An Industrial Sized Horror Story... With a Happy Ending

Ever since I was 13/14ish, I've always wanted an industrial. I mostly saw them on girls, but every time I saw one on a guy, I stared in awe cause they just looked so friggen awesome! I was young at the time though, and didn't want to go and get one since I figured my mom wouldn't be happy with the idea. The idea of me getting one eventually died down over a few years.

When I was 17, the summer came and I saw a guy with an industrial. It re-sparked my interest for one. I figured I was old enough to get one myself without my parent's consent (you need to be 16 in Ontario), so I looked into it a bit more. I read stories here on BME almost every night, and started contacting places around my area about prices. Some of the horror stories I read scared the crap out of me, but I thought as long as I took good care of it, it would be fine.

I finally made an appointment at a local place called Dragon's Den in Woodstock. I prepared myself by getting my hair cut beforehand (so the hair dresser wouldn't have to fiddle around with a freshly pierced ear anywhere in the near future), picking up a large box of q-tips, and buying a container of no-name antibacterial soap.

Once the day finally came, I was really nervous, which I think is normal. I have my left lobe pierced twice and one hole stretched to around a 10-gauge, so I had some experience with piercing. I also have no problems at all with needles, which I'm sure helped me a lot too. My parents also had no problem with it.

After I got off of work, I headed to my friend's house. There were four of my closest friends who wanted to be there to see me get a bar shoved through my ear, so I picked them up and drove to the piercing place. I walked in, and they had me sign a contract like usual.

By now, I was almost shaking. Dan led me to the chair where the piercing was to be done. My friends talked to him more than I did, I just wanted the thing to be done and over with. He cleaned my ear religiously and marked the spot where he was going to pierce it. He never showed me the placement, but I didn't say anything since I just wanted him to do it. He did the first hole, and it didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. There were no gross noises, just my friends behind me groaning. The second hole wasn't so pleasant. He was having a really hard time getting the needle through the top part of my ear, and his hand slipped at one point, which hurt. He eventually got the needle through, and put the bar in. He stopped the little bleeding there was, and then cleaned the fresh piercing. I must say this hurt more than the actual piercing itself.

Once it was all said and done, he led me to a mirror. I was awestruck, it looked totally awesome. My friends all thought the same thing, and were all still grossed out by what they just saw. I paid the guy, shook his hand, and went on my marry way.

The bar he put in was a snug fit, which was a bit of a problem. Since I had no bar to move, I had to scrunch my ear up on the bar to clean it. Since it was new, I had a hell of a time trying to clean it. I eventually gave up trying and only cleaned what I could.

The following two days were as expected. There was little swelling, but my ear was completely beat red. Sleeping was a problem at first, as I would wake up in the middle of the night with searing pain from rolling over onto my industrial. I put a towel over my pillow just incase it started bleeding, but not once did it bleed. There were a few things I had to get used to, like sleeping only on one side and making sure my shirts didn't get caught on it when I put them on. Drying hair with a towel also is a bit tricky at first, but you get used to it.

Three days after the piercing was when the real problems started. Since I could not clean it very well (which is the reason, I can only assume), my ear got infected. It started to swell up. The first day it started, it was only a moderate discomfort. The next few days, however, were anything but. My ear swelled up to such a point where it was almost engulfing the bar in the middle. This put pressure on the already snug bar, and you know what happens when you have pressure on a swollen area. The pain was close to unbearable. Pain shot down my ear, through my head and down my neck. I can honestly say that it was far more painful than the piercing itself. Advil became my friend, and it temporarily helped. I had to carry around some sort of cloth, because my ear would randomly discharge some green fluid. I tried salt soaks, cleaning, everything. The swelling never went down.

I was unsure what to do at that point. I wanted to keep it in, since I paid $42 for it and it looked cool. But at the same time, the pain was so horrible that I felt that my health was in danger. Four days after the swelling began, I was sitting in my room late at night because I couldn't sleep. I felt close to vomiting, when the room started spinning and I blacked out for about three seconds. As soon as I had my eyesight back, I felt that I had enough. I went to the bathroom with a pair of latex gloves and took the damned thing out. It hurt so much I was in tears, and I have a good pain tolerance. As soon as the pressure was relieved from my ear, it was almost instant pain relief. I showed my step-dad my ear, and he told me that if it wasn't better in two days he was taking me to the emergency room. He is a real "it's just a scrape" guy, so it scared me when he said this. He told me my ear was entirely purple, which came as a surprise to me. I am colour blind and I didn't re alize how severe it actually was.

Over the next few days, the swelling eventually went down. I wanted to preserve the holes, so I put 2 of my other earrings in the holes. The holes were still open after that time, to my surprise. I left those in for a few days, and then took the risk of putting the bar back in. I managed to get it in, and it felt a lot better then it did before. The holes were healed better, and I could actually clean it. The redness eventually went away, and I was certain that my ear wasn't going to get infected again.

Its been three months since I put the bar back in, and my ear is healing wonderfully. I can actually sleep on it now, and there is just a slight bit of swelling on the top hole. I clean it once a day with anti bacterial soap and put some polysporin in it once a day as well, just to give it some lubrication.

If there is any suggestion I can give to anyone wishing to get one of these, I would STRONGLEY recommend that you get two separate rings in the holes first before you get the bar. I know some piercing places will only do this. I know the bar is cool and all, but trust me, you don't want to go through what I did. Two separate rings puts far less pressure on the holes and lets them heal much better than with the bar in there.

All in all, I am happy with my industrial. It looks amazing, and I couldn't be happier. I'd recommend getting it if you don't want something as racy as an eyebrow, but want something different at the same time. For anyone who is wishing to get one, good luck!

"Go big or go home"

I'll make sure I don't leave any detail out!

Well, a few months ago I saw glass talons and barbs for the first time. A friend of mine showed me, and for whatever reason I wanted them stuck in my head. I just really liked the way the glass looks, the colors and different styles really appeal to me. I've have piercings done before, like my tongue and ears with small gauges, and I was never really excited about them. I had them removed a long time ago as a result. So aside from my ink I haven't had any mods for quite a few years. I started to poke around looking for shops and one of my buds let me know about Haven Body Arts. He told me it was a new shop but the people working there had been in the industry a long time. So about two weeks ago I headed into downtown Northampton.

The shop its self is on the second floor on the main strip. You walk through this big silver door and then up a flight of stairs. At the top on the right hand side is a large, curved, black wall with bunch of small silver windows. When you walk in you are immediately facing the main counter. To your left are the tattoo stations, my ears were greeted by the familiar buzz of a tattoo machine at work. Which reminds me, I need more ink! The floors are all wood and polished, and the walls are white and spotless.

This place is immaculate. It has this whole modern simplistic theme going on. Very well organized and well thought out. I walked up to the counter and above it on the back wall are two rows of certifications held by people at the shop. Everything from CPR, to blood-borne pathogens, to piercing certifications; it was very reassuring to see.

The girl at the counter (I can't remember her name, but she did have her ears stretched really big) was friendly and directed me to this set of hanging cabinets on the opposite wall. This is where the glass was neatly laid out by size on each self. I was getting excited, there were all sorts of glass twists, hooks, barbs in many different colors. The selection was very good and I probably sat there pacing back and forth for thirty minutes trying to figure out what I wanted.

During this time I was greeted by Penelope, the piercer my friend had mentioned before. We chatted for a while as I looked. She is one of the easiest people to talk to. Very friendly, she is a total sweetheart. She has a ton of modifications herself. She is covered in ink, and has numerous piercings. She wears it very well I have to say....but I am getting off track.

I finally decided that I'd just get some glass plugs. Penelope told me it would take about four to six weeks to heal completely. I figured a plug would be the least cumbersome during the healing time. So, the next question was, how big? So I asked.

"What do you think? What gauge should I get?"

She stood with her hands on her hips and cocked her head to one side and smiled.

"Go big or go home of course." And then laughed

Ok, big it was. So I selected a pair of 00g clear plugs from the case. We continued to talk as she led me into the piercing room. On a side note the piercing room its self is separated from the main studio floor by this giant piece of glass that runs from the ceiling to the floor. There is a shade of course if you need privacy, but also a really cool twist on the shop lay out. And the piercing room looks like something out of a hospital. I just couldn't get over how clean everything was.

She had me lay back on this comfy piercing table and told me to relax. She continued to set up her tools and kept talking to me the whole time. Now something happened that I was not expecting. I became nervous. I was fine up until this point and all of a sudden I got a little knot in my stomach. My ears are normal, no holes anywhere. So I was about to go from nothing to 00g.

"Well." I thought to myself. "This should be interesting."

Penelope hovered over me and let me know she would not perform the actual pierce until she said otherwise. I remember she set the clamps and told me there would be some pressure. She told me to take a deep breath and on the count of three she would pierce. I took a deep breath and she counted. On three I felt a sharp pain as the needle quickly passed through my lobe.

She worked very quickly and told me:

"You will feel movement." As she set up for the first stretch.

Oh yeah, the way this worked out was that she needed to pierce with the first needle, a 4g or 6g, I don't remember exactly, then use this thing called a "taper" to stretch to 2g, and then another taper to stretch to 00g. I don't know how the taper things work exactly, I didn't think to ask.

So the first stretch comes, it hurts worse that the piercing, but its not horrible. The pain is sharp and there is a lot of pressure. More pressure than anything. After that the second stretch, which is much of the same as the first, just with added pressure.

By the time Penelope sets up for my second ear, the first is throbbing a bit. The left ear goes off without a hitch. Cool, now I have glass in my head! Very excited, I stay a bit longer to pick up some medicated soap and get more info on the aftercare and what to expect during the healing.

Penelope also told me at anytime I could come back or call if I had questions or concerns about the piercing. That was two weeks ago. The first two nights my ears ached and throbbed. It was kind of a dull pain but consistent. There was no bleeding, since it was a stretch, the skin is pulled very tight and creates a natural seal around the glass. I made sure not to touch my ears unless I was washing them with the medicated soap. I soaked the piercings and followed the other instructions Penelope gave me.

The pain went away quickly, I have had no redness or swelling. I formed "crusties" about four days in. Then I hit the itchy stage for a while, which I was told would happen. One kind of cool thing that I just lucked out on was the selection of clear plugs. Since they were clear and so large I could actually see the wound inside if I held up a light to it! I thought that was really sweet. I could see the raw flesh, and each day the progress my body was making during the healing process. It's not everyday you get to see the inside of your piercing! HA HA! I am very pleased with myself in case you haven't noticed...

I am currently very excited about getting some crazy glass to throw in my ears once they are fully healed!

Everything went smoothly from start to finish. It was a cool experience I have to say, I am very happy. I tried to give as much detail as I could, from what I could remember anyway I hope you enjoyed it!

And, remember, "Go big or go home!"

Tried and True... Mostly

It seems to me that many of my modifications have been the cause of some duress, if not later some humorous afterthought. Throughout the lives of many of my piercings, events occur that either put them at jeopardy, cause me some sort of harm, or result in putting me in a bad position. For the most part, I can look back on these experiences and laugh.

I have had my nostril pierced for probably a little over three years now. It was my first piercing that really went against my parents' wishes. Previously I had only had my ears and navel pierced; anything on my face was completely off limits, taboo even! I had wanted my nostril pierced for a while, and for whatever reason, I finally decided it was time to get it done. Off I went with my two best friends to directly disregard (and surely in my father's eyes, disrespect) my parents' request.

My friend, Brian, drove me and my other friend, Marcy, to Tattoo Lou's in West Babylon. Per usual, I filled out the paperwork, had my driver's license photocopied and headed back to get pierced. In the back I met Cassi who pierced my nostril. While I wanted a high nostril piercing, Cassi refused to do it any higher than just slightly above the curve of my nostril cap. A bit disappointed, though not deterred, I had my nostril pierced regardless. I was expecting it to be a quite unpleasant experience. With a slight pinch, the needle was through and quickly after the nostril screw was in my nose. I was donning a lovely tissue for probably about two minutes until I stopped bleeding (and I will not forget Cassi telling me how I was quite a "bleeder"). Swollen, but elated, I walked out to my friends, who both found my new nostril screw to look rather good on me, even cute, as Marcy had put it.

We headed out, and drove back to our hometown. Marcy had to stop at the bank, so while Brian and I stayed in the car to wait, I went to double check I had my license. Unfortunately I did not. As I began to panic and wonder where I could have left it, Brian called up Tattoo Lou's to check and see if I left it there. As it turned out, they forgot to take it out of the photocopy machine and I forgot to ask for it back. Thankfully I have some pretty awesome friends and we drove back another fifteen minutes or so to get my license.

For the most part, my nostril healed with no problem. The only dilemma I recall having would be a result of having a break out. I do not have bad acne, in fact have been quite fortunate to only have breakouts once in a while, otherwise leaving my face clear. Originally I had thought that with having a hole in my nostril, there would never be a problem with a pimple coming to that exact point ever again, lest I remove it. This was not the case. In reality, when I did get a break out, that is where the biggest pimple would form. My nostril would be engulfed by this huge, red, disgusting zit. No, it was not infected, no it was not scarring, it would only happen when I had a break out and would go away with the rest of the break out; unless I have some very, very crazy coincidences going on with my nostril and face, I would indeed say it is linked. When my nostril was completely healed, my piercing would stay zit-free; sadly I cannot say my face shared the same joyous fat e.

While that leaves healing and piercing problems aside, that does not mean that was the only type of issue I have encountered with this lovely little dot upon my nose. To start with minor problems, one of aesthetics, it must be noted that I wear a nostril screw for the most part, and it tends to turn in my nose. I can swear up and down that I will not have touched the thing, yet simply the functions and consequences of life result in its spinning in my nose, resulting in a portion of it sticking out of my nostril. While I try to comfort myself by believing that many people have nostril screws, and many must have the same problem and will surely know that there is nothing gross inside my nose, simply metal. Honestly, that rationale fades quickly as I realize that the majority of people do not have their nostrils pierced and even if they do, that is certainly not the first thing to come to mind. Multiple times a day I can be seen lifting my nostril screw up from the top, sp inning it and then tapping it back down. I will do this while I am in the middle of a conversation with someone; though I do admit it is pretty weird of me - in my defense, it is only with people I know fairly well. It is a minor problem, but one that can get a bit bothersome.

Additionally, I have my septum pierced. I currently wear a retainer, but I did wear a circular barbell quite often. For whatever reason, my nostril screw and my circular barbell, when turned up, inside of my nose, would latch together. Somehow the barbell would pull down on the nostril screw, as if trying to pull it out of my nose through my nasal cavity, and would leave me feeling a horrible pressure on my nose. Of course when I would try to fix the problem, it would only make it worse. Sometimes I would manage to untangle the two, but often I had to remove one to have a successful solution.

Now, perhaps the worst experience I have ever had with my nostril piercing occurred a little over a year ago. I suppose we all go through our amorous stages where being somewhat sexually involved with someone is just the thing to do. As it turned out for me, this involvement one night resulted in my going home missing a butterfly backing to an earring, and as I realized while I was driving, and was midway home, my nostril screw falling out/being knocked out of my nose. I imagine my nostril was jewelry-less anywhere between two hours to a half hour, and that was apparently enough time for it to start closing up. Creeping into my house at around 1:30 in the morning, I headed up to my room to find a CBR I had bought a year or so prior to put in my piercing. Expecting everything to be fine, I went to put the CBR in my nose. There was only one, slight problem - it would not go in. Being the ever-so intelligent person I am (and by intelligent I mean stubborn and stupid, as I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror and said something along the lines of "I am NOT losing this piercing...!"), I forced what must have been an eighteen gauge CBR through my nostril, fastened it as best I could and went to bed.

The next morning, I woke up with my nose feeling sore. Either later that day or the next day, I had work. Where I work, it is a rather classy, conservative place - I can get away with a nostril screw, but absolutely not a CBR clinging to my nose. Off I went to the mall, to a Piercing Pagoda stand where I got a variety of nostril screws. Intended to be a temporary fix, I ended up wearing the same, loose, nostril screw for anywhere between a year and six months until I finally invested in a decent nostril screw again. Since that point, my problems have waned with my delightful little nostril piercing.

I quite adore my nostril piercing, as it is quite versatile. With a somewhat quick jewelry change, a nostril piercing can go from a cute, facial adornment to an edgy appeal. Through negligible aesthetic problems, to an unpleasant yanking sensation, and even to a bit of an embarrassing situation, my nostril piercing holds much appeal to me, if not a slew of memories and experiences.