I would have to say my favorite and most unique piercing is definately my vertical industrial. I had seen it on a friend and fell in love with it. Already at that point I had my tongue pierced (no pain whatsoever, minimal swelling) and a tattoo on my foot (moderate to severe pain, but my tattoo is small, I have heard after a certain amount of time the area becomes numb, I was not so lucky) I went into the piercing studio very nervous, and very worried about the pain factor. Even though I don't have a low pain tolerance it was still on my mind. The piercing is done in two parts, with two different needles. He pierced the upper part of my ear first, which hurt a fair amount. The lower part however hurt even more due to the very tough cartilage (We heard a very loud pop). It barely bled, and was done fairly quickly. The earring was put on with ease so my ear wasn't moved around too much. I took Advil all weekend for the pain. After the intial first 4-7 days the pain subsided, unless I bumped it. I was not able to sleep on that side for about three months. I had to be very careful as to not hit it, bump it, etc. I also have to be careful, I have taken it out once to clean it and hair was wrapped around the barbell.

Overall I love this piercing! It takes alot of TLC and time to heal. I have had it for four months now and I can sleep and put pressure on the piercing/upper ear with no pain. Definately looks great, I frequently get comments on it. This is not a piercing I would reccomend getting on a whim though, but well worth it.