My Transverse lobe piercing was never planned as such, however I had always been intrigued by it. In Nov 06, my friends and I had taken a holiday in Melbourne to see a concert. I had planned to visit a piercing studio while in town. Being from the small island state I live in, there aren't many decent piercing studios.
At A Glance Author Vinnie Contact n_winwood@hotmail.com IAM LittleVinnie When Six months ago Artist Kristy Studio Off Ya Tree Location Melbourne I had originally intended to get a pubic bone surface piercing done. I had got myself mentally and physically prepared (shaving is a must) for it, and headed to Off Ya Tree piercing studio in Melbourne. The guy I talked to about it managed to convince me out of it, saying that it was his least favourite genital piercing because it was the most likely to reject or get ripped out. He suggested a PA, but I wasn't too keen on the idea. Still insistent on getting a new addition, the thought of Transverse Lobes came to mind. I had always liked the idea of it, as it is not your average lobe piercing. I agreed, and he asked me to wait while they prepared the equipment.
I was taken into the studio where I was introduced to Kristy. The room was very clean and had the appearance of a doctor's surgery, which was comforting. We discussed placement of the bar, and decided on a 14G barbell (approx 28mm). She put fresh gloves on and marked the lines on my lobe, and after checking in the mirror, began the procedure. Because my lobes are fairly big, no clamps could be used, so she would be performing it freehand. She made a point of opened up the needle packaging and sterile jewellery in front of me. She cleaned my ear with cleansing swabs and gave the jewellery a once over.
I lay down on my side so she could keep my head still. Because the needle goes a fair way through (approx 24mm), it wasn't as simple as breathe out and its done. She had to slowly guide the needle through so it didn't poke through the side. The needle was inserted from the top down. There is a small part of your ear at the top of the lobe which is cartilage, and I felt the crunch as the needle punctured through it into the soft tissue. This was the worst of the pain as the rest of it was just the feeling of cold steel being glided through soft flesh. The barbell was fed through and the ball was screwed on, this was a little uncomfortable as she could not really fit the pliers in to hold the bar in place without putting pressure on it.
She says "All done!" and I sit up with a giant grin on my face. I looked in the mirror on the wall beside me to see how it looked. I loved it! The bar was substantially longer than my lobe but she said it was to allow for swelling.
Still a little light headed from the major adrenaline rush, I walked back into the shop to pay. I thanked Kristy and headed out to meet up with my friend. Walking through town, I felt a throbbing pain which seemed to engulf one side of my face, but it was worth every second of it!
In weeks to follow I ensured to keep it very clean and try not to sleep on it. I used a salt water soak in a spray bottle to clean it two or three times a day. During the second week it got infected, which left me with a giant swollen red ear (this is where I was glad the bar was extra long). This was incredibly painful and lasted two to three days. If it had continued another day I would have considered removing the jewellery. I had to remove the barbell and give the area a thorough disinfection whilst boiling the jewellery in salt water. This proved effective as the infection disappeared the following day.
Even now (nearly six months later), it hasn't fully healed. It still gets the occasional discharge and cleaning of crusties is a regular occurrence. I think because the bar is so long, it is taking unusually long to heal. Because piercings heal from the outside in, I think it is not quite healed in the middle of my lobe.
I have since then changed the jewellery to a smaller barbell (26mm), which is still a little too long. This would have to be by far my favourite piercing to date. It's amazing how many people come up to me asking
"Does that go all the way through!?"
The reaction I get from most people is often shock or disgust, but I don't care, I didn't get it pierced for other people, I got it done for me.
So for anyone thinking of getting this done, go for it. For a little bit of pain, it's worth so much more.