My venture into the life of a harder modded person started two summer's ago, at the end of August(2001). I began the long journey of lobe stretching. Now from what I can remember I started off using random household objects, such as darning needles, plastic tubing of various diameters, and jewelry I made out of FIMO.
At A Glance Author Tiffany-Amber Contact xmodxgoddessx@hotmail.com IAM Tiffany-Amber When A month ago Artist Matt Cottrell Studio Planet Ink Tattoo And Piercing Location 305 Rideau st. Ottawa, Canada I began by going from 14ga to 10ga in 2 days, due to my impatience. I let them heal for about a week, because I ended up slightly tearing them, and before Christmas, I was at 00ga. At that time I told myself I was done. I wanted to be able to go back to 'normal', and being only 15 years old at the time I started, my skin would still have a lot of elasticity.
The following spring I saw a pair of pyrex nautical star saddled plugs, and really wanted them. The sad thing, besides the price, was the fact that the shop I saw them in, Planet Ink, only had them in 1/2". I then began stretching again, every 2 weeks making a new pair of FIMO plugs. Next thing I knew I was at 5/8", and no longer wanted the pyrex plugs that everyone now had.
I then bumped into my friend Danik one day, mid-winter(2002). He had just purchased a gorgeous pair of ebony saddled tunnels that were 3/4", but he was smaller than that. That night I went home and cut a highlighter up, and used the outer casing as tunnels. Not too long after Christmas, I bumped into him again and he just happened to have the plugs on him. He then gave them to me because he couldn't get past the flares. I wore these tunnels everyday, taking them out every time I went into water and soaked them in jojoba oil. I didn't know when Danik wanted them back, so I made sure I took the best care of them I possibly could. About a month after he gave them to me, he told me to keep them, and that they were a Christmas gift.
When it became summer(2003), I decided to start wrapping the tunnels in tape because it would be really expensive to buy jewelry that I'd never use again, because most stores don't sell acrylic jewelry larger than 00ga. In no time I was at 1", and beginning to look for jewelry. I then stumbled upon Ian's page, and knew I'd be buying my jewelry from him.
Soon after this occurred, while visiting the two Planet Ink shops with my friend Tressa I was talking with a former co-worker, Matt, and he was informing me how our boss Jonny was now allowing him to do more 'extreme' piercings and procedures since he was comfortable with his work(he wasn't allowed right away because he had just been hired from another shop). After planning some surface work and just talking procedures, he mentioned scalpelling. Now at the time I had no desire to scalpel anything. I love stretching, so it ruined the experience for me to want to 'cheat'.
At that time I had taken out my 8ga CBRs, which had previously been gauged to 2ga, then down gauged to 14ga, before stretching back again, to make room for my 1" tunnels. My second holes looked as if someone had sliced them parallel to my first holes, because they we unable to close completely. The holes were too close to my first holes to even wear jewelry now, so I then began considering just scalpelling the space between the two.
After consulting Matt, he made me a deal. He would scalpel my lobes for free, if I allowed him to video tape the procedure. I had no objections to this at all. I was getting a procedure he usually charges $120 for, for free. I had decided because we had no clue what size my lobes would go to, that I could heal them without jewelry, and just cover them with gauze. It would encourage healing, and take less time because my lobes would be able to dry out and scab over. Matt wasn't 100% sure about my suggested method, but didn't turn it down. After a visit to Toronto, and seeing other artists, such as Blair, he agreed that my method would be fine.
On Sunday October 5th, 2003, only 3 days after my 18th birthday, after spending the day with my friends cAro, and Jess, I went in to see Matt. I hadn't had the funds to get my armpit tattoos, so I decided I'd celebrate my being an adult, by getting this procedure. Because I hadn't given him fair warning, he hadn't picked up gauze or medical tape, so he couldn't do it that night, but agreed that if I came back an hour or so before closing, he could do it the next night.
After spending the day with Warren, I met up with Tressa and Eagan shortly before 7pm, and proceeded on our way to Planet Ink. When we got there, cAro was already waiting for us in the waiting area. We sat and looked at flash we has seen numerous times, while I ate some candy. It was the first thing I had eaten all day because I completely forgot to eat before leaving to see Warren. I was just fortunate enough that the shop had purchased some candy dispensers, because last time I hadn't eaten, I went into shock.
Matt then came out with some last minute customers, and spoke with me briefly before going out for a cigarette, and then to set up. I was ready to get up and leave right then. I was extremely nervous and was ready to back out. But of course with three of my friends sitting there with me, they wouldn't allow me to leave.
All of us excluding Eagan, who went for McDonald's, went back with Matt into the piercing room. He showed Tressa how his video camera worked, while cAro began taking 'before' pictures. I then sat down and began getting extremely nervous, but at that time Matt had already began opening his tools and I'd feel rotten if I had to make him re-sterilize them. I then asked him to talk me though exactly what he planned on doing, and assured him I wouldn't walk out.
He and cAro then put on face masks because they'd be closest to me during the procedure(Tressa was standing at the end of my feet with the camera zoomed in). After a lot of postponing, I got up on the bed, and sat facing Matt so he could mark off where he would be making the incisions. He then had me check them after he was satisfied, and I agreed they were perfect.
Matt then had me lie down facing away from him, and cut a hold in a bib to go around my ear. I started freaking out because I couldn't see a thing, so he folded the bib back slightly so I could at least see those around me. He clamped my lobe and then waited for me to give the 'go-ahead'. After controlling my breathing, I told him to go anytime.
The only way to describe the pain is burning, or a paper cut. I had got myself so worked up for something that didn't even make me cringe. I was so amazed that even though I had blood running down my neck and all over my ear, I was sitting there laughing and talking like nothing had just happened.
Matt then cut off one more piece of skin that served no purpose, and began to stop the bleeding and put a large ball of gauze inside my lobe. He then cleaned up the surrounding blood, and had me sit up so he could take a better look. My body began to quiver slightly, but after a sucker/lollipop, I was able to control my shakes.
I then asked for the hand mirror so I could look at my lobe, which had already began to swell. My lobe was now massive! Even though prior to the procedure I had taken off the tape on my 3/4" plugs, I appeared to be at 1 1/8". At that time my ear began to pulse and burn a bit, and I waited till the pain surpassed before hinting I was ready to go on.
Matt then asked me if I wanted to do the other one that night, which I agreed to, due to the fact that it was nothing what I thought it would be. When I was ready again, he had me lie down facing the other direction as he pulled his cart around to the other side of the bed. He then cut a hole for my ear in a bib, folded it back so I could see, and clamped my ear. I gave him the go ahead sooner than I had the previous time because I knew what to expect.
Matt then made the second incision on my other lobe which ended with an odd noise which made us all(except possibly Matt, cringe). I was scared that he had slipped and cut off my entire ear, but he had just be able to cut through my ear with such ease, that it had hit the back of the clamps. Once again he cut off a tiny sliver of unneeded skin, that of which I didn't feel this time. He then put gauze into the hole, and was about to clean up my ear when he saw the bleeding wasn't stopping. He then replaced the gauze with even more gauze, and began to cleaned up.
After more joking around and pictures, Tressa, cAro, and I watched the video. It was definitely more fun to watch than experience, I must say. I admired my lobes a bit more while Matt ensured that my lobes weren't bleeding excessively, and then tired to figure out how he was going to secure the 'gauze plugs' from coming out. He was going to bandage my entire head, but then opted to just wrap the gauze around my ear and secure with medical tape.
He then asked me how I planned on care for them, which I replied I didn't. I've always used the LITHA method for my piercings, but obviously I don't go rubbing dirt into my open wounds. I then asked him how he'd like me to care for them. He just told me to keep the initial gauze on for 48 hours unless blood had soaked through, and in that case to change it, to avoid getting the bandages wet(at one point he told me not to shower), to put Polysporin or some antibiotic cream on them, and to consume a lot of vitamin C.
He then gave me extra gauze and the rest of the medical tape to me so I could change the dressings, but suggest I come back two nights later near closing so he could check up on them.
After bussing home with Tressa, and receiving some funny stares, we went back to my place and ate some very late dinner of grilled cheese, talked a bit online and to each other, then went to bed.
I put some old towels on my pillow to make sure I didn't bleed all over the place. I had no discomfort sleeping at all. I went to bed sleeping on my back, but I always sleep on my side facing my wall. I was able to roll around and sleep whatever way I felt.
In the morning I decided to remove the outer bandaging Matt had put around my latest fashion statement of gauze plugs. They came off mostly, with ease. The medical tape was caught in my hair and to my lobe, and made removal slower. The outer gauze on the back of my left ear had bonded to the 'plug' because of the amount of bleeding in that one ear.
After speaking with my friend Courtney, who's studying to be a nurse, she gave me some tips on how to change the gauze and make removal a peaceful process.
That Wednesday I had to shower. I had the previous day, but hadn't washed my hair. Because Matt had told me to not get the bandages wet for the first 48 hours, I took Saran Wrap, and some hair elastic, and wrapped my lobed up. At the time it seemed like a brilliant idea, but it wasn't. Water leaked in and started washing out one of the bandages. I had blood flowing down my body, like something you'd see in a horror movie. After finishing my shower, I took a cloth and wrapped it around my ear so as to not 'bleed' all over the house on my way to my room.
After getting dressed, I attempted to change the 'plug', but for the most part was unsuccessful. By the look of things, the gauze has bonded really well to where the incision was made. I tried soaking my lobes in warm water, in hopes that it would moisten enough to make remove an easy task, but they just wouldn't hear of it. They were stuck. I didn't want to cause more damage than help, so I cut the blood filled gauze that wasn't bonded to my ear. After all the manipulation, my ears were a bloody mess. As gentle as I tried to be, it was too much for my ears and they opened. I now am the proud owner of a series of towels, all splattered in blood.
I knew I'd have to get the rest of the bandage off, but didn't have the slightest idea how to get them off. I decided that night, that in the morning after showering, to fill the bath tub, and submerge my head in water for a longer period of time than I had the previous day. I knew the bandages had to come off or the new skin would just grown into the bandage.
After getting dressed and such, I sat there and slowly worked the bandage out of my ear. It wasn't a pleasant experience, but it had to be done. After allowing my ears to clot as much as possible(my blood seems to have a hard time clotting), I applied a layer of Polysporin to my lobes and to some gauge, and just wrapped the part that had been cut.
I went and saw Matt that evening, and even though all the trauma that had happened, we was fairly impressed with the healing so far. I was then told to come back in in a week or two so he could check up on them.
Healing was a breeze after that. I continued to leave them alone besides cleaning off the dried up lymph, and applying a light layer of Polysporin occasionally. I only kept the gauze on for I believe two more days, then had nothing on or in my ears for the rest of the week. Before I went back to see Matt I was able to put my old 3/4" ebony saddled tunnels back in without then falling out. Any size I had gained from this corrective scalpelling was lose.
It took approximately 2 and a half weeks for my lobes to heal, but unfortunately there was a bunch of excess tissue left behind that made my lobes appear to have major blow out. In fact it was just the tissue turning sideways and out the back of my tunnels.
I then saved up some money and contacted Ian, and placed an order for a pair of 1 1/4" tunnels for my lobes and a 3/8" tunnel for my septum. Shortly after New Year's I received my tunnels and went to see Matt. We agreed that January 12th at closing, we'd do the second corrective scalpelling.
This scalpelling went a lot smoother than the previous one. I was a lot calmer, and able to help out. Tressa was the only who accompanied me this time, besides Matt, and one of the tattoo artists, Sabastien.Matt drew where he was going to scalpel, then had me confirm the cut, had me lie down facing him, place the clamps, and asked me to tell him when I was ready. After I composed myself, took a few slow steady breathes, I told him to 'giver', and do it.
After the incision was made he put the jewelry in, but it hadn't made a perfect seal and he hates putting me in unneeded pain, so he asked me to grab a pair of gloves and pop them in place. And somehow I managed to bleed all over the floor and on my shirt in that time. Matt then proceeded to cut the other lobe, put the jewelry in, and bandage my lobes. After the procedure was all done, Matt decided to poke at my skin he removed and opened it up.
Healing took a bit longer than the first scalpelling because of my choice in jewelery, which I hadn't even considered when ordering. They only bled the first day or two, and in no time was just lymphing. Occasionally the lymph would bond to my hair and I'd be pulling my hair back and tear it open slightly, but nothing traumatic. They're still tender, but it will pass in due time. I just can't wait till their fully healed, and I can start stretching again.
BLM 4 life.