I got an industrial piercing put in about 3 weeks ago (but a month, according to the time system on this thing). I've had eight or nine piercings in my ears for about 4 or 5 years now, so it was no big deal. Despite working at a very private and posh school, they hired me as a student (by which I assume they want the little kids to get some exposure to how piercings look or something). Anyway.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Tim Studio Absolution Location Christchurch, New Zealand I've wanted an industrial since I was about, hell, 13, when I saw a girl at my school with one. This was a HUGE deal back in the day because my school was really strict on piercings, and refused to let you wear more than one pair of studs in your ears. I got earrings taken off me CONSTANTLY! So I saw this girl with an industrial and went just, WOW that's so pretty!! (Go figure. I've always really liked piercings).
it was finally decided that I would get an industrial by my mate who I get pierced with. He's more into it than I am: over the years he's had 23 piercings: 6 in his lobes, eyebrow, anti-eyebrow, 4 in his tongue, 6 corset piercings, and 5 lip rings. At the moment he only has 2 in his lobes but he's stretching them, the tongue studs, and the lip rings. I'm hoping that he'll keep getting the lip rings so that they can be"stitched" together - it looks awesome and if you know anyone with multiple lip rings on both upper and lower lips, i fully recommend you get a piece of ribbon or a kilt-pin or something and stick them together. It looks especially cool when he wears his straight-jacket, which was the first one I ever made!
I went into Absolution (which is probably the best place in Christchurch to go to get pierced...it's the only place I consider or recommend anyway. They also do tattooing and so on and so forth, but that's irrelevant here) on a Friday afternoon to get an industrial done. It was nice and quick, by their new (well, new ish - he's been there for a year or more) piercer, Tim, who is delightfully British-accented and has pretty blue eyes. It was an awesome piercing experience, which was unexpected - last time I got a cartilage piercing it sucked a lot, but I can't help but feel that was because it was a ring. I hate rings going straight into piercings. The second hole, the top one, was awesomely painful and there was literally a crunch when it went through. (Never look at pain as a negative in piercings. Is there any better feeling than a needle going through your lobe?)
So that was all fine and dandy, and off I went with a spanking new piercing bar (which caused all the girls I look after to freak out, nice one to the management there) and all seemed well until the Sunday after, when my ear started aching really badly, feeling like a mega infection was setting in. Negative good, but I sat it out for two days before I went in (mostly waiting for the shop to open on tuesday, really). At that time I expected to need to take the piercing out and let it close over, because it was literally so swollen that you could no longer see the cave-curve at the top of my ear (really gross!!). However, it was apparently fine (I had still been cleaning it and everything) and it was essentially abnormal swelling which was pressing the ear against the balls of the bar, meaning it was swelling more and more. Tim put a new bar in for me (fine except for top piercing which was tender) and told me to get some ibuprofin down me. (ibuprofin = anti-inflammatory, in ca se it has a different name in USA)
It took a little while for the swelling to go down completely and I ended up taking a bunch of Tylenol so I could sleep (not on that side, just generally it hurt a lot. Not the good pain that you get pierced for, which was sucky - just the kinda crap irritating pain that stays and stays and would probably lead to prodding if it didn't hurt MORE to do that!)
Two weeks on from that, and my ear is totally fine. Squiggly and delicious, actually. I think that the industrial piercing is probably the hottest ear piercing around, and I'm currently shopping for some new jewelry to reflect on that. My parents (really not big on piercings) unsurprisingly hate it an awful lot, but that's only to be expected.
cost of piercing: $70 NZD
Cost of new bar: $20 NZD
Joy at scaring children I work with: Priceless.