I'll start by saying that I am not a piercing virgin. By no means am I the most experienced, but I have a small collection of piercings myself. These include my navel, rook, tragus, tongue and industrial. My industrial was the latest piercing done. Anyway, I had wanted my industrial for as long as I can remember. Finally one day I had had enough waiting and decided to go do it.
At A Glance Author Cigi Contact Cigi@bme.anon When Six months ago Studio Louiz Segado Location Miami FL When I got to the piercing studio (which shall remain nameless) I was told that they didn't have any barbells long enough for an industrial. Extremely disappointed I was ready to go home, but the piercer said that she could do it with two captives. Although I wouldn't get to achieve the look I had so desired for about 3 months, I went for it. The piercing, which is actually two piercings, was not bad at all. However, once I was done and had the two captives in my ear, the piercer said, "you ear is kinda small, it looks like I have a barbell that will fit it, let me put that in instead." BIG MISTAKE. The piercer began to remove the recently inserted captives and tried to shove the barbell through my recently pierced ear. PAIN. The holes were just freshly made and then she was yanking the earrings out. Then she was forcefully trying to put something back in. When she realized that it was not budging, she began to use tapers to insert to barbell, MORE PAIN.
Although my experience was horrific and painful, when I saw the piercing I was so excited. However, my ear began to swell tremendously and though this is common, the swelling and pain never subsided. The earring continuously seeped and crusted, finally emitting a greenish pus. I would clean it and rinse with sea salt solution. This helped a little bit, but nothing big. After about a month I began to get a huge keloid on the bottom piercing. It was then that I decided I might need a longer barbell. When I took out the one already in my ear, it was so short that the ball didn't even completely cover the screw on lacing. So I put in the new longer barbell and allowed the healing process to go on for about another month. After this, the piercing still did not heal properly and I decided to let the bottom hole close. After about 2 months the keloid began to disappear and by the third month it was gone. The healed hole was no longer painful and didn't leave any scars.
Fast-forward 3 months. After allowing the piercing to heal, I decided I still wanted it done. However, I knew I wasn't going back to the first studio, I felt she had messed up my ear so much and even gave me a makeshift earring, I wasn't about to let her attempt it again. It was then that I returned to the same place that I had my tragus pierced 3 years earlier while on vacation. I went to the greatest piercer alive, I forget his name, but he works at Louiz Segado studio on South Beach. He took one look at my ear and figured out the perfect placement for my bottom hole to be repierced. He told me to relax and although he didn't do the initial piercing he would figure out a way for it to work perfectly. After it was done, (still not painful) he put in a captive and told me about the healing procedures. Although it was sore, it wasn't that bad and I was excited that I was finally gonna get my much needed industrial. It still crusted, as usual, but there was no green pus and no keloid ever formed. I took good care of it and about 2 months later it was healed perfectly and I could finally put in my much desired (long enough) barbell.
I would recommend this parlor to anyone wanting a piercing (it is located on Washington Avenue on South Beach, Miami) and would give anyone wanting an industrial this advice. Get pierced with 2 captives at first, NOT A BARBELL. You may not get the look you are desiring immediately, but the healing process will be 100 times easier. You can move the earrings to clean much more easily and your chances of developing a keloid are much much lower. Almost 90 percent of other people I know that have industrials have developed keloids from the balls rubbing during the healing process. However, since my repiercing, I have had no problems at all. Still I am so happy about my industrial now, it looks so good and I love it. I always get compliments about how great it looks and how people love the way it looks. It was worth all of the effort put into it.