All right, I decided on a whim to get my industrial piercing. I was aching to get something done because my 18th birthday was coming up. (I live in a really boring town where the only thing to do is pay someone else to mutilate you...in a pretty way.)
At A Glance Author Justine Contact Justine@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Some cool guy. Studio ACME Tattoo Location Venice, FL Every year, I do something different to myself in terms of body modification. My 18th birthday is coming up in February, and I got the itch earlier this time. Four days ago, I started looking up tattoo designs. My boyfriend adamantly protested me getting another tattoo. So, I started looking at piercing. I saw the picture of the industrial piercing and fell in love with it. I called the piercing salon to get a price on it immediately. Not bad at all, $45 dollars. Can't beat that with a stick now can you?
I went to the piercing salon and got the notarizing form thingy and talked to the guy for a while. (I was kind of nervous about getting my piercing done there because I had my first tattoo done there. It was awful. The tattoo scarred over and looked like bubble paint. It was three just now starting to go down. But they're under new management now.)
My grandmother and I brought it to the bank where she's had an account for 12 years. The bitch at the counter was rude and refused to notarize the paper because my grandmother's driver's license says "Philomena" and the name on her account is "Phyllis". So of course, I did what any reasonable person in my situation would do. I told the woman she was being a ridiculous bitch and that they should be a little more courteous to their loyal customers if they wished to keep them. So, we went to my work and I had one of my coworkers sign the stupid paper.
By this time, my car was running on empty and the little gaslight was on. I decided to deal with it later because I wanted the piercing NOW.
We rushed back to the salon and the guy copied my license and my grandmother's. He took us into this private room and brought out the needles. He said that I could sit up or lay down, it was my decision. I saw the leg stirrups and realized that, with the way the table was positioned, I would be putting my face on the same place where countless women and men have put their bare asses. It was a funny thought, but I laid down anyways because I trust them and the thought of sitting up and possibly flinching or dripping blood on my shirt wasn't all that appealing.
He cleaned the area being pierced (my cartilage) and put the oozy liquid brown stuff on my ears. He made the marks with the purple marker and told me to concentrate on breathing evenly, in through my nose and out through my mouth. (In..2..3..4..Out..2...3...4.) He told me that on the third breath he would pierce. The third breath came and the needle went in. No big deal. The sound of my own heartbeat and my breathing drowned out the sound of the needle crunching through the cartelege. The piercer and my grandmother both said that they heard it loud and clear. As far as I'm concerned, the first one was cake, and went really quickly.
He got ready to do the second hole and stressed how important it was for me to keep thinking about my breathing on this one. I knew it wasn't going to be as easy as the first one because everyone knows you can only fool your body one time. So, I gripped the sides of the table and breathed. The second one hurts like a bastard. No kidding. I screamed obscenities so loud all of Venice must have heard me. (My grandmother almost invented the four-letter word; even she said I would have made a sailor blush.) I gripped the sides of the table so hard my knuckles were sore afterwards.
My main (big) problem was that I lost track of my breathing pattern. It's very important that you never loose track of your breathing!!!
The jewelry didn't hurt so much. It was more of an annoying pain. This pain lasted for about 5 minutes after it was put in. After that, it lessened to a dull ache for about 3 hours. The ache lessened a lot as time went on. Now, it's the day after, and I barely feel it (except when I hit it...OUCH). Cleaning it takes some practice because there are creases and bends and you DON'T want to hit it. Thank God for Q-Tips.
Overall, I definitely recommend getting this piercing. It's so cute and so many people like it. It's worth the brief pain.