When I get my piercings, I usually act on random impulses, even if I've thought about getting the area pierced for a few months beforehand. That's not exactly the case of my to-be industrial. I hadn't even heard of an industrial before finding BME, but when I did, I fell in love with it. Since Mom's uptight about facial piercings (nix on nostrils or eyebrow for a while now), I resorted to asking her about an industrial. Surprisingly enough, she said yes.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When N/A Artist Charli Studio Lounge Lizard Location Randleman, North Carolina I just got my right cartilage pierced about three weeks ago, and it hurt less than my lobes did. I know, I probably should have waited at least a good few months before deciding to get an industrial, but my family is more oriented towards acting upon thoughts than thinking (even though I'm trying to stop that). So after asking Mom about it Saturday night and getting the okay, she decided I could get it done Sunday.
We called to the place where I got my helix done; they said they'd be open until 7:00, so we set out for there. They incidentally decided to close early that day, so Mom called up Dad at home and we found out different numbers for other parlours. Sadly, when I get my mind set on something, I don't let it go, eh? Anyway, we called Lounge Lizard, and they said they were open, so we headed that way.
We got there, and Mom went out for a smoke while Charli and I talked a bit beforehand about it. By this time I was pretty nervous. I knew it was going to hurt, and I guess Charli could tell I was getting anxious. She and John (who is actually the tattooist there, and is slowly learning to pierce) calmed me down by saying she hadn't failed to do an industrial correctly yet, so Mom filled out the forms and went out to the car so she wouldn't have to watch.
They didn't do a lot at first; I sat down while they joked around and Charli took measurements and explained to John about the various things he would need to know about piercing cartilage in the future. Somehow that helped to ease off the tension as well, and at last Charli said she was ready to start.
I've never had a clamp used on my ear before, and... it wasn't exactly comfortable, but I knew it'd be better than the piercing. Well... I was wrong, haha. It was pretty tight and definitely putting a lot of pressure on my ear when she finally said that she was going to pierce through it. I braced myself, and it actually hurt less than my other cartilage and the clamp.
Only one problem... the clamp slipped up at the last minute and it had pierced too shallow. She apologised profusely and I shrugged it off, 'cause I mean - hell, I was going to have to go through getting it twice anyway, so it didn't bother me too badly. She tightened the clamp more the second time and it definitely hurt a lot more, but it was okay.
The second actual hole, however, was *not* fun. Charli had trouble getting the needle through my ear, considering it was swelling pretty rapidly from the previous two jabs, and I thought I was going to break the bones in my hand from trying to divert the pain. It finally went through though, and so it was time to put in the jewellery. First hole - no problem, it went in pretty painfully but not too bad. Second hole - apparently, the needle and jewellery had been packaged wrong. The needle was 16g... the jewellery for both holes was 14g. I nearly passed out from John having to try and get it through my ear.
Ironically enough, they said I didn't make a sound the whole time, even though I felt like I was screaming. When they were finished closing the rings and everything, John laughed and said I should have brought a camera to take a picture of my ear, because it looked pretty bloody.
I haven't gotten the chance to clean it yet, considering the fact all I have to do is bump it on accident when I'm pulling my hair back to yelp, but I already love it. We decided last night it would be a hell of a lot easier to clean with two rings to start with before the barbell, so I'm getting them exchanged for the barbell in about two months. Which is good timing, when you think of the fact that I'm going to a concert a few days before I'm supposed to get it exchanged, and I don't really want to get my ear torn in half from a moshpit.
It's an amazing piercing. Charli was amazing piercing it, despite the few mishaps that happened... but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have had it any other way. :)