Well, I have wanted an industrial since I first saw one, so I put alot of thought into it. So, the day I turned 18, I knew I had to go and get one. Now, I have not had a problem with needles since I was a toddler, but for those of you who do have a problem with them but absolutely adore piercings, let me just say that you are not doomed to be confined to faux piercings for the rest of your life. (Let's just be honest here: life is just too short for that.) This may sound totally insane to some of you reading this and it did to me too at first, but when my piercer (Art) was about to give me my piercing, he had me do this deep breathing exercise that really helped calm my nerves a bit. I'm not going to lie- an industrial is painful. But it is not end-of-the-world painful, and it's over in a couple seconds. Mine was done rook to helix, and after about a minute, it was totally tolerable. For those of you who saw the words "rook to helix" and thought it was just gibberish, the rook is the part of the top of your ear just before it fuses to the rest of your head. The helix is the cartilage that is the upper middle of the outside of the ear. It is around the same area where alot of people get their cartilage pierced.
At A Glance Author Alexandria Contact Alexandria@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Art Studio Mache Noir Location Woodfield Mall in Chicago, IL The industrial is actually is a beautiful piercing and is not seen everyday, so it isn't nearly as overrated and cheapened and trendy as the usual cartilage piercing. That brings me to my next point- make sure that you are getting the piercing done because you want it, not because everyone is doing it. There is no worse reason to get it done than that. You will hate it within minutes, I guarantee it. I know I sound like a mom, but as annoying as parents are, they aren't completely stupid.
One thing that was key when I got my piercing was the proper cleaning of it afterwards. The time when this was the most vital was immediately after. So, when all your friends want to see your cool new piercing, remember that there should be no touching involved in your little show-and-tell. When I first got my industrial done, a girl I did not know actually came up to me and put here fingers on my ear to touch my piercing and said "Did that hurt?" I could not believe it. Don't do this to someone. It's not nice. However, should this happen to you, it won't be necessary to run away screaming "Get away! You've contaminated me!" Some ivory soap and cool water should suffice. One thing that my piercer told me that really put this concept into perspective was to treat my piercing like a puncture wound, because that is what it is, in essence. Lastly, as tempting as it may be, DO NOT play with your piercing. You are asking for a nasty infection that will make you sorry you ever touched it.
I got my piercing done at Mache Noir in Woodfield Mall, which is in Chicago, Illinois. So, if you're from Chicago, that's most definitely the place to go. The people there are really nice, and it is very clean. However, if you're not from my city, make sure you go to a place that's clean and that the piercer knows what he's doing. The best way to find this out is not trial and error! Ask around, and if you have friends, ask them too.
Alot of times, people like to have friends come with them when they go and get a piercing. When you go and get your industrial, bring as many friends as you want- but make sure that your friends aren't stupid and immature, because if they are, you may not want to have them in the room while you are being pierced. I would discourage having parents in the room unless your parents are not atall high-strung. My mother is, well, a bit more energetic than most... and that didn't really help, considering I was having a large needle driven through my ear.
Try to sleep with clean pillow cases for about a week and a half, also, just as a precaution (if you are one of those germaphobic people, this would really help to ease your mind). A clean T-shirt would also do just fine. Try not to sleep on your piercing! That is also not a good idea. It will stress out your piercing, and it might make it bleed. Don't freak out over a little bit of blood though- it's normal. However, if it bleeds profusely, you may want to talk to your piercer about what to do about it.
If you are planning on getting a piercing, also try to be careful about doctors' appointments. If you are getting any x-rays, either book them for before the piercing or when it can be taken out (so, a couple months later). There are also plastic jewelry options for if you cannot accomodate the time frames.