I saw my first industrial over the summer, in July. This girl in Idaho had it and I told my friend, "I want that!" I had no idea what it was called. I had no idea people even did that to their ears. But I was drawn to it like a moth to a light bulb. It was incredibly sexy and (so I thought) original. After all, I knew no one in my quaint town who had such a piercing.
At A Glance Author Ashley Erin Contact Ashley Erin@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Brian Studio eXtreme Body Art Location Lake Charles, Louisiana And so I made up my mind.
I was going to "put a bar through my ear". (That is how I referred to it until I actually got it done and was informed that it had a name.)
I had always said, "I'm never going to pierce the cartilage, because it will hurt too much." Having four holes in each lobe, however, was quickly proving to be a bore and if I was going to break my no-cartilage rule, I was going all the way.
Not just one hole. Two. Connected with a metal bar.
So I waited until my friend's 18th birthday. I'd already been in a tattoo parlor once, to get three stars on my foot, so the shock value of being in such a place was null. My friend was getting her belly button done and I was going to get the industrial. Her piercing went off without a hitch, she didn't even flinch. But then it was my turn.
Excitement faded into terror.
I sat on the chair. My hands were already shaking.
"How much is this going to hurt?" I inquired nervously. I wondered if it would hurt more than the tat.
"Pretty fucking bad," replied Brian, my appointed debaucher.
I chuckled uneasily and convinced myself he was just trying to scare me. But the needle got brought out and I started panicking.
"Maybe some other day..I think I feel sick." My stomach always get nervous when I'm about to have something done, even just lobe piercings at the Icing.
"Look," Brian said in a calm voice, "obviously you want this. You're here. You paid. You're not getting your money back, so let's do this!" He smiled and I was comforted. I told my boyfriend to hold my hand. I closed my eyes and prepared for the worst.
Well, wouldn't you know there was a brief malfunction? Just my luck.
I felt the first punch through the top of my ear. I felt Brian straining to push the sharp needle through my thick skin. It did, in fact, hurt pretty fucking bad. Then Brian mumbled something about losing the back of the bar in the hole. He dug around for a minute while I demanded, "Are you almost done?? Are you still going??"
"I'm done..."
He was done with the first one. There was still another hole to be punched.
Luckily, the pain from the initial piercing made the second hole barely noticable. My ear throbbed and I fluttered my eyes, trying to regulate my breathing. He screwed the ball on. I looked at it in the "piercing mirror".
"YAY!!"
He then proceeded to show us that he was "destroying and discarding" the needle and told me that Dial soap was the only way to go. Apparently the shit they give you at the mall is practically water. I thanked him for talking me into and he thanked me for my money. Haha.
It's been about 6 weeks now and I can finally sleep on my left side again. For this long, it has been EXCRUCIATING for anyone to accidentally bump it (which my boyfriend did a LOT and it actually brought tears to my eyes). But now it's kind of just there. I don't think I'll ever change the bar, or at least not for a few months. I'd kill myself if it closed. I cleaned it twice a day for about the first 2 weeks but then I got lazy. It scabs really quickly and I probably touch it more than I should. But I love to turn it! And I have to push my hair back to show people. Come to find out, I have a shallow industrial, when I originally hoped for a standard. But since I didn't know what to call it, this is what I have. I'm thinking of getting a standard to go next to it. That's even hotter than a sole shallow! And now I'm stretching my bottom holes, probably only to a 14G. My ears are just grrrrrreat! But I really do adore the industrial and I'm quite proud that I wasn't a complete baby about it.
Yes, the procedure hurts. But the look is worth it. It's interesting and people notice. There are a few people who said that mine was the first (industrial) they'd ever seen. I *LOVE* my industrial and I'd do it a thousand more times.