I remember the first time I had seen transversal lobes, I was absolutely amazed that it was actually possible. I had never seen it done before and it intrigued me because it was so unique and unheard of. I myself don't really like getting what everyone else had, hence the stretching of my side lip, which is currently 8 gauge, but will be getting bigger very soon. I didn't want to jump right into it because maybe in a week I'd change my mind, so I just put it in the back of my mind.
At A Glance Author Todd Mackenzie Contact Todd Mackenzie@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist Brodie Gallant Studio Custom Creations Location Charlottetown, PEI As time went by, I just couldn't keep my mind of this unique piercing. It drove me crazy, so I finally decided that I'd get it done. It freaked my parents out a little, just because they don't like anything other than a normal lobe piercing, but after about a week they finally gave into submission.
Unfortunately, there is only one studio which is in driving distance of where I live, but luckily for me it was very professional and clean, and the piercer to be was more than helpful and full of information. I knew this because it was also where I had my lip pierced not long ago. The only problem was being at the studio the same time as the piercer.
After several unsuccessful trips to the studio, I finally arrived when another piercer was working. The only problem was that he had never done the procedure before and was a little unsure of himself. He explained that there was an easy way, and a hard way of doing the transversal lobes. The easy way was to clamp the ears if they would stay in place, and the hard way was to put the needle through free hand. The second option didn't sound too pleasant, but I said I'd let him try the easy way. So he went in back to set things up and in a few minutes I was in the chair ready to go.
The first thing he did was clean the area and mark the holes, marking took a few tries to get right, but he finally succeeded. Then came time for the clamps, he first decided to clamp the right ear since apparently its lobe is easier. This turned out to be difficult because my ears kept folding over in two since my lobes were too big. At this point, I was almost ready to let him to do it free hand because he had gone through all the effort, but I chickened out and gave him five bucks for the time, effort, and sterilization. He told me that the other piercer, who has done the procedure once, was going to be in later in the week, and then I was on my way.
Two days later, I was back at the studio and to my delight, the other piercer was in, Brodie Gallant. He told me that if I had let the other piercer try to do the procedure free hand, he probably would have gone out the side and messed it up (although he managed to do it perfectly about a week later). Confidently, Brodie went to work getting things ready and I was soon again in the chair awaiting the procedure. Again the area was sterilized and the holes were marked. Brodie then asked if I minded if the apprentice watched, of which I had no problem with, and he jumped up on the counter to watch.
As the clamps went on, I noticed there was a lot less pressure then when the other piercer had done it. I think this may be why my ear kept folding making the procedure not possible. Brodie then took the needle and pushed it through. All along, my biggest fear of getting my transversal lobes done was that it would hurt since it went through so much skin. To my relief, it wasn't too bad. I hurt more than getting my lip pierced, but wasn't anything I couldn't handle. And when the jewelry went in, which was a straight 14 gauge barbell, again, the pain wasn't too bad. Then came the left ear and all the same preparations were taken, sterilization and marking. Then the needle came, but this time it had a hard time going through for some odd reason, and it also hurt much more. I sat there concentrating on a water bottle on the wall to get my mind off the needle, gritting my teeth to get through it. But in the end it wasn't all that bad and I'd definitely do it again. For the aftercare, Brodie told me to wash off any crusties in the shower and to use baby lotion to clean the area.
So then I was soon on my way with some friends to go eat and have some fun. After about a couple hours we noticed that my ears were bruising, and after about a day they were a dark purple on the back side, and I also found it hard to pull on t-shirts and sweaters without catching on the barbells which caused some discomfort. There was very little bleeding and crusties, and after about 4 weeks the bruises were pretty much gone.
It's been about 4 months now and my transversal lobes are, as far as I can tell, healed. There is a very small amount of buildup of crusties every once in a while, due to the face the hole is an inch or so long and it's damp inside them. I also get the occasional, "oh my, does that go all the way through?" which is sort of amusing. Well, I don't plan on taking them out anytime soon, and I'd recommend to anyone if it didn't take away their originality.