At A Glance Author -Im Ur Hyper Depressid Cutie- Contact FLShorty561@aol.com When Three months ago Artist Bryan Campbell Studio Saint Tattoo Location Knoxville, Tennessee I love industrials and tragus piercings. So I had planned on going to get my tragus done one day, but every time I tried it seemed to backfire on me. Finally I got a chance to get a tragus done.. And I was suddenly told I wasn't allowed! So I decided on an industrial, since I wanted one of those also, but at a later time. I guess it wasn't so much "later" after all!
Well Tuesday, June 12th, 2007 came I decided this was the day. I had two friends with me already to spend the day with, and I called up a third who wanted his lip done and asked if he wanted to come. Well he was broke, so he decided not to. Instead, his brother came with us. We decided to go to the mall first, since the studio didn't open until one anyways, and it was only eleven. So we browsed around some stores, had some goofy fun, and then ate. It was time to go so we headed over there.
When we got there, we were immediately approached by a girl working there, and she asked what we wanted. I pointed to my ear and told her I wanted an industrial. She smiled and said "Alright. Bryan is eating lunch right now, so it will be a few minutes. I will send him back when he's finished." So me and my 'crew' settled down and looked at flash and jewelry for awhile. After about an 8 minute wait, he came out and asked who wanted pierced. I stood up and he looked me over and asked if he had pierced me before. I told him no, but that he did inspect my navel for a quad navel piercing that was done by the other artist there. He nodded and asked for my ID and handed me the forms to sign. My friend asked him if they could watch, and he told them only if I agreed. Of course I did, so in we went. They all stayed out of the way, standing in corners of the room. He then washed his hands, put on some gloves, and started playing with a toothpick to measure my ear. When he finally had it lined up, he told me to have a good look. After contemplation, I asked if he could move the back down a little, so he changed his gloves and made a different mark. He sent me back to the mirror, where I decided I liked the first mark after all and told him. He nodded and told me to lay down and get comfy while he got ready. He changed gloves again, and showed me everything was sterile, while explaining the procedure. I agreed, and he told me to lay there and take a buncha deep breaths for awhile, just to relax. When I was ready, he told me to tell him. After about thirty seconds I said I was ready so he told me to take a deep breath in, and when I exhaled he pierced. I actually had predicted the feeling of it, and was exactly on cue. Not too bad, nothing intolerable. Mostly a lot of heat and some burning. Then he lined me back up and told me to take a deep breath in, and he would do the second one. I breathed... And yup there was the second one. I agree with almost everyone who says there is a difference in pain on the second hole. It still wasn't enough to make me say ow out loud, but I was defiantly thinking how it didn't exactly feel comfortable. He told me to lay there for a few minutes while I calmed down, and then he would slide the jewelry through. About three minutes passed, and I told him I was ready, so there he went. Yeowch. The jewelry part actually felt the worst... Defiantly. I flinched and my hands started to sweat. He asked if I was alright, and made sure I wasn't dizzy, and since I wasn't he let me get up to look at it. I was very impressed, and fell in love with it immediately. I still wanted a little tragus, but... I shall have to try again some other day. I tipped and paid, and we left happily.
AftercareAfter about an hour, the redness went away completely, and the throbbing stopped. I'm using saline solution on a q-tip for cleaning, with an occasional salt soak if needed. Seven hours later, I took my first shower. Taking off the shirt was a little tricky, but I accomplished it. It didn't hurt or sting or feel any different when the water touched it. I was paranoid about getting shampoo in it so I opted not to wash my hair until tomorrow. Toweling your hair dry is a little complicated also... But manageable. The only downfall so far is my little baby hair beside my ears wants to tangle in it so badly. I check on it every hour or so to make sure it isn't getting too tangled. The first cleaning wasn't too hard, just take the q-tip and make sure it gets all around the two holes. I do notice some purplish tinge near the holes... I fear it may be bruised in the morning. We shall see.
First day
Well sleeping last night wasn't too bad. If I didn't put too much pressure on the top of my head, I could actually lay on that side, but I used the other one mostly anyways. When I woke up this morning, I cleaned off the dried blood, and inspected it. There is a little bruising on the top hole, closest to my head, but there is almost no swelling or no pain. So far so good, this may be my favorite piercing of all.*Don't we all say that on a brand new piercing?*
Week One
This is the end of week one, and there is a bit more pain than on the first day, but still nothing too bad. I found that instead of using a q-tip to wipe around the holes, I put a towel on my shoulder and pour it directly over the piercing and then wipe it. nothing strange appearing, not too many crusties, and I've yet to hit it. I go camping this weekend, so hopefully it doesn't act up on me.
Week Two
Today ends week two. Sleeping on this isn't a whole lot of fun, and neither is when people decide to hug you really tight and bump it! The swelling is mostly gone, but it's still quite tender. It stayed just fine while I camped, thankfully.
Week Three
My ear has seemed to deform in a strange way. Around the holes, my ear seems to be wanting to grow parallel with the bar. Pretty odd. I'm also noticing that the swelling around the ear itself is gone, but around the holes it isn't. I'm thinking about changing my bar for two CBR's or barbells to relieve the pressure.
One Month
The swelling and pain is still slightly there, but a hundred times better than it was previously. I'm barely down to a little knot, and it looks pretty. I'm still happy with it, even if sleeping is STILL a pain in the butt.
Month Two
There is still a strange "growth" like thing on it. I'm not sure whether or not it's normal. I still clean it, and it still helps, but I'm beginning to wonder if cartiledge piercings don't agree with me. I still honestly love it though, so I won't give up on it. I hardly ever remember it's there, so I do end up bumping it and causing it a slight deal of pain. Oops. I'm currently sick and I have a rash so lately all of my piercings have been acting up, including my first earlobe holes that I've had since I was 10. Hopefully it won't lead to rejection of my industrial, or my 6 month old quad navel.
All In all, this has been a good experience for me. I love my industrial despite all the problems it gives me. The pain was worth it; although this hurt more than other piercings, I still wouldn't trade it. As everyone else says- "if you want it, get it done." I mean think about it. If you DON'T do it, you may regret it. But if you do decide to go through with it, you can always take it out if you don't like it.I don't condone or recommend self piercing though. The day I got my industrial, my friend tried to pierce hers by herself and it got infected and was seriously painful. So please. Have fun with your piercings, get them professionally done, and be a happy, modified person. ^_^