A few days ago (August 15, 2013), I got an industrial piercing done on my left ear. I'd wanted it for years now and after researching it deeply, I decided to go ahead and get it done. Now, industrials are not something to lightly do. They take an extremely long time to heal (minimum is 6 months, more than likely you'll be babying it for a year or more). They're prone to hypertrophic scarring (bumps will form on the two piercing sites) if you're not careful and even if you are careful they may still form. But I absolutely love it.
Getting It Done:
I researched on the internet the best piercing places in my city and chose one with the best reviews. It cost me $80 including the jewelry (not including tip).
The pain wasn't bad at all for me. But it varies from person to person. The vast majority of people say it hurts extremely badly. For me, it hurt maybe a 3 out of 10. However, I do have a high tolerance of pain which I managed to discover when dealing with gallbladder attacks for over a year and having a surgery to remove my gallbladder. In all honesty, having an IV put into my wrist hurt more than the piercing did.
Process: He marked where he would pierce it. He didn't have me check it or anything which I didn't mind because I love exactly where he put it much more than where I had in mind. Then he put clamps on the top area and pierced it with a hollow needle. Most piercers will do a 1, 2, 3 breathe thing then pierce it, however he did not with me which also didn't bother me. After piercing it, he put a cork in the bottom of the needle. He then threaded (put in) the jewelry with one of the balls already screwed on the end (the top) and none on the bottom. He then checked the placement before he pierced the bottom hole. He put clamps on the bottom and pierced it. Finally he threaded the jewelry through the bottom and put a ball on the bottom of the bar. And it was done!
Photo Timeline:
I decided to take pictures of it daily on my phone so I'd be able to compare the pictures and more easily see if I develop an infection and to monitor its healing. So I'm gonna do a post here and show some of my pictures for people who are thinking of getting it done and for people to know what to expect.
This is about an hour after getting it done on August 15, 2013. As you can see, it has redness but it hadn't swelled at all.
The morning after getting it done. As you can see, it's still red and it has swelled. August 16, 2013.
Morning two days after getting it done. Redness and swelling has decreased. August 17, 2013.
Here I'm just showing what it looks like after showering. Don't be alarmed if your piercing swells a bit after showering and has redness. It's totally normal.
Morning of August 18, 2013.
August 19, 2013. Pretty much no swelling or redness.
Let me know in the comments or tweet me @KilljoyGrl if you have any questions or want to see a post on taking care of it or my progress or anything. Hope this helps!
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