At A Glance
Author	anonymous
Contact	anonymous@bme.anon
When	It just happened
Artist	bob jones
Studio	insight studios
Location	chicago, il

I'd never really considered getting a piercing before until last year. I didn't even have my earlobes pierced because I was scared it would hurt too much! But for some reason or another, last spring I got it into my head that I wanted an industrial. Lord knows why. So, one afternoon in May my friend and I went up to Wicker Park to go to TatuTattoo and see if an industrial would be possible. I'd seen a lot of pictures of poorly placed industrials, and piercings on people who just didn't have the right body type for it. My ear doesn't have a whole lot of cartilage and I was concerned that an industrial would not be possible. But the guy at TatuTatto reassured me that I would be fine and said he would do it next week sometime after he ordered me the right length of barbell. So he measured me and took down my phone number, and even gave me and the friend a brought cards for $20 off at our next visit. He was really nice.

But the guy at TatuTattoo didn't call me until about mid-June, when I was in Urbana visiting my parents. And I knew I wouldn't be back in Chicago for a while so I figured I'd just get it done there. So I went to Altered Egos and the guy there (Jason) told me he would do it in about a week, but he had to order the right length barbells first. So now I'm feeling like there's some sort of weird conspiracy againt me getting this done. But eventually, Jason calls me and says the barbells are in and I go in there to get it done and he gives me a huge discount for keeping me waiting, which was really nice because it wasn't his fault at all. So anyway, I go into the back room and won't let my friend come in with me because I was afraid I was going to start crying or something when he did it - and that would be embarrassing. But I didn't even come close. He asks me if I'm ready and I say OF COURSE NOT and then when he pierces me I feel this sharp stinging, and then I hear this sickening 'pop' sound and I say "thank god it's halfway over" and then he says, "oh no, you're done". I was amazed. He'd done it so fast.

I had been really pleased with the experience, but there was one little problem - he'd put in a fitted barbell. This didn't seem right to me but I didn't say anything. BIG MISTAKE. After about a week or two I started noticing that the back of the barbell was migrating inwards (really gross). Other than that it was healing perfectly, swelling and pain were minimal and there were no abnormal bumps. But it was moving, and no amount of dillegent washing with antibacterial soap or hot compresses were going to do anything about it. So I called Jason up and asked him to put in a longer barbell. And he said of course he would, and offered to do it for free, which I thought was really nice of him, and he said he'd order the barbell. Well, this took forever and all the while my piercing is migrating further and further into my ear. When I finally got to go back to Altered Egos to get the longer barbell, he put it in and it was barely any bigger than the last one - and completely not helpful to my situation. So when I left I walked down the street to New Life Tattoos and asked the guy there (Matt) what I should do. He pretty much told me it was my call but suggested putting in rings until the piercing healed. But I really just wasn't satisfied with wear that back hole had moved to, it didn't look right. So I just told Matt to take out the bar and put a ring in the top hole - letting the bottom heal over completely.

I let it heal about two months, and even though there was still a tender little lump of scar tissue where the bar had been, I called up Matt and asked him where I could find a good piercer in the city. He pointed me toward Bob Jones at Insight Studios in Wicker Park. I called him up and he said he'd be there until midnight that night, so around 9 or 10 my roommate and I headed to the northside. The place was easy to find and when I got there, Bob told me my ear looked fine and had healed well and that he would be happy to repierce the back for me. Then I started getting really scared. He kept telling me to calm down but I was being such a baby about it. When he pierced me it was slightly slower than when Jason had. I could feel that horrible moment between when the needle goes in and when it comes out the other side. I hated it. But it was over in a second, and after that I felt NO PAIN. It was barely sore. It hardly even swelled at all. It was amazing. So afterwards, Bob gave me a lollipop and I tipped him and then he gave me a spraycan of H2Ocean which he did not charge me for (which is awesome because I spent literally my last fifty dollars on this - it was so worth it though). It was a very positive experience, and I'm sure I'll go back to him if I ever want anything else done.

I love my industrial but I wish it hadn't take so long to achieve. NEVER LET ANYONE PIERCE YOU WITH A FITTED PIECE OF JEWELRY. It's not going to work. No matter how well you take care of it.