Daith (Ear Cartilage) Piercing to Relieve Migraine Headaches?

Piercing provides pain relief? Perhaps...                                                          

Daith Piercing with curved barbell by Kathleen @ Lucky 7
Tattoo & Piercing, Kings Beach - North Lake Tahoe, Ca.

A little ways back  Lucky 7 clients and customers began asking me about the daith piercing for migraine headache relief. Not having a clue what they were alluding to - I took a tap tap tap on the Google,  fishing for knowledge..

Found an article by Rachel Moss via The Huntington Post from November 2015. In it she describes her personal experience with the daith piercing. Originally she got it for the love of the look. Finding out by chance it provided migraine relief.

 Ms Moss covered the "pros and cons" nicely. The sure sign of a proper journalist

In addition to the original article - I consumed various other writings by body piercers I respect. Basically the bottom line being: "There is NO scientific studies to prove this piercing helps provide relief to migraine sufferers". "Don't believe the hype..." and the golden oldy.."No Scientific Proof....."

Moon with Star Daith Jewelry
at Lucky 7 Tattoo & Piercing
Kings Beach, Ca

Sure - that's all the appropriate things to say. Nothing like "covering your *&%...but this discounts all the migraine sufferers who have had a real reduction in pain and who have found relief with the piercing - some with a complete loss of all symptoms.

And I speak from experience here.

Science is always telling me things I believe in "aren't real".

Remember when you lived with a bunch of other woman, and ALL your menstrual cycles synced up- so you had a group of females pmsing, bloated and being miserable all at once -

 Science says that is not a real thing. Doesn't happen

Or how a full moon seems to bring all the crazy people into your workplace - acting like they are from the Moon -  science again says there isn't any evidence of such a thing.....science wants tangible proof. Controlled studies. Sometimes that is hard to come by. Just because you cannot "prove" something is true doesn't make that thing "not true".

"Migraine" Piercing aka "Daith" by Kathleen @
Lucky 7 Tattoo & Piercing
Kings Beach, California

Here is some good news....almost all of my Lucky 7 clients have had very positive results from their daith piercings! Since the end of 2015, I have had casual contact with approximately 3 dozen of my many daith piercing / migraine clients. This contact was through  through social media, email or phone calls.  30 clients had moderate to complete relief from migraine pain. One person reported relief for a limited time of two weeks. One other had no benefit at all - but has enjoyed the look of the piercing and plans to keep it.   I have two other long time clients who have only had the piercing for one week - so it is too early to tell if there is any benefit for them.

Sure - this is no where close to being a proper trial to prove anything one way or another. Yet there must be something to it - even if it is all in the persons mind - that the daith piercing is doing something good for these migraine suffering clients. And let me tell you - a few of these clients have been in tears when telling me about the suffering they endure weekly when coming down with these headaches.

Some folks say peppermint oil helps migraines too - but no one is going to get rich peddling oils for headaches. Doctors and pharmaceutical companies make a great deal from medicine and treatments for all that ails us.

Could it be "they" do not want daith piercings being a viable treatment or cure because they won't make any money in the equation? No company will put up the money for a proper study unless they will make money on the outcome - right? Cannot patient a piercing like you can medicine.

     

14 kt Gold Jewelry for healed daith piercing. Made in USA.
Sold by Lucky 7 Tattoo & Piercing

                                               Food for thought.

If you are considering the piercing for your own well being - I say go right ahead! Make sure to find a piercer who has vast experience, good reviews online, a clean facility AND a complete aftercare program in place for you to follow during for the long healing process. 6 months is very common.

 Expect pricing to run anywhere from $40 to $80 in a quality shop (depending on where you live and the jewelry you select.)

Take a chance - be somebody baby - pierce that ear!

Daith Piercing with Crystal Ball Ends by Kathleen @ Lucky 7
King Beach - North Lake Tahoe
California

                  

Daith "Baby Elephants and Hearts" all profit from this jewelry goes to
Elephant Aid International.
purchase from Lucky 7 Tattoo and Piercing
Kings Beach, Ca 96143

                           

Daith with Fixed Bead Ring By Kathleen
at Lucky 7 Tattoo 7 Piercing
North Lake Tahoe - Kings Beach
California

"Poiseys n Heart" Daith Jewelry in 16 Gauge
@ Lucky 7 King Beach, California

So You Want to Become a Tattoo Artist....

Does the world need another tattooer? 

Well - if you bring something fresh, positive or completely creative - then yes, the tattoo world may need you!

Lucky 7 Tahoe Tattoo Apprentice
Mikey Bowden

However - if you "just think it would be fun / cool", your mom thinks you "trace real well" - or you are doing it to "make mad money" this isn't the path to travel - you are frankly not needed. Sorry for the tough talk - but I believe that is what is needed in the tattoo business these days. 

Throughout the last decade or two - way too many so called "tattooers" have crowded the industry until bursting at the seems with mediocrity. Take a walk through any crowded shopping area and see for yourself. Unsuspecting folks walking around with horrible tattoos, run down strips malls with studios offering "$20 Friday the 13th Tattoos" and shady shops opening and closing in a matter of months - (after the have burned enough unsuspecting customers with their terrible creations or breaking health department laws.) 

For all of us who have made tattooing our livelihood and lifestyle - it becomes depressing to see what we love and live for become marginalized by over exposure and over service. We have taken great time and experienced much pain to forge ahead and make a place for ourselves in this trade. SO show us a bit of respect by reading this blog entry (and any other sources you can get your eyes on) to learn about what it takes to join our very special club of dedicated tattoo professionals...

Ink Aplenty at Lucky 7 Tattoo & Piercing, North Lake Tahoe, California

1. Never stop your art studies and training. Now you would think this would be obvious - yet many wanna be tattoo artist stopped taking any art courses or searching out new mediums in high school. This will not due in major tattoo markets. Tracing a design off of flash (sheets of drawn tattoos made popular in the early days of commercial tattooing) - is no longer relevant in most shops. Every single tattoo in my shop is customized in some way. New styles of tattoos are coming and going at lightening speeds. Having a background in all kinds of art mediums helps you adapt and figure out how to create these new demanding styles. If you find it "too much trouble" or "don't have the time" to keep up your art education this isn't the career for you.
2. You must love tattoos yourself. Seems rather silly too, doesn't it? But once again, I have seen a few of these so called tattoo artists who are just trying to make a quick buck in our world without even liking the medium enough to get a tattoo on themselves! Who the hell wants to get a tattoo from an individual who has no ink on themselves? I know I wouldn't. The old saying "Never trust a skinny chef" seems to fit here. Smacks of self righteousness -  I would never hire a shop assistant without tattoos let alone a tattoo artist!

   

   Drawing on a sleeve by Russell Fortier at Lucky 7 Tahoe

3. Find a shop and artist who you admire - and get some ink done in that shop. I don't even like having a cup of coffee with a person I haven't spent at least a few minutes with let alone offer an apprenticeship to! Time and again we have youngsters walk in unannounced and ask if we would give them an apprenticeship. WHAT!?! Why will we spend years of our lives teaching you a craft and skill you will have forever and I don't even know your name!?! I can admire it taking some guts to "cold call" anyone for anything - but seriously, did you think this through at all before coming into my shop on a Saturday, looking washed out from last nights party AND with 3 of your friends tagging along behind you?!? NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN.
4.  Be prepared to work for free. YES - really. Most traditional shops are going to have you performing as a glorified custodian. Remember those is school? Well you will be the one now cleaning bathrooms, scrubbing bodily fluids from surfaces and doing everything the tattoo artist does not want to do. And the worst part? You better act like you LOVE to do these jobs. That you live to come in and clean a torn apart shop that was busy from the holiday weekend and is totaled worse than a car wreck.



Russell Fortier hard at work at Lucky 7 Tahoe

5. Think you might be able to get around all this hard work by attending a "tattoo school"? Think again...NO ONE who has any amount of respect for the tattoo industry will hire you just because you spent 2 weeks and thousands of dollars of your parents hard earned money at a so called "tattooest school". Better to offer that money to a shop you would like to learn at rather than throwing it away at these schools. You cannot learn ANY hands on trade in two weeks! All you will feel is ripped off and unprepared to all the challenges a real artist faces day to day with real clients.

Russell Fortier tattoo station at Lucky 7 Tattoo & Piercing
North Lake Tahoe, Ca.




                                                                                        

Now by no means is this a complete list - but it is a solid jumping off point to really self examine if a career in tattooing is for you. After watching many apprentices start out strong and end in a fizzle -  I can safely say a list like this would have served them well. Avoiding the mistake of wasting months and even years in training for a job they never were cut out for to begin with.

I freely welcome any comments or additions you may have. Questions are always welcome too.