Industrial questions

[Ailill Aino]

A friend and myself are both going to be getting a vertical industrial. It'll be my second piercing (the 1st one being on my lip), and his first, so we're both pretty clueless about this piercing.

Some questions we have:

1. How long does it take to heal? (I've heard different things on this one, ranging from 3 months to over a year o.o I have a feeling it wont take a year though, not with good care anyway...)

2. How much does it hurt/bleed?

3. What type of jewelry would you recommend having in for the time that it's healing? (I've heard good and bad things about having the barbell in, and having a ring in each hole....)

4. What risks are there? (This is more my question than his.... he doesn't really care what the risks are, but I like to be prepared before I do anything o.o)


o.o I thought we had more questions than that.... but those are the only ones I can remember right now..... so I guess if there's anything else we should know please post it ^-^  

[apanda999]

1. 3-6 months

2. Will hurt the first few days (this depends on how much it gets bumped & messed with). Bleeding is very minimal w/ cartilage.

3. Stainless or titanium barbell 14g. Length will very on your ear size. Should NOT be too snug w/ 1st barbell. Need room for cleaning, should at least be able to fit a q-tip end between your ear and the ball at the end of the bar.

4. As long as you go to a clean shop w/ a professional piercer, the risks will be minimal and entirely yours. If a piercer has done his/her job correctly, than it will be up to you keeping you body clean and healthy.

Here is some care info so you know what you are getting into.
]http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=7008163  

[mammary gland]

I've never had an industrial, but I'll try to answer the questions as best as I can. :nod:

1. Normally, cartilage piercings can take up to a year to heal completely. That doesn't mean that with proper care, they won't stop hurting after a couple months. It can be hard to keep things clean that are on your ears, imo. If you have longer hair, the oils from your hair can bother your piercing, so those high-up cartilage piercings can be tricky for girls with long hair. Make sure to keep your hair up and away from it for as long as you can during the healing process. Also, rolling around on it in your sleep will irritate it as well. Falling asleep on that ear will be pretty much impossible for a bit due to pain and such, but that doesn't mean that you won't roll on it during the night. To prevent unneeded irritation, just keep your pillowcases super clean during the healing process. I'd suggest taking them off during the day and putting them up if you have any pets or anything. I know a girl who had to do that.

2. I can't answer this question for two reasons: One, because I've never had it done(I stray away from cartilage piercings just because they seem like a pain in the a**) and two because you can't really measure pain. Some people say it's no big deal while others have said it's awful. As for bleeding, though, it really shouldn't bleed much at all. No normal piercing should. You may have a little during the first week healing, but nothing crazy. If you bleed a lot, it's time to go back to your piercer and have them look at it to see if it tore.

3. I'd personally recommend getting two short barbells. I advise against the rings solely because they will make it harder to get a straight barbell through later and it's not going to feel nice. Plus, it will end up causing more trauma. The large barbell is your other choice, but I feel like it would be easier to get it caught on things during healing. Easier to bump it, too, with all of that jewelry. This isn't really something I can completely answer, of course, considering I don't have much experience with these piercings.

4. Risks? I'd say the same risks that you'd have with any body piercing if you don't give it the proper care. Nothing out of the ordinary to my knowledge.

I hope this helped. smile Hopefully, someone with more experience with these can fill in the gaps or offer their opinion.

Good luck!  

[Ailill Aino]

Thank you both very much ^-^

That link was very helpful apanda999, I'll make sure my friend reads it as well ^-^

I feel better about getting this done now.... I'm still planning on talking to the piercer directly... just as soon as I get the chance to go there >.<  

[blessed.into.extinction]

1. My piercer said it would take 5-9 months. mine (horizontal) is about 5 and a half months old now and it's still a little tender, but doing well.

2. Mine hurt like hell and bled like a faucet for about ten minutes after having it done D: then it was really swollen for about a week. I took some ibuprofen and gave it hot compresses, which helped a lot. But the bottom line is: it was sooo worth it.

3. Mine was done with a surgical steel barbell. It's been said that if your piercer knows what they're doing, two barbells aren't necessary. But it all depends on your piercer's style I suppose. But whatever you do, rings aren't a good idea...

4. If you go to a good, clean place and keep it clean, you should be just fine.

Don't forget to post pics! blaugh  

[Ailill Aino]

We still haven't gotten it yet (another friend decided they wanted to get one at the same time as us and hasn't gotten the money for it yet...) but as soon as I get it I'll be sure to get pics ^-^

I wrote rings, but I guess I really meant separate barbells o.o I don't see how a ring would work, lol.



I did have another question.... I have an anime convention coming up in about 2 and a half months, for which I need to dye my hair... the placement I want for my industrial is the inner part of the ear (I'm not sure what it's called... or if it has a specific name o.o)... I'm not sure if it's a good idea to attempt dying my hair so soon after getting the industrial, considering how close it'd be to the area being dyed... I'm gonna have my friend help me dye my hair, so I'm not worried about the dye getting on the piercing while it's being applied... but while washing it out it more than likely will... would that cause any issues with the piercing? I'd obviously thoroughly clean it afterwards, but if it'll affect the piercing anyway I'd rather have time to find another way around having to dye my hair...