice, hot soak, I don't think I was mixing the right amount of sea salt each time, and this contributed to problems with my other piercings. Isotonic saline is exactly the right mixture to promote healing, and I think it helped a lot.  

4. I recently (about 2 months ago) switched the jewelry in mine to a glass plug retainer, and all of a sudden, it hasn't been acting up at all. It never hurts or crusts, it's almost like it's not there at all, except when the light catches it you can see a litte hole. I cannot believe the difference. I've had it pierced for a year and a half now and I think it's finally completely healed. 

 Alright.. That's my story. I've worn a CBR in it off and on, and the main thing I've noticed is it's sore in the morning, probably from sleeping on it. As for my opinion, I think a conch and rook would look fine together in your right ear. Plus, then you only have to really worry about bonking/ sleeping on one ear compared to both. 

 Hope I helped some! 

 Yes, thank you! That was very helpful.

I've healed a double rook. Be sure to get pierced with a well-fitting curved barbell, as mine would not even begin to heal until I had the CBRs swapped a year later for a pair of CBBs. Secondly, don't overclean the area. Originally, I went q-tip crazy and attacked crusties upon first sight. This just served to irritate the area. My suggestion would be to stick with the LIMA or LITHA method. A quick, gentle splash of water in the shower should be sufficient to soften and wash away most crusties.

Regarding the potential conch piercing, I'd definitely suggest getting it punched instead of needled. Cartilage is a tricky beast. By coring out tissue with a punch, as opposed to cutting a crescent-shaped hole and pushing aside this denser tissue (as in the case of a needle), you can drastically reduce the healing time by cutting down on the pressure exerted by the healing tissue. Punches also come in very small sizes, so this is definitely something to discuss with your piercer. Any future holes in my cartilage will definitely be done by a dermal punch.

I've been thinking about getting my helix punched, but even the thought makes me nervous. It does sound like a better idea to punch a conch, but I really don't want to see the chunk at the end. Icky.

Excellent! I'm a huge fan. From my experience, punches are less painful than needles. It's actually a neat sensation. Take it from a person that's a total wuss when it comes to most sharp implements, I was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly the procedure went.

I suppose you could avert your eyes and/or ask the practitioner to keep the tissue out of your line of sight. :D

I just got my conch punched today, as a matter of fact.

It's only 12g (I was debating either 12 or 10 and figured it's always easier to take out more tissue than grow it back, especially with a punch).

 The punch itself was pretty similar pain-wise to a needle, if a little more abrupt, but because it takes a bit out rather than pushing it aside, there wasn't the pressure you usually experience afterwards, so overall a few hours later it really doesn't hurt much at all.  This, of course, will become much more pronounced as you go larger and larger gauge.

I'd take the punch any day.

 A needle takes a bit out too. Hence why they're hollow?

 I'm pretty sure that most needles make a crescent shape rather than take a chunk out. someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 Almost quite positive that for cartilidge, it would take it out, rather than just shove it aside.

Quinn? Anyone?