My Industrial

At A Glance Author Venus Contact venus@distantcorners.com Artist A very attractive young man Studio 23rd Street Body Piercing Location Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

I just moved to OKC from Tulsa for college, and I came here with the knowledge that there is a piercing studio several blocks away from my college - so wonderful! So, one day during orientation I decide to stop in and get my industrial done.

I had been wanting this piercing for a very long time, and decided that "hey - i'm starting college and a new life - why not celebrate with a new addition to my ear!"

I walk in and tell the man behind the counter of this *BEAUTIFUL* studio what I want, and he tells me how much it will be. It's more than I have in my wallet - I start thinking about how much that sucks and then begin to negotiate w/ him - he asks me how much I have and he charges me five dollars less than that! What a super guy! My experience is already fantastic! He also went over aftercare with me very thoroughly, which I always appreciate, even though I have been pierced many many times - I feel that it is always good to hear the opinions of another person - and like me, the staff there are big sea-salt fans.

I go into the piercing room with the piercer, admiring the cleanliness and largeness of the room - much larger than that of my usual studio in Tulsa (which I love and adore!). I sit on the table, and the piercer marks my ear with a toothpick and some purple ink in *just* the right spot - I tell him I approve and he tells me to lie down. I can't wait for this - my first cartilage piercing!

I lie down on the table, and he tells me to breathe really deeply and that he will pierce on my exhale. He pushed the needle through the first hole - this had to be the most painful pierce I've felt, but it was exhilirating - I didn't cry, but rather breathed very deeply. He lined the needle up with the second mark and asked me if I was ready - which I was - and told me to breathe in really deep and then out which is when he pierced it - about equally painful as the first - so no big deal, but twice as exhilirating. He then put in my barbell and "rearranged" my ear as it had been kind-of bent up with the insertion of the jewelry.

I have had the barbell in for 5 months (not quite enough time to heal, but enough time to get used to it being there) and my healing has been wonderful. At first I was cleaning it with Dial in the shower and then soaking it w/ sea salt solution, but discovered that the seasalt solution was what was working the best and what felt the most soothing. Getting used to sleeping with this piece of metal through my ear was difficult at first, but I found a way to sleep so my ear doesn't get all sore and swollen. Looking at the pierce in the mirror, it looks to be healing quite nicely. It doesn't hurt at all anymore, but sometimes I will have days where it is a little red because I slept on it or something *not so intelligent* - but I just wash up and soak it and go on with my day! In the beginning I got crusties quite frequently, and I would soak those with salt water until they softened up and peeled right off.

Let me add, that during set-up for the procedure the piercer dropped the needle on the ground. He simply said "I hate when that happens", picked it up, threw it away and grabbed a new one. Of course, he changed his gloves a countless number of times which, to me, is a sort of security blanket - cleanliness is godliness ! (Or so it's said.) Everything was properly sterilized, everything used on me was fresh and clean, a sign of a good piercing studio.

If you are EVER in Oklahoma City and want to get pierced, 23rd Street is a great place to get it done. The staff is friendly, professional, and helpful - and the studio is BEAUTIFUL - including the large reptile tank they have behind the front counter.

I have not been back to this studio for any more piercings simply because I realized after this experience how comfortable and close I had gotten to my other piercer in Tulsa - and decided that 1.5 hours is not too far to go to get some holes poked in my body. I almost felt like I was betraying the studio there by going to another one...maybe I get too attached to these things - who knows.

I have had SO MANY compliments on this piercing - it's amazing how many people you can meet and become friends with because of interesting, "unusual" piercings.

If you have any questions, just email me!

-venus