I was shopping one day, and noticed a man had a barbell through his cartilage in 2 different places. At first thought it was ridiculous. Then I got to thinking about how cool it was. I stopped him in the store and asked him to please show me his "ear thing". He turned his head and pulled on the top of his cartilage to show me the stainless steel barbell. I was in love.
At A Glance Author cate Contact cate@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Sam Studio Flesh Tones Tattoo Location Wood River, Illinois I rushed home to beg my mom for this new piercing. (I had my lobes gauged and my cartilage pierced 3 times, all on my left ear.) She thought it was a bad idea considering I was "so young". I knew I could talk her into it, but it would take time. I just seriously didn't think it was going to take 4 months. I did a ton of research to make sure this mod was right for me. It seemed to be, so I stayed persistent on my mom.
Finally, when my 15th birthday rolled around, I begged hardcore for about a week for it, and she finally gave in. She said she'd pay and sign the forms, but she wasn't going to watch the actual piercing take place. I didn't care if I had to do it alone, I was doing it. I called my aunt from out of town and she told me she'd come the next day to take me to Flesh Tones to get it done. I called Sam the piercer and he told me he would make one exception on his day off to come in and do my industrial. We made it for 1 the next day.
So my aunt and uncle came in at 12, noon, and we went and picked my friend Molly up so she could hold my hand while Sam pierced it. We got to Flesh Tones a little early so we had to wait for them to open. Finally we went in and the tattoo artist (I didn't catch her name) called Sam to come down and pierce my ear. He showed up 5 minutes later and went back to the piercing room to get everything ready. We signed all the forms and Sam told me "You can bring one person back with you, choose wisely." I immediately reached for Molly.
We stepped back into the room, and about 15 feet from me, a guy was getting a tattoo. While Sam finished sterilizing everything I talked to the guy and Molly to help calm me nerves. It actually helped quite a bit. Sam told me to turn around in the chair and put my right side facing him. I did as I was told and he explained what would happen. I caught a glimpse of the needle and I could feel the blood rush from my face. I have a very high tolerance for pain, but from what I'd seen and heard, this piercing was very painful.
He took a toothpick that was marked with ink and marked where the holes would be. Trying to make small talk and calm my nerves I asked him if he had done many industrials. He just kind of laughed and said I'll show you when I'm done. He pulled the needle off the table and lined it up on my ear. He didn't even give me time to do anything (which I am oh-so-thankful for) and he was pushing the needle through the top hole, close to my head. It was a hot, quick, shooting pain. It was pretty painful, and I clinched my teeth and kind of screamed. Molly laughed at me and let go of my hand. First hole was down. It took Sam about 3 seconds and the second hole was done. I barely felt that one. I figure it was due to the adrenaline pumping through my body. He slid the 14g barbell through the needle, and my new modification was complete. He started to clean me up, but I was bleeding pretty bad, so it took a few minutes to clean it up. When all was done he took a picture of it and showed it to me. I loved it.
It burned and kind of throbbed for about half an hour afterwards, but then it was like it wasn't there. Sam gave me some H2Ocean spray, and told me to use antibacterial soap on it. I couldn't help but stand in front of a mirror for the first couple of hours admiring my new hardware.
Now, 3 days later, I still stare at it in the mirror. I clean in 3 times a day, spraying it with H2Ocean and lathering up antibacterial soap on the bar and working it through both holes for a few minutes, and it is doing VERY VERY well. I don't even feel it, and I love the way it looks on me.
My advice for anyone who would want to get this piercing is to do some research first. If you think it's right for you, go for it. It IS painful, but it's not pass out, pee your pants pain. A quick hot shooting pain for about 10 seconds then it's gone. It's an eye catcher, and I've gotten multiple compliments on my new mod. I'm happy I got it done, and I have no regrets about it. If you want to talk to me about your experience or about mine, feel free to email me.