Well I developed a small addiction for piercings since my first about a year ago (now have 4 and have another 10 planned). I didn't want anything more on my face so I thought "Lets go for the ears" I was stuck between a tragus and a scaffold (horizontal industrial) across the top of my ear. As the title suggests I went with the scaffold (however the tragus shall be done too)
At A Glance Author Walrus of Love Contact Walrus of Love@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Stu Studio Otherside Location Belfast, Northern Ireland Now, my initial thoughts were "2 cartilage piercings in one go... fun" but, no pain no gain, so I headed into town with my friends and split off to book a spot to be pierced, paid, went through the signing and aftercare etc., went and got some grub and then headed back around my time slot. They were running a full half hour behind schedule (always real busy on Saturdays) so there I was sitting in the waiting area for AGES. Luckily the counter staff are incredibly friendly, we just sat and talked about killer hamsters or something, another fellow was getting his lip done and was very nervous and kept squeezing my leg, never seen him before but, why not?
Finally I was called in to the piercing area, greeted by Stu, who has done all of my piercings so far, he asked me to sit on the "couch" (it's basically a hospital bed)and talked me through the usual sterilization stuff and then marked me. Stu has this wonderful way of complimenting your body to assure you its going to be easy, now I assume he's talking crap to comfort you, but it works.
So off he went, through the first side (closest to the eyes) barely even noticed he'd done it, through the second side OUCH!! most painful piercing yet but it wasn't anything too bad at all, he tightened the ball and told me to go have a look in the mirror, looked better than any photo I'd seen of a scaffold piercing (unfortunately my hair covers my ears, so showing it off is annoying, but of course I do it) then we had a chat about my awesome leather boots and he told me to drop by a week later so he can make sure all is well and gave me a phone number to call if I had any queries. Might I add I have NEVER bled when pierced by Stu.
It's been a few days only and I haven't looked after it half as well as I should but already it feels comfortable and no crusties even, looks fantastic and I'm going to buy some spikes for it soon.
I would recommend Otherside to anyone in or around Belfast, great people and great piercist, prices aren't bad either, my scaffold was £25. Very clean and very legit, they don't I.D me because I've had piercings there and shown I.D before hand but they are very proper.
Oh I should add, while typing this out I've been wearing headphones (not earphones) and it is quite uncomfortable, you adjust and then you take them off and its uncomfortable all over again, but earphones are absolutely fine (obviously I guess) this would probably apply to any kind of hat too, glasses i imagine would be fine. No problems sleeping except I have to stick to on my back or on the opposite side, but it's only been a few days and I reckon a few more will see comfort when sleeping. As far as catching it on clothes and the like, no problems so far, however I was given a relatively short bar because I have thin cartilage and it would tear easily. Same as any facial piercing, just take your time taking off t shirts and the like.
In short here are the pros and cons I've found so far:
Pros -
1. It (in my opinion) is a very attractive piercing
2. In my experience of pain in general (not piercings) it is relatively painless
3. Easily concealed if you have long hair
4. Flexible options, for example, the full length bar or 2 labrets, or 2 rings, the world is your oyster
Cons -
1. Some day to day tasks become a little uncomfortable and require caution (e.g. changing clothes, washing and drying hair)
.. That's about it
It's also worth to note the vertical scaffold (industrial) will be very similar, although the bottom cartilage is quite thick so it could be more painful.
Wonderful piercing, I recommend it to anyone looking for something else to do, I haven't seen very many of these about, maybe 3 or 4, so perhaps it's a little different and more unique than some other options out there!
I hope this experience was at least a little helpful to you, and hopefully not too dull. Thanks for reading.