Industrial Piercing [50 Ideas]: Pain Level, Healing Time, Cost, Experience

You are already tired of the traditional ear piercing variants. Do you want to discover something really cool and unusual? Then, the industrial ear piercing is definitely the thing you would like to know more about.

Table of Contents

What Is an Industrial Piercing?

Industrial piercing is the double perforation of the upper cartilage with a single piece of jewellery.

You can find different names of an industrial ear piercing, such as bar piercing (used in UK and Ireland) or scaffold piercing. Basically, they all have the same meaning.

Should You Go For It?

Pros

If you want to draw attention to your amazing personality, bar ear piercing is what you should go for. It looks gorgeous and catchy. Moreover, this type of piercing is quite universal, it would perfectly fit a girl or a guy.
You are free to experiment with different variations. It can be located in different ear parts. You can choose vertical industrial piercing, horizontal one, reverse industrial, or even a surface one with the effect of a floating industrial.

Cons

Keep in mind that cartilage bar piercing is commonly known as extreme one. Well, that is understandable, taking into account that you are having two holes instead of usual one. This fact can be scary, but not for such enthusiast like you, right?
You have to be really careful about the procedure, as it is not the easiest perforation. Therefore, you are responsible for searching for a really good and reliable piercing master. The danger here is also in special aftercare routine. You must always stick to the rules and recommendations. Otherwise, you risk having unwanted side effects.

Procedure

Before the actual procedure, your piercer has to sterilize everything: instruments, piercing location and your jewelry.

He should also wear the gloves to make the procedure safe and clean.

The next step is marking out future holes with a surgical pen. Usually, the entry and exit spots are drawn, as well as the connected line. In such way you can see the final arrangement and, in case you don’t like it, you are able to change the pierced place at this moment.

When you agree on placing, your piercing master perforates the first hole with 14 gauge needle. Then the first part of industrial bar piercing jewelry is inserted. After the second puncture, the rest of the earring is placed inside the cartilage. The procedure is finished by the final disinfection to avoid the risk of infections in future.

You can explore the exact procedure here.

How Bad Does It Hurt?

Industrial piercing pain level – 6 of 10

60%

Procedure is not going to cause huge pain as cartilage does not have a lot of nerve endings. On a pain scale, bar piercing would get 6 out of 10 points.

Pain will not be unbearable, but you have to consider that double perforation would have a higher pain level compared to the traditional single piercing.

To reduce the pain, you may relax and focus on fancy jewelry in your ear, but not on the procedure itself. However, everybody has his own level of pain resistance. If it hurts too much for you, you might take ibuprofen to feel more comfortable.

Healing

During the procedure, you will feel a double sharp pain. After the perforation, you might experience your ear to be sore or swollen. But don’t worry as it will be gone after few days of healing.

You have to expect to wait from 3 to 9 months before your industrial piercings will heal completely.

Aftercare

If something has gone wrong, you might even have some side effects, such as an ear bump or badly infected ear cartilage. Therefore, in order to avoid risks during the healing time, you must strictly follow the aftercare rules below:

Remember to have your hands clean before touching the piercing.
Do not move or change jewelry during the healing time. It is always better to consult with your piercing master before making any modifications.
Try to sleep on the opposite side of your head in order not to damage your piercing.
Be extremely careful when brushing your hair and putting clothes on. You don’t want to feel unnecessary pain by accidentally pulling the jewelry.

Remember that taking a good and right care of your piercing will save you from multiple risks and infections.

Recomended Aftercare Products

Sea salt

Choose for DIY sea salt soaks. The best product to speed up healing process.

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Piercing aftercare spray

Choose if you don’t have time to make saline solution every time you need to clean your piercing.

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How to Clean

To make your piercing heal faster, make the cleaning procedure timely. Keep doing the daily routine to avoid the spreading of the infection. Use a quarter teaspoon of sea salt mixed with 8 ounces of warm water for cleaning your cartilage bar piercing twice a day.

See details in article about body piercing aftercare routine.

How to Take Out

Do not remove your initial jewelry until the complete healing, unless you get the approval from your piercing master.

If the piercing is ready to be changed but still sensitive, you can previously soak the cartilage in the hot water for a couple of minutes.

Clean your hands properly before taking the earring out. If there is a need, wear rubber gloves. Now you have to unscrew the jewelry ends and gently take it out one side after another.

Do not forget to sanitize the piercing place before and after the procedure. It is quite normal to feel some discomfort while taking the jewelry out.

You can watch the real procedure below

Best Jewelry

The most common jewelry for the industrial piercing is a barbell. However, it gives you space for imagination. Different size of earring can be used, all of them will look pretty and cute. You can choose various earrings, such as rings, CBRs or studs. On small ears, two studs would look awesome.

Here are the nicest jewelry for bar piercing: