I never was tempted to get a lot of piercings or tattoos, but I was fascinated by others who had them. A few years ago, browsing on BME, a normal helix-to-helix industrial caught my eye. I thought it was very beautiful, and quite unusual (I hadn't ever seen anyone with one before).
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When Two years ago Artist Derek Lowe Studio Body Work Productions Location Cleveland, OH I read a lot of experiences, though, that made me nervous....keloids, healing problems, etc. This piercing really is horrible to heal. But, I decided it was worth the risk.
Before I made my final decision, I went to see Derek Lowe at Body Work Productions in Cleveland, OH. The shop's only business is piercings, and people sometimes travel distances to get pierced there. I picked Derek because of his excellent reputation, and he surpassed my expectations. During our consultation he was articulate and intelligent, and his portfolio was wonderful. After looking carefully at the anatomy of my ears, he flat-out refused to put a non-custom industrial in my left ear, which is what I'd wanted, because the shape of my ear wouldn't allow for the standard, straight barbell. After measuring my right ear and consulting with his colleagues, he said he could do an industrial in my right ear, but its placement would have to be very precise. It had to be quite vertical, since a horizontal placement would cause pressure on my cartilage. I told him I'd think about it, and I left the shop.
I was really comfortable with Derek and with the cleanliness of the piercing shop, so I made an appointment to get the piercing a couple weeks later. (This was in April, 2001). I was nervous, because I thought it might hurt, but I didn't figure it would be much worse than getting a shot.
When the day of my piercing came, I went alone. Derek took me back into a little room with a padded bed, like at a doctor's office. The room also contained a sink and a few chairs. I was able to bring my own music to listen to during the piercing procedure. Derek talked to me for a good 40 minutes before he actually did the piercing...he told me about the shop's cleanliness procedures (autoclave, etc.), after-care, and the actual piercing procedure.
Derek washed his hands several times, then put on gloves. He thoroughly cleaned my ear, then he used a purple marker to mark the position of the piercing. He took a lot of time to make sure the piercing lined up properly...one of the reasons industrials are so difficult to heal is that many piercers don't know how to position the holes at the proper angles to each other. He showed me the placement and got my approval, although I really had no choice since Derek had such a tight space in my ear to work with.
Finally, the time came for the actual piercing. I laid back on the bench, and Derek explained what he was doing. He was piercing me with a 13 gauge needle, since the barbell was 14 gauge and he wanted to make sure it fit. He didn't use clamps on my ear, which I'm thankful for, because I've heard clamps often hurt more than the actual needle. Derek told me in a very soothing voice to take deep breaths as he counted, and he pierced me on three. He pierced the top hole first, the one closest to my head.
I was not prepared for the pain. I was expecting it to be like a shot, but instead it was like BEING shot. I didn't scream out or anything, but I was very taken aback by the pain. What was worse was realizing he still had another hole to do. He asked if I wanted him to do the next hole right away, or if I wanted a few minutes. I said to do it right away, and he said that was probably a good idea. He pierced the second hole. It didn't hurt quite as badly as the first, but that could be because my entire ear felt like it was on fire already.
When he slid the barbell through, I could barely feel it. Screwing the balls on the end was slightly painful, though. I didn't bleed at all, and Derek said he was impressed with how well I handled myself....he said that a lot of people cried or screamed for this piercing.
Derek sat there and talked to me for a few minutes while I made sure I was okay to walk...he gave me some water. When I was sure I was all right to leave, I got up and paid. The piercing was $72...slightly pricey, but DEFINITELY worth it for the extra attention and expertise this shop offered. I tipped Derek well, and I also bought some sea salt and Provon liquid soap to clean the piercing.
On the way home, my ear was throbbing and burning and bright red. However, I loved the look of my new piercing.
But, piercings don't look very nice when they're red and infected...and they look even worse when they have hypertrophic scarring or keloids. I decided I wanted this piercing to heal well, and quickly. I was very diligent with my sea salt soaks. I could only do the soaks for the first couple days...the piercing hurt too much to even touch. I'd clean it with a Q-tip when I got out of the shower, because I had lots of crusted blood on it (even though I never slept on it).
Soon I was able to turn the piercing in the shower, and I used Provon on it, in addition to my sea salt soaks twice daily. Still, it hurt badly when I bumped it. Giving hugs became very difficult during this time, because I'd almost always bump it, and my ear would hurt for a day afterward. I also couldn't sleep on it or hold a phone to it.
I began to think something was wrong when it didn't heal completely after 6 months...it didn't look bad and it wasn't infected, but it was still red, it still hurt when I bumped it, and I had slight hypertrophic scars. I went to see Derek and ask him about it, and he said it was normal. This piercing takes a very long time to heal in comparison with other piercings.
After about a year, with the same problems still, I began dating a guy who recommended I use Dr. Bronner's aloe vera baby-mild pure castile liquid soap on the piercing. This is a soap he got out in California at a piercing shop, but around here it's only available in organic/health food stores. After a couple weeks of using this soap on my piercing, the redness was gone and the hypertrophic scarring had completely disappeared. I continued using the soap for about 3 months, and by then the piercing was completely healed.
It's been healed for a good 8 months now, and I love it. The only problem I've had since then is when I dyed my hair and didn't cover the piercing. It was irritated, painful and red for a few weeks. I used Dr. Bronner's on it again, and eventually the irritation went away.
Summary:
Had I known how painful the actual piercing would be, and how long the healing process is, I might never have gotten this particular piercing. I couldn't sleep on my right side for about a year and a half, and I hurt myself many times giving people hugs. This piercing requires a lot of TLC, and even then you might end up with ugly scars. Now that it's healed, I love it...but if you're looking for a piercing that is going to look really great in only a few weeks, this isn't for you.
I can't stress enough how important it is to pick a good, reputable piercer. I can't imagine what a nightmare this might have been if Derek hadn't done such a great job with placement. I also personally would recommend getting the barbell put in right away, rather than two hoops. I've never taken my barbell out, and I've had no problems with it. I didn't have to get it resized because Derek did a great job with the length of the barbell to begin with.
All in all, I love this piercing, and it looks great. Truthfully, people don't notice it that much, but that's all right since I got it for myself and not for others. However, if you're really looking to get noticed, I'm not sure this is the piercing for you. Really think about it before you do it, because it's painful and it's not easy to heal.
(Note: I don't know if Dr. Bronner's soap is recommended by piercers or even if it's healthy, but it worked for me. Obviously this is only my experience; I'd ask a piercer if you wanted to use this soap.)