I've always been into piercings, but as with most teenagers, there's the constant roadblock called "parents." I begged them for YEARS to have my 1st lobe done, and eventually got it for my 12th birthday. Of course, once that was over and done with, my attention started to wander, and I jumped to what seemed the most logical step up- a second lobe. My friend Rhiannon started jabbing safety pins through her ears in 7th grade, and that combined with my new introduction to the punk scene festered a desperate desire for more holes. I did those in my English class, and, predictably, was caught by the teacher and had to remove the piercings, on top of a strict grounding. I re-did them later, though, and my parents gave up on deterring me from those. Ever since I've stuck pins through my ear for amusement and that AMAZING adrenaline high, but a few weeks ago I pierced a 3rd lobe to keep (well, for as long as my parents don't find out). I've also managed to gage my ears up to a 4g wit hout the parents noticing, by gluing a large button over the gage and presenting them as really clunky earrings. Now, to the industrial...
At A Glance Author Jen :D Contact Jen :D@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Me and my friends Patrice, Kyle, and Eb Studio HHS girls' bathroom Industrials are DEFINITELY the first abnormal piercing I fell in love with, and the only one I had any chance of getting. I did all my research and presented it to my mum and dad, but was shot down. My mum didn't mind, but my dad's always been stricter when it comes to that kind of stuff, and after much begging said I could get the piercing if I got all "A"s for 4th quarter. That being incredibly unlikely, I put the industrial to the back of my mind, and told myself that I'd get it later when I became more independent or they grew more accustomed to the idea.
Last week in school, one of my friends asked me to pierce a second lobe for her during lunch, and of course I agreed- who am I to refuse a perfectly good opportunity to convert others to this lifestyle? As we discussed it over the next few days, other friends listening in on the conversations asked me to do some piercings for them, too, and i ended up piercing 4 people in total that day. One girl, Eb, had never gotten ANY piercings before (not even the lobe), and asked me to do a cartilage for her, which I thought was pretty hardcore. If you're reading this, Eb, props! While I was sitting here shoving metal through my friends' skin, it occurred to me that the simplest way to do an industrial would be to just, well, do it myself. I thought it over and decided that I probably wouldn't be able to get it all the way through without some help, and it'd be a lot harder to aim, so I enlisted Patrice to help me out.
Skip to the girls' bathroom, second floor, on Friday, May 30th (2008- just by the way). I brought my special 2-inch pin with me and borrowed a friend's lighter, then grabbed Pat, Eb, and Zainab (who couldn't stay for the entire thing, sadly) and started sterilizing the pin. BUT, as soon as I go to hand it to Patrice, she says "oh, no, I'm pussying out! I thought you knew!" This kind of threw everything off balance, seeing as that was the only way to do it and Eb said she'd probably throw up if she tried piercing anyone. After having a tiny breakdown, I decided to go ahead with it anyway, and went over to the mirror. What kind of sucks is that I realized I couldn't see well enough to get the right angle, so I called Patrice over and asked her to position the pin for me. This didn't work out too well, and, THANK FUCKING GOD, she said that she'd just go ahead and do it. The first hole seemed to go fine- I've play-pierced my cartilage before, and it was pretty much all pleasure, so that was what I expected. The second hole, though..... Jesus fucking Christ. I can say %100 truthfully that that was the most pain I've ever willingly gone through in my entire life. Patrice managed to get it through about halfway before it just jarred and refused to move, no matter what we did. This went on for about 3 or 4 minutes, with her and Eb trying their hardest to just get the damn thing through. It got to the point where we could actually see the end of the pin through my skin, and then finally my friend Kyle walks in (Kyle's a chick, by the way). After asking her if she had any misgivings about piercings, we pointed out my ear and asked if she could please just get the stupid thing through. Of course, she pops it through in a manner of seconds, and I'm left with what looks like the most glorious thing I have ever seen. There is absolutely nothing more satisfying than seeing a DIY piercing finished in all it's glory, and I was THRILLED. I showed it off to everyb ody I knew, with mixed reactions, but nothing could dampen my mood.
Thankfully my parents weren't home when I got off the bus, which gave me 2 hours to snack on some Advil and ice the shit out of my ear. The pain was almost unbearable- it got to the point where even a gust of wind would have me wincing and trying to cover my ear. My mum gets home at 5, so at 4:30 I decided that I should try and switch it over to these flesh-colored studs I had, to keep it less noticable. BAD. IDEA. I cannot stress how stupid it was of me to try that- ALWAYS wait for at least a few days before trying to change earrings. It took a while to get the pin out of that 2nd hole- the skin around it was SUPER tight, and it felt like my ear had grown around the pin. I finally got it out, though, but could not for the life of me get a stud in there. I tried it from the front, from the back, but it still wouldn't work. After 5 or 10 minutes I asked my sister to do it for me, but it got to the point were I was actually sobbing like a baby, the pain was so unbearable. I fig ured that was a hell of a lot more pain than it would be to re-pierce the whole once it healed up, so I let the pin stay in the lower hole, and gave the 2nd one up.
While figdeting with my hair to see how succesfully I could disguise it, I realized it would have been a lot smarter to just keep the pin in both holes- at least then it was lying flush against my ear, and could easily be covered by my hair. But with the huge pin in only one piercing, it kept poking out, and there was obviously no way to keep it hidden. Since this piercing seemed to be reacting better than the one that put me through so much pain, I hoped that I would be able to get a stud through this one, but to no avail. Eventually, I decided that it wasn't worth it, and that I would just re-pierce it with some professional needles and actual industrial jewelry. Besides, the piercing was probably going to get infected, seeing as we used a safety pin, and I didn't have the time to get too attached to it.
While I had it I got an AMAZING amount of compliments, and it seriously boosted my self-esteem for a few hours. I really recommend an industrial- it's fucking gorgeous. Just a few words of advice- if you're going to DIY, be a little bit more responsible than I was- no one wants to lose a piercing after going through that much to get it in the first place.