My opportunity to get pierced was a long time in the making, despite the fact that I'd been fantasizing about piercings for a long, long time. I love the aesthetically pleasing look of metal through flesh, and I can even remember back to when I was eleven or twelve, when I first became bent on having seamless rings encircling my collar bones, as unrealistic as the idea was. I was forced to wait though, since I was in and out of surgery so often during my teen years that it would've been unrealistic to try and heal anything when I'd be obligated to remove the jewelry each time I was headed for the operating room.
At A Glance Author Hilikme Contact Hilikme@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist Craig Landon Studio Trendsetters Location Prince George, British Columbia Late in my teens, I found myself no longer on the "stand by" for surgery, but even then, I had no money, so I was still waiting. I hit twenty though, and suddenly I had both the money and the freedom to start collecting what I had always wanted (aside from the four lobe piercings I managed to squeeze in between surgeries early on, and perhaps, those fantastical clavicle rings!).
In the beginning of November, the second to be exact, I decided "Hey, I'm going to get that industrial piercing!", a piercing that first caught my attention, oh, going on five years ago. There was a bit of a break between when I decided on this, till when I booked the appointment, as I needed to get some Christmas shopping out of the way, and wanted to make sure I'd have the funds. On the nineteenth, my boyfriend and I stopped in at Trendsetters, just so I could ask some questions, including how the procedure would be done (for some reason, I have an aversion to discussing things over the phone...). I expected it, but they explained that they do the industrial in two steps, piercing one side, then the other on a later date, so that one hole would have a head start into healing, which lowers the overall trauma and stress placed on your ear by an industrial. Erin double checked the overall cost, of both necessary appointments for me, then we headed home. The next day, after a lot of nervous pacing, I booked my appointment for Saturday, the twenty-fifth.
I was quite calm about the whole thing up until about half an hour before the appointment, in the middle of our drive to the studio, at which point I realized I didn't eat anything for breakfast or lunch, and that I was actually getting a needle through my ear very soon. I couldn't sit still in the waiting area at all, and was finding it a bit difficult to dictate all the answers to my boyfriend, who was filling out the aftercare quiz and legal papers for me. It wasn't much longer after I signed my name that Craig came out to get me.
Now I really didn't know what to expect of this guy, since I'd heard all sorts of things about him, but for some reason he immediately struck me as very doctor-like. Craig lead the way as my boyfriend walked me into the piercing room, though he wouldn't be staying for long as Craig explained that he prefers to have no extra people in the room. There was already going to be three of us in there, as Fernanda, the new apprentice, would be watching and helping out. Fernanda read over the aftercare quiz, just to make sure I understood it completely, and after a humorous comment from Craig that I should really avoid licking my ear afterwards for awhile, as well as a practice session of the one, two, three breathing, we moved on to the actual procedure.
I tried to get comfortable in that chair, (for some reason, I find it difficult to feel right when laying back, dentist chair style), and Fernanda cleaned my ear up as Craig got everything else ready.
Other then feeling weird about being reclined, I was pretty much calm again, or at least the majority of my anxiety and anxiousness had disappeared. Craig pointed out the location of where both piercings would eventually be and the angle of my future industrial bar, and I gave the go ahead as I pointed out that I trusted him to make it aesthetically pleasing. He discussed some technical aspects of positioning an industrial to Fernanda at this point, as he got the needle ready and lined up against where the lower/outer hole would soon be.
I couldn't believe it, it was seconds away from happening!
Breath out on one... In on two...
Ouch. Okay, not really an ouch, it just felt very unusual, like a burning pressure, and I'm not certain, but I think it made a squeak noise as the needle exitted. Nonetheless, I didn't make a peep, I don't even think my expression changed much. Then came the jewelry insertion, and oddly enough, it felt soothing, as if my cartilage was going "phewww". All I could feel at this point was the sensation that my ear was on fire and gigantic. They both seemed somewhat impressed that I did well (does that mean like I look like I'd be a wuss?), mentioning that I'm an easy one to pierce.
Finishing things up, my ear was cleaned again, which felt really nice since the solution was cold, as Craig explained how exactly to clean around the barbell and such. I got up, probably rambling about how great the whole thing was and how I can't wait to do it again, with lots of thanks thrown in, and barely stood still for Craig to take a photo of my ear. It's probably a good thing I don't recall so much from these moments. My boyfriend paid in the meantime, and then we were off to get some Subway.
The rest of that first day was rather strange, as I seemed to be hypersensitive to anything going on with that barbell, from the vibrations through it while in the truck, to the blatant temperature changes while going in and out of buildings. I also became a bit of a defensive pedestrian, kind of freaked out about keeping my left side away from anything that could bump it, as I don't think I was ready to know what that would feel like.
It didn't take long, however, to get normalised with it. I didn't experience any swelling, and cleaning twice daily was tender at worst. In no time I was flipping my jacket hood up and doing my hair without knocking it at all, in fact, the only time I startled myself was while laying on the couch, I accidentally turned my head and bumped the end of the barbell on a pillow, I learned pretty fast not to do that again!
My cautiousness, combined with adhering to the aftercare directions closely, lead to a very uneventful first month of healing, with no noticeable lymph or crusting, and a general absence of soreness by the two week mark. Of course there's still months left of healing ahead, but I still can't wait to go back for more, not to mention getting the other half of my industrial.