At A Glance
Author	Alyssa
Contact	o0osnapitszlyss@aim.com
When	Two years ago
Artist	John McElwain
Studio	Body Design
Location	Bay Shore, NY

I was always really, really into piercings and my parents are more on the conservative side when it comes to stuff like that, so when I wanted some metal during my freshman year in high school you could imagine my assumptions.

My mom was dead-set against any more holes in my head, I already had two holes in each lobe, and she was even more against it when she heard what I wanted, an Industrial Bar, meaning that they'd have to pierce me twice, not just one more hole in her little girls head but two. That was not happening, so I just turned on the Daddy's little girl charm and asked my dad if he would be cool enough to take me. HE SAID YES!!!!!

The next day my dad and I, along with my best friend Val, went to Body Design and talked to John, who by the way is FINE! and he explained to me all of the conditions of the piercing and explained to me that it is probably one of the more intense piercings that you can get on your ear. He also expressed to me how excited he was to be doing an industrial because at that time, they weren't very popular, I guess.

I went and got my notary notarized and armed with my best friend, daddy and my school ID, I went into the parlor, feeling a little bit like I was going to throw up. John had me sit down in the chair and explained his entire procedure to me, while I just turned greener and greener, then it was time, he prepped my ear and got down to business.

First, he used alcohol and swabbed the entire area, then he dotted the piercing points with a marker and let me take a look at them, I told him they were fine and then he put iodine on my ear and applied the clamp, which by the way, kinda hurts, and by kinda I mean really. He clamped it and stuck the needle through the first hole, and I'm not even gunna try to lie or sound tough, it HURT like a lot. If I had to describe the pain I would say it felt like a drill bit going through wood, and that wasn't even the worst of it, then he had to feed through the barbell. He first lubed up the newly pierced hole with KY jelly and then he told me to take a deep breath and he pushed the jewelry through and every single thread on the screwy part got caught on the hole. Then he had to pierce the second hole, so he told me to breathe and clamped the back of my ear, when he stuck the needle through I felt roughly the same sensation as the first only slightly less intense, don't get me wrong, it still hurt, then he slid the jewelry in, which I barely felt the second time and told me to look in the mirror, I immediately fell in love with it and couldn't wait to go home to see the look on my moms face when she saw it.

Healing took at least 9-10 months, during which you can't sleep on it. And mine got slightly infected, which I managed to clear up myself, but left keloids behind, which will probably be there for life. Its 2 years later now and sometimes I completely forget its there.

I would recommend cleaning it with a benadyne solution, which you can buy at most drug stores. It should be cleaned roughly every 4 hours or so. Don't over clean it though because, that was my downfall, it became dried out and infected. If the benadyne solution is too harsh for your skin, as it was for mine, but I used it anyway, a sea salt water solution would be sufficient. The benadyne solution caused chemical burns on the inside of my ear, so if it does happen to drip into your ear, rinse it out immediately, or it may cause a rash or burn.

There are times when I wish that I never got the industrial bar, because of the pain and the infection, but if you are persistent as I was, you will overcome any obstacles that you may reach in the healing process. Whatever you do, unless absolutely necessary, DO NOT TAKE OUT THE BARBELL, the hole will close in a matter of less than five minutes. If you are planning on changing it, make sure that you do so very fast or it will be very uncomfortable putting it back in.

If you have any other questions about the piercing or healing process of an industrial bar, feel free to contact me on aim at o0osnapitszlyss or email at o0osnapitszlyss@aim.com