First of all I have to thank BME for having such a good piercing selection, because if it weren't for them and all the people who send pictures and stories I would not have wanted my industrial bad enough to actually get it, which would have sucked alot.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When A year ago Studio Artworx Location Baltimore Anyways, last year for my birthday I finally decided that an industrial piercing was right for me. I had looked on BME several times and read tons of experience stories on the industrial piercing and I had been thinking about it for a few months and my mind was finally made up: The industrial was right for me! So I grabbed my friend and drug her down to the Artworx with me (Which isn't a bad place to go, but I have recently switched to Mystic Body piercing & Tribal Tattoo in Crofton since my body piercer from Artworx left...the people at Mystic are totally awesome though). My friend is not into piercing, but she goes with me every time I decide I want one (Which is a lot, usually around every few months). I don't know how she puts up with me sometimes, but she does.
So anyways, I walked in and filled out the usual forms and showed them my ID and such. I sat for about ten minutes or so until the guy was finished putting holes in the person that was already in the room. Lucky them.
Finally, my turn came after what seemed like forever. I sat down in the chair nervously while he prepped his equipment and marked my ear. I was pretty nervous because this was one of my first major ears piercing (Even though I'm into piercing more then anyone else I know, I only having an eight gauge in my first hole but I am working on getting it down to at least a double zero gauge and I also have a fourteen gauge in my second hole...on both ears, I was still nervous). He assured me it would hurt at least a little bit if not a lot (How nice of him), but I have a pretty high pain tolerance, certainly not as high as those people who get the corsets done on their backs, but I relaxed and lay back in the chair. Soon enough he finished prepping his equipment (After what had seemed like forever) and was ready to pierce me! Yay! He quickly slid the needle through the top part of the cartilage first and it went in rather easily, I only felt the pressure of the needle going though . As he was getting ready for the second piercing I had to ask him if he had done both piercings yet because it was so painless for me (and no, he did not put any kind of number on it)! He assured me he wasn't and then finished with the second hole in the lower part of my ear exactly like he did the first piercing. After he had put the needle through both of the holes, he slid the fourteen-gauge barbell through, that was probably the most pain through the whole procedure, and that didn't even hurt! Then he screwed the balls on the jewelry and soon enough I had a brand new awesome and beautiful industrial piercing!
For the next few weeks I wanted to show anyone and everyone my new piercing (It just looked so awesome! Which people agreed with me on). And I was ready to go back to the shop and get another one, but unfortunately I had to wait longer then I wanted for my next piercing. But out of the whole procedure, the most painful experience I had was when my friend accidentally almost ripped it! That was also the only time I bled at all between getting it pierced and it being fully healed. It still healed fine though despite what my friend had done. Now I'm just waiting for my next piercing to come around. I think I'm going to go for a vertical tragus next, either that or an anti-tragus. I just want something that no one else has, or at least I think no one else has around here. I'm excited and cant wait till my next birthday (It's a tradition that I get a new piercing at least once a year, usually for my birthday though. You should start one like that!)
P.S. – I would recommend the industrial to anyone who is thinking about it. It doesn't hurt badly (At least it didn't for me) and it's neat! Plus, for the people with jobs that are rather strict and such, like mine, my work place didn't mind my industrial at all! I actually used my birthday money from them to get it done! Anyways, Good luck!