I've been considering an orbital in my left lobe for some time, but only just got around to it last week. I have an office job, and I'm not sure how far I can push the boundaries with visible piercings. I already have a 12mm stretch in that lobe; I normally wear a bronze-coloured Ti plug at work and haven't had any complaints from the boss. Given that I was going to be away for the Xmas break for over a week, I decided to go ahead with it.
At A Glance Author evilsteev Contact evilsteev@bme.anon When It just happened Artist goth girl assistant piercer Studio Revolution Location Scunthorpe, UK I'd checked out Revolution, the local studio. I'd been there before for my stretch, but the piercing staff had changed since then. I chatted with the chief piercer, who seemed laid-back but professional – just what you want to see, really. He showed me some work he'd done recently, a vertical piercing down through a lobe stretch. He'd drilled a hole through a SS tunnel to take the bar, finishing and polishing all the jewelry himself.
We discussed my piercing and he suggested the size and gauge he intended to pierce with. I was on my lunch break from work, so I couldn't get anything done there and then. He told me to drop in as soon as I was ready, and if he wasn't there, his assistant would do the work. She was fully qualified, and he absolutely trusted her to do anything but the most advanced piercings without his supervision.
Fast forward a couple of weeks, and I'd finished work for the holidays. I dropped in to Revolution. In the waiting area outside the actual studio were too very mumsy looking middle-aged women – not the usual clientele at all. I guessed they were there for a son or daughter. After a few minutes, this was confirmed: a teenage girl came out with a new lobe piercing. It's nice to see people are realizing its worth going to professionals rather than the shitty mall jewelry shops, even for basic piercings.
I went through and found that the assistant was in, not the guy I'd spoken to. She's young and pretty, (no value judgment implied there, she just is both) with an old-school goth style and a few moderate facial piercings. We chatted about what I wanted, very friendly and professional. I appreciated the fact she didn't treat me like a dummy, that she could tell from my manner and the fact I already had a piercing that I knew what I wanted and spoke to me accordingly. I'd like to think she is equally adaptable when some total newbie comes in and needs the risks and options explaining.
I decided on a 1.6mm by 12mm CBR and she agreed that was okay. I signed the paperwork while she prepared the equipment. The studio was a lot better laid out and furnished from the last time I'd been there. She sterilized my ear and marked up. I viewed the marks and okay'd the positioning. She asked me to make sure I was sure before she continued. I asked about the positioning of the top mark – would it go through cartilage? She checked: it would just graze the edge of the cartilage without actually going through it. Was that okay? She was ready to move it if it wasn't, but I was happy with where it was – any further out wouldn't have looked right.
The piercing was what I expected. She clamped the ear and asked if I was ready. I told her I'd breathe in, and she could do the deed as I started to breathe out. A slight pinch and it was through. She moved on to the upper mark, and I nodded and breathed in-out again. Another slight pinch, a little sharper this time. The CBR went through with little hassle, and before I knew it she was cleaning up and running through aftercare. She asked what I had used before to heal my stretch (salt-water soaks), and suggested that if it had worked so well before I should use the same again.
The piercing was clean and well positioned so I thanked her, signed off the paperwork and paid up. The whole job had been easy and efficient without seeming rushed or impersonal. I'll definitely return if I decide on any more work.
That was three days ago and I've had no problems so far. There was a little blood when I cleaned around it on the first day and it itched a bit on the second day (Christmas Day). Yesterday the top hole started to ache after I knocked it pushing my hair back. This morning it feels fine again – a little tight but not painful at all. The main hassle is cleaning the jewelry; because it can't move in the piercing it's hard to clean all around it, and I obviously don't want the scabby parts of the ring sliding through the piercing. Because of the positioning, it's hard to get at the back, too.
When I go back to work I'll not wear anything in my stretch for a while, so it doesn't look like I'm wearing a lot of jewelry. I doubt I'll have any problems. Everyone who has noticed it so far has been complimentary, and these are mostly friends without any piercings themselves. I might write up my stretch eventually, but it seems such a long time ago now that it's hard to remember the details. I've also got a lot of tattooing experiences to w/u too – a full Japanese-style backpiece done over about two years. Like the orbital, I'll get around to it eventually.