For the past couple years I've been considering getting my earlobes scalpelled so that I can go bigger then 00 or 000. My right ear has always been made out of rubber but my left ear suffered during stretching. It would blow out and go back and blow out and go back and if I was patient and invested the money in it I could stretch it. It was difficult and arduous, but it could be done.
At A Glance Author Jess Alon Contact Jess Alon@bme.anon IAM jessalon When It just happened Artist Zak Studio Acme Ink Location Louisville KY When I get to 00 in my left ear... it would only blow out and the hole in general wouldn't expand. Too much scar tissue. And that's because I got impatient and would shove things that didn't fit into my ear to go bigger. I've been stretching over the past 3 years but I haven't gotten past 00 on that ear. Be patient. Take care of your lobes as you stretch them. Wait and wait and wait some more. It's worth it seriously. Because I felt like I cheated by doing what I did. I went from 00 to 5/8. Not a huge huge jump but it took a lot of pressure off my ears and is going to open a whole new surface to stretch up. I see the scapelling i did as somewhat of corrective surgery.
I went to Zak. He's an amazing knowledgable piercer that works at Acme and he's in a sense a family friend and all around great guy. The reason I went to him is first of all everyone in louisville recommended him to me and second because he's had his lobes scalpelled three times. And also the third time he actually had his lobes cut completely and now looks to have small ears. Knowing he's been through what he's gonna do to me was VERY reassuring. He walked me through everything and talked to me a lot. He knew I was a little freaked out. He knew I was nervous about a bunch of different things. We talked a lot and during the course of the procedure he did a lot of things that built my faith in him. Like showing me every little thing he was doing and explaining every aspect of the cuts and what why and where.
As far as this particular procedure went. What I know about lobe scalpelling is that you have to make a lot of marks and line everything up perfectly. He spent 2 hours checking me out and preparing me and talking to me and about 2 minutes doing the actual cutting. It did not hurt much at all. It's really all in your head because you feel the scalpel sawing through. And that hurts to think about... but does not hurt so much to actually feel. I had a double nostril done at a 14g last week. That was total agony compared to the scalpelling. It hurts psychologically and if you can't deal with blood then you shouldn't be doing it at all. There was some scar tissue that he slid through that made it hurt pretty bad but overall it was not that painful. The bleeding is a big freaky but I can deal with that easily.
I could have gone into a lot of detail about the procedure but I'll just tell you what I didn't know that I learned. First off, just stay calm and focus on your breathing. This is important with any piercing but was more effective in this situation then any other because I was actually scared. Second, you can stop at any time. If you change your mind about something like this... it'll be ok. Your piercer if he's someone that loves what he does will not force you to do something like this. It's a permanent modification. Realize it's permanent. Three, make sure the person doing it has had it done to them and has some kind of empathy or respect for your body. Four, don't plan to work the next day because any physical stress will leave you leaking blood. And for the same reasons you should wear an old shirt that you'll probably throw away soon.
I found out that scalpelling is no more painful then getting snakebites or any other piercing. A quick pinch and you feel that sawing sensation and the warmth of your blood but it's not agony.
I hope my story helps those of you who are looking for answers. I didn't read anyone else's experiences because I was seriously scared of seeing a horror story and having to anticipate something terrible. Me and Zak smiled and talked a lot about mutual friends and people like him make me see modification truly as an art. Someone did art on my physical body and in a sense it was spiritually uplifting and made me feel more connected to myself physically. So tonight I ended my night out with a scalpel and a smile.