This experience is fairly long. Strictly, it's two experiences but they tie together with what I learned from the first, I applied to the last. I kept as much detail as I thought relevant (if you would like more, leave me an iam message. b13) because the experiences here on BME that I liked best and helped me most were rich with technical details and mistakes. My mistakes are here for you to learn from.
At A Glance Author b13 IAM b13 When N/A Artist Myself Studio My Bathroom Location West Yorkshire UK I wanted large lobes for years but didn't want to wear rings or barbells until such time as plugs were possible, probably 6months to a year. Then a few years ago I saw on BME, a labret scalpelling by Tom Brazda. That got me thinking. The idea of scalpelling my lobes sat in the back of my mind for a couple of years. It got left so long for various relationship, employment, health and financial reasons. Eventually I ordered 8mm (roughly 0ga) plugs and Duval forceps from Wildcat in the UK. I already have scalpels from an on-going scarification. The arrival of emla cream from BMEShop (at an amazing speed!) prompted me to try it out on my ears.
The first problem I encountered was getting an air-tight dressing around my earlobe. After washing my hands with antibacterial soap then diluted dettol, I eventually managed it by applying the emla to the front and back of my lobes and covering it with a small strip of cling-film, looping from front to back. I tried adhering this to my ear with surgical tape (micropore) but it is not air-tight so I sealed the edges of my make shift dressing with sellotape. While the emla worked it's magic I made a mental note of the time to take off the dressing (1hour from now). Then I prepared my tools and working area. Note: I am aware that I was not working in a sterile or semi-sterile condition and the risks I took. I washed my hands, the forceps, scalpel handles, plugs, stretching horn, and bathroom sink with neat Dettol then rinsed them with warm water, dried them with kitchen roll and placed them on the shelf which I had covered with kitchen roll and the shelf of the sink. I then fit ted the no.10 and no.11 blades to the scalpel handles. I also laid new blades within easy reach. I spent the next 45mins calming myself and eating pasta while going through the procedure repeatedly in my head.
When the time came to remove the dressing, I washed my hands as before, removed the dressing, swabbed the lobe with Dettol and lo and behold, only the lowest portion of the lobe was numb. The emla had worked it's way downward to form a small sac of goo doing absolutely nothing. I marked 2 dots wide enough apart for an 8mm plug, clamped and lightly drew the scalpel across my lobe. I certainly felt it, but the pain wasn't too bad. A small amount of blood appeared that was contained within the access area of the forceps. I nearly gave up at this point, because I'm not too keen on pain and it's always easier to quit than to carry on. I tried the scalpel again and realised I could do it.
I was cutting in a way that I never planned. I intended to pierce all the way through the lobe at one point then 'saw' to the other point. What I actually did was cut from point to point repeatedly, until I reached the thicker outer skin at the back. When I reached the thicker layer, I used the method I originally intended. I inserted the stretching horn as far as the forceps would allow to check no skin was still attached across the opening.
Now I knew as soon as I removed the forceps, I would start to bleed. I did not realise just how much. A constant stream of thick, dark blood made it difficult to insert the plug. Then to my dismay, although the entry hole was spot on, the exit was too narrow. I didn't want to force the horn through because it was at least 2 gauges further. I knew I needed to slice just another mm or so to make it fit but the blood made it difficult to see. So I removed the 6mm plug from my labret, (not really a clever thing to do) cleaned it with Dettol, rinsed and popped it in my lobe after a small stretch with the horn. Washed my hands, shot some pics, and placed the rubber rings and cleaned up the mess.
Didn't sleep too well that night. I like to move around while I sleep.
The next night I thought I'd try the 8mm plug in my right ear and have a couple of weeks rough sleep instead of a month or so. I had a very close look at the size of my lobe to see if 8mm was too large initially, I decided it wasn't and there was enough skin between the piercing site and the edge of the lobe to stretch with in the future. I wanted to use emla properly this time even though the pain wasn't something to worry about with the left ear. Mainly so I could work quicker as the 1st time took almost 1hour.
I made a square of Sellotape approx. 10mm x 10mm. Put two 2cm wide strips of cling film across it about 1cm apart and stuck the centre gap on the underside of my lobe. This would stop the emla sliding under my lobe. I squeezed enough from the emla tube to cover the back of my lobe, attached the sellotape patch to the back of my lobe and the side of my head and neck. Repeated with the front. Sealed around the edges with more sellotape. Note: Sellotape (or any tape for that matter) does not like facial hair. Damn my stupid sideburns. I ended up having to bridge them with tape. Should have shaved. Same prep as before while emla works. I left it on for about 1h45 this time.
The emla had worked! My lobe was completely numb. I knew I had to work fast now. Mark up, swab, clamp, deep calming breaths. The first incision went quite deep, deeper than I expected. It was going well. I kept going care fully but quickly all the way through as I was aiming for 8mm. This hole seemed huge but I wanted to avoid the problem I had last time with the back hole being narrower than the front, so I angled the blade in a way I thought would even up the size of the entry and exit. I also cut in both directions to try to make the hole evenly sized right the way through.
When I removed the forceps this time I was ready with the plug. Remove forceps, blood, insert plug. Rear hole too small, but only by a small amount. Dip the horn in KY Jelly and run it through. There was a slight stretch but I knew that would help stop the bleeding. I ended up having to insert the plug from behind, as it Refused to go in from the front. The rubber rings were fairly difficult to get on because blood is very slippery. I now had an 8mm plug in my ear. The road to large lobes has begun. I cleaned up, waited for the bleeding to stop as again the front was slightly too wide. It took a couple of hours to stop completely, then I slept.
I woke up bleeding. Nothing too heavy. But constant. I had work to go to, it was 7am, I start at 8, I won't stop bleeding. I spend 45 mins mopping blood from my ear with kitchen roll. It still will not stop bleeding. I take a stash of kitchen roll to work with me and spend until 10:30am catching blood. Then it stops. After work I decide not to try removing the scabs as they seem to be the only thing stopping the bleeding.
It's now two weeks since the first lobe was done. I'm still sleeping mostly on my back. I've had a few setbacks with plugs being accidentally pulled out during sex and in clubs. But on the whole, healing well. In a few months, I'll start stretching.