My friend and I always hold some sort of joint celebration every year, and when we turned 18 we decided to get ourselves piercings. We were both new to the whole world of body modification, so research difficult. I ended up doing my "shopping" at local underground rock concerts, and at one I spotted a kid with an industrial. I didn't know what the piercing was called at the time, but I knew that it was exactly what I wanted.
At A Glance Author Adeline Contact Adeline@bme.anon When Six months ago Artist Toast Studio West Side Tattoo Location Colorado Springs, Colorado I researched the local parlors and made some phone calls. I asked people I knew who already had piercings which shops I should check out. My friend and I eventually settled on West Side Tattoo, and we were asked to first come in and talk to Toast, the piercer, before we made any final decisions (We both decided that, with a name like Toast, he must be good). When we went in, I described to him what I wanted, saying "a bar going between to points of cartilage at the top of my left ear." He told me the correct name, proper care, how the procedure would go, and what to expect in the days, weeks, and months following. He made sure that all my questions were answered and all the risks had been addressed before I made up my mind. There was never any hesitation, but I got all the information that I needed.
I had told him I would be back in a week to get it done, but I was too excited so I returned the next day. After signing all the waivers and going over the whole deal once more, I showed Toast exactly where I wanted the bar to enter my ear, and a mark was made on my cartilage on those places. Then the entire room was wiped down and cleaned and I sat on the chair. Toast set everything up on a steel tray beside me. My hair was pulled back and a paper towel pinned around the back of my ear, which was washed and cleaned. My friend sat next to me to watch (and for me to grip when it started to hurt).
I had been expecting a piercing gun, seeing as any previous experience I had had was with my lower cartilage at some store in a mall when I was 13. I was surprised that Toast used his hands, but it made a lot more sense to me when I felt how he did it (and, in retrospect, it seems like a much better idea to use hands than a gun). There was one needle (I've since seen it done with two as well), and it went up through the bottom first. It hurt much more than I had expected, but I have a terrible pain tolerance to begin with so I'm not surprised. There were four distinct bursts of pain (needle making first hole, then second hole, then two more when the jewelry was slipped through), but the last two were the only really bad ones. After the jewelry was in, though, the hurt was reduced to a dull throbbing. Toast cleaned up the blood with a few Q-tips, then removed the paper towel and threw everything away that had touched my ear. Excitedly, I jumped up and looked in the mirror. It had been quick, clean, and the result looked great. A lot of build-up for a very worthwhile and rewarding birthday present.
The bleeding lasted a couple days (I was taking Accutane, though, and a side effect includes dry skin which bleeds easily), and the soreness for a month at the most. The swelling took a month and a half to go away completely around the top hole, and a little longer for the bottom hole. There was the regular white discharge from the top hole for a couple months, and six months after the lower hole still has discharge now and then, but it's clearing up and is almost entirely gone. The total healing time was expected to be 6-12 months, so it's all on track. I went back to Toast twice in the month following the procedure, once to check in on the healing (he said it was going just fine) and another time for it to be photographed for his portfolio.
Aftercare procedures weren't a problem at all – I was given sea salt and told to mix it with distilled water, then use a q-tip and wet paper towel to clean off any discharge and soak the entire piercing. I also got a piece of paper describing everything I should do in order to expedite the healing process and a list of helpful websites where I could read up on similar experiences and shop for jewelry.
Now, six months later, I can take the whole thing out for a couple minutes and re-insert it without a problem. I can twirl it and twist it in my ear without any pain, redness, or swelling. I get tons of compliments on it and questions as to where I got it, how much it hurt, how was it done, etc. If you've been considering getting an industrial, whether or not it's your first piercing, I highly recommend it; it's totally worth it (even if you have little or not pain tolerance) and the end result is fantastic!
Overall, a good first piercing for someone new to the mod world. Now that this one is mostly healed, I plan on going back in a few weeks to get my outer conch done. This time, to mark my send-off for college this Fall.