I've wanted to get my industrial done for ages, since after I got my tongue done about a year and a half ago. I had read on here and other places that it was really painful etc etc and was so scared, I finally decided to just go and do it instead of complaining about it for the rest of my life, it's only a bit of pain after all...
At A Glance Author Joanna Contact joseph_is_cool@hotmail.co.uk When It just happened Artist Viktor Studio Chris Connett Location Kingston, UK I went to the same studio as my best friend had her tattoo done, and another friend had her septum and some other piercings done. I tried for a couple of days to get it done, but it was shut on the Monday, and he was booked up on the Tuesday. I made an appointment for the next day (Wednesday) and the only time he had free was an hour before I started work - but I didn't really care and I got it anyway.
After having the build up for 3 days, I was quite nervous about it. When we were sitting in the shop I freaked out a bit about whether to get a bar in each hole or just the 1 long bar - because I've heard that with 2 bars it heals quicker but you risk the holes not aligning properly but with 1 long bar it can take longer to heal and be more sensitive. The piercer explained to me that it would only take a couple more weeks to heal with one bar so I decided to get that; also, I much prefer the look of it anyway.
When he was marking my ear up, he told me that because the side of my ear where the bottom hole would be is very narrow, if he were to do a normal industrial then it could reject, and to reduce the risk of this he would bend the bar so the ball shows at the back of my ear. I said I wasn't bothered so he bent it into shape and carried on preparing everything.
When he came to doing it I was fairly calm, he put the clamp on and told me to take a deep breath and pushed it through. Because it was the thinner part of my ear, it really didn't hurt that badly, much less than I was expecting - it was sort of a sharp pain then a hollow sensation if that makes sense? He told me to take another deep breath, and pushed it through again - I was expecting it to hurt more and it did but it wasn't bad at all. I didn't cry or anything so it really wasn't that bad! Afterwards he kept telling me to breath and try to keep my heartbeat down and stuff, then he just tried to stop it bleeding then that was it. He explained all the aftercare and gave me a sheet to take home.
I went straight to work after I had it done which wasn't the best idea I've had, it bled a couple of times which was really embarrassing and I got a bit paranoid that something was wrong. However, it hasn't bled since and after about 4 days it doesn't really hurt unless i touch it. Sleeping is difficult because it's on the side that I usually sleep and it's hard to stay on my other side 'cos I forgot and hit myself in the ear. Washing my hair is hard as well but it's just going to take some getting used to, I'm trying as hard as I can not to hit it 'cos I don't want it to bleed or anything.
Other than that, I'm really happy that I got it done, and I love it so much. I want to show it off to everyone, and because it's a custom shape, it looks even better than I originally thought it would.
If anyone is thinking about getting this done and isn't sure, then I say just go for it. I wanted it for so long, and the only way you'll get it is if you do something about it. After you've researched it, looked at some pictures on here etc etc and you know that you will be able to look after it properly, then don't worry about how much it will hurt or what people will think. If you like it then that's all that matters, and it will never be as painful as you think it's gonna be. I know everyone has different pain thresholds but if so many people have this piercing done then it can't be THAT bad can it?
I'm still slightly worried about it rejecting but I'm trying to be as clean and careful as possible, hopefully it won't because I'm so in love with it and wouldn't want to take it out. I'm looking forward to going back to college after half term to show everyone!
Good luck to anyone who wants to get this done, you won't be disappointed I promise you!