It's been a long, long time since I've gotten a piercing. I think the last one was my nipple piercing 2 and a half years ago. Even since I had to take my eyebrow ring out for stupid vet tech school, I just got kinda depressed about the whole piercing experience.
At A Glance Author JediSkanks Contact JediSkanks@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Tim Studio Hot Rod, Oakland Location Pittsburgh, PA There's a lot of piercings I want, but probably will never be able to get due to work. I long for a vertical labret, a nose ring and to get my eyebrow ring back, however, one area of my body at least that I'm free to do as I please with are my ears.
I first saw transverse lobes here on BME, like many people, I'm sure. I wanted them done years ago, but never did for one reason or another. Well, the past few weeks or so, I've gotten out of my slump, and I've had that yearning for a new piercing. I contemplated a snug, an anti-tragus, a second navel piercing, then I remembered how awesome transverse lobes looked.
At first I thought I'd get one ear done, then I thought the symmetry of getting both my ears done would be really awesome. So the next step was finding a place to do it. All my other piercings/tattoos have been done in other states, as I'm not originally from Pittsburgh. So I did some research, mainly here, and decided on Hot Rod. I went to the studio in Oakland, because it's closer to where I live, and I've heard good things about both their studios.
I walked there with my boyfriend, all the while concerned they wouldn't be familiar with the piercing or that my ear anatomy wouldn't support transverse lobes. I entered the shop and browsed their impressive jewelry collection while I waited for someone to come out and assist me.
After a few minutes one of the employees came out to help me. I told him I was looking to get my transverse lobes done and asked if they had any experience with that. He said they did (and inside my heart soared!). He had me fill out some paper work, checked my ID, then went over aftercare instructions with me.
He called another piercer up, Tim, who would actually be doing the procedure. They walked me to the back and explained the whole process. He said I had a few options with my ears since my ear lobes were unattached. I could have it more horizontal, or I could have it done at a steeper angle. They had calipers measured out to the length of the barbell so I could see where I wanted the placement.
I opted for it done as horizontal as possible. He spent about 10 minutes measuring my ears and seeing what I wanted. He was very thorough in that respect, for which I'm grateful. I definitely didn't want uneven piercings. Also, I have several regular lobe piercings, though I haven't worn jewelry in them for some time. He said he'd probably be able to work around them, as they were pretty high up on my lobes.
He told me my other piercings had been quick, and this one would be a little longer since he had to freehand it and go slow. I remember thinking "only a little?" But I was prepared for this, having read some experiences on BME. I wasn't concerned about the pain, I just didn't want him to rush or anything.
Having settled on the placement, and once he was satisfied his marks were even, he told me to lie down and he'd start. The other piercer, Gino, was watching. I was super nervous, and kept wanting to burst out laughing for some reason. I was afraid it'd hurt and I'd jerk my head and end up with a stupid looking piercing. But I took deep breaths and tried to control myself.
He did my left ear first. ::Deep breath:: needle in on the lateral since of my left ear. A little pinch, no big deal. Then warm, warm heat, then another pinch as it came out the other side. A little pressure as he put the BBB in. A little fumbling with the balls, and then one ear done! Seriously, the needle was in my ear for maybe 5 seconds tops.
Then the second ear, which I won't lie, hurt like a bitch. He started from the medial side on this ear (I think, it was hard to tell). ::Deep breath:: Pinch, then burning, burning pain, another pinch and it was through. Seriously, hurt a lot more than the first one, I could really feel it going through millimeters of skin. He said that one was bleeding a little 'cause he had to redirect slightly in my ear. Once again, super fast. Took much less time than I thought it would.
Well, once he was done I sat up and looked in the mirror. They were awesome! So perfectly even and the barbell fit my lobe perfectly. All you can see is a little ball on either side of my lobes. So sweet! Also there's plenty of space between the transverse piercings and my other holes, should I ever want to put earrings back in there.
I tipped Tim, thanked him and the other guy about a dozen times, then all but skipped out to show my boyfriend. He liked them well enough, but now he lives in constant fear of smacking into one by accident.
As far as pain goes, even though the second ear burned like a bitch, I'd say all my cartilage piercings, except my tragus, hurt more, both during and after (for some reason my tragus healed in like a month and didn't hurt at all). In my ears, besides my tragus, I have a rook, an inner helix and an inner conch. Those all hurt more, especially afterwards.
It's been, oh, 5 or 6 hours or so. My ears throb, especially my right one. The hour or two after the piercing hurt the worst, then the pain died down some. I'm starting salt water soaks tomorrow morning and all that good stuff. My ears aren't even red, although they look a little swollen.
This is a great piercing, and honestly, it doesn't hurt that much. Like I said, I think most cartilage piercings would hurt way worse and are probably more difficult to heal, but we'll see about the healing part I guess!
I'd really recommend Hot Rod. The place was clean of course, and they really seem to know their stuff there. I put up this experience mostly because there's a dearth of horizontal lobe piercing experiences on BME, and I think it's important for people to be able to find information when they need it. When I was researching, I couldn't find any horizontal lobe experiences in Pittsburgh, but let me tell you, Hot Rod is the place to go!