Sly Bald Guys Forum
Discussions About Being Bald => Tattoos and Piercings => Topic started by: Lew on May 25, 2016, 07:22:44 PM
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Okay, so for the first time in my life I've decided to get my ears pierced. I figure this is fairly minor compared to my shaving my head for the first time earlier this month. The reviews on here have been very helpful. I was going to go with the one earring in the left ear but I get the feeling that's passe. Some folks still say one earring and others say two (one for each ear). I like the argument given for having a symmetrical look so I'm going to try one for each ear.
I've read a lot of negative reviews about piercings at shopping malls and piercing guns, so I found a reputable tattoo parlor that does piercings and made an appointment for Friday morning. I've never even stepped foot in a tattoo parlor but losing my hair has facilitated a powerful way of breaking out of the conventional paradigm that has constrained me for my whole life.
My wife thinks I'm going through a mid-life crisis; I'm 51. I disagree. A crisis implies conflict, namely, internal conflict which is completely absent in my case. For me, these changes are an exploration, an extension of who I am, and a form of empowerment. I know who I am and where I want to go. Heck, I'm just a few years away from full retirement.
I'm looking forward to having my ears pierced and enhancing my look as a newly bald man. I figure I can always ditch the earrings if I tire of the look. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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Hey, Lew, I only have one word...YOLO!
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Go for it Lew! I'm getting both of mine pierced in a couple of weeks. Earrings really do enhance the look of a bald head. Have you decided what gauge size you'll get?
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Hello Lew - I did EXACTLY the same thing! But be careful, once you "let your freak flag fly" there is no telling where it might lead!
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I'm trying to be the last man on earth without a piercing or tattoo. Actually considered ear piercing, but didn't do it.
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I got my left ear pierced at 59. Shopping mall experience. Now wearing a 10 gauge cbr or segment ring.
If you are planning to wear studs, 18 gauge may be a good place to start. Most studs work at 16 or 18 gauge.
If you are planning to wear loops (cbr, segment rings, etc), then you may want to start at 16 or 14 gauge (ask your piercer). Maybe he/she will even start you out at 10 gauge.
I really like the 10 gauge size.
When I wore the studs, (after healing), I changed them daily for variety. Now that I wear the cbr, it's a little more work to change out (with pliers), so I only change it perhaps once every several weeks.
The piercing itself was not painful. The strange part was the sound of the piercing! Not bad, but unexpected.
You'll enjoy having your ears pierced. I like symmetry, but I also like having just the left ear pierced. I thought that would be a problem with the telephone, but it's not.
RedDog ... we can discuss your ear piercing when I visit your city in July this summer LOL. Hope to see you and Joe when I'm up there.
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I got my left ear pierced at 59. Shopping mall experience. Now wearing a 10 gauge cbr or segment ring.
If you are planning to wear studs, 18 gauge may be a good place to start. Most studs work at 16 or 18 gauge.
If you are planning to wear loops (cbr, segment rings, etc), then you may want to start at 16 or 14 gauge (ask your piercer). Maybe he/she will even start you out at 10 gauge.
I really like the 10 gauge size.
Thanks for the helpful information. I'm going to do a little more research and see what the piercer has to say. I don't want to start off with anything ridiculously big and bold. I guess I'll find out tomorrow.
When I wore the studs, (after healing), I changed them daily for variety. Now that I wear the cbr, it's a little more work to change out (with pliers), so I only change it perhaps once every several weeks.
The piercing itself was not painful. The strange part was the sound of the piercing! Not bad, but unexpected.
You'll enjoy having your ears pierced. I like symmetry, but I also like having just the left ear pierced. I thought that would be a problem with the telephone, but it's not.
RedDog ... we can discuss your ear piercing when I visit your city in July this summer LOL. Hope to see you and Joe when I'm up there.
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Thanks for the very helpful information. I'm going to do a little more research as well as get the piercer's opinion on what sized gauge I should start with. I don't want to start with anything overly large and bold. Small steps work best for me. I guess I'll find out tomorrow. Thanks, again.
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Three Week Ago:
(https://www.slybaldguys.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs33.postimg.org%2F7mat4v8b3%2FFull_Size_Render.jpg&hash=6f21c2bdba5344812237875f97b4fa3d6b17ff10) (http://postimage.org/)
Today:
(https://www.slybaldguys.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs33.postimg.org%2Fronaja4lr%2FIMG_4400.jpg&hash=d0052bebf180cde29c3b3865156b7db176f8bd13) (http://postimage.org/)
In addition to a shaved head, today I had both ears pierced and used JFM on my goatee. I think this is enough of a transformation for right now. I'm just glad I finally mustered the courage to make some physical changes that were long overdue.
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Looks good! O0
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Looks really good! I'm still getting mine done in less than two weeks.
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For all the flack we give hairpieces, the first picture looked good, I couldn't detect it...But the second picture with the earrings, the goatee and the shaved head suits you well!
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pretty remarkable transformation!
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Looks good, Lew. What size did you end up getting?
Quite a transformation.
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Fantastic, you must feel like you rule the world
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I agree with others - the transformation is remarkable . A completley different look. Hope your wife is happy with the changes.
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Thanks for the positive comments. I'm very pleased with the results.
@AJ Q-Ball - Good luck with your piercing next month. You'll be so glad you did it and will probably wish you had done it sooner. My wife was a little freaked out but now she's on board. It's all good.
@ SirHarry225 - Hair Club has different tiers they use for their systems (hair pieces). I started out on the bronze program which is the cheapest (entry level) program for members. You could detect upon close inspection that it was a hair piece. I eventually moved up to the next tier which was silver. The quality of the system was better and less detectable. A few years ago I moved up to the gold system which is a significantly better product and very difficult to detect. The downside is that I was paying nearly twice as much per month on the gold plan as I was on the bronze. Hair Club isn't cheap. Let's just say I bought a brand new car a month ago and my former Hair Club maintenance dues are paying for my car.
@ mazed - I went with the 18 gauge for starters. I want to start off slow and work my way up.
@ nuts - My wife is happy with my new look. It's weird for me because I have always had a very conservative look which was a prerequisite for my career. Now that I'm doing different work I have more leeway in my appearance. I like it!
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Thanks for the positive comments. I'm very pleased with the results.
@AJ Q-Ball - Good luck with your piercing next month. You'll be so glad you did it and will probably wish you had done it sooner. My wife was a little freaked out but now she's on board. It's all good.
Thanks Lew! I would've done it sooner but work wouldn't allow me. I'll have a really long break starting next Tuesday on the 7th so that's when I'll get my ears done. I went into the piercing parlor yesterday to make an appointment and the one I talked to said I could just walk in when I'm ready. I'm pretty sure I'll go for 16 gauge CBRs. As far as your wife goes, the change just probably threw her for a loop but it's nice that she's coming around. Like I said earlier, you have a nice look. The earrings just made it even better. Excellent move on your part!
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Congratulations on the transformation.
the earrings look good.
I am 51 as well so you're certainly not too old to get it done.
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Today finally arrived; it is the six-week point from the day I initially got my ears pierced and the day I could finally remove my starter earrings and replace them with new ones. I had somewhat of a difficult time getting my earrings out but after exerting a little force I was successful. I compulsively followed the directions my licensed piercer gave me and experienced no problems whatsoever. Putting my new earrings in was completely effortless. Pictured below is one earring out of eleven pairs I have purchased to date.
(https://s32.postimg.org/kp3edkd9x/lewearring.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/b4jrqonxt/)
My wife was initially against me getting my ears pierced but now she's completely on board. It's funny how people can make such a big deal out of a relatively small thing. Anyway, I'm pleased with the results.
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Looks neat. Goes well with the goatee and sly head.
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Looks great Lew
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Now I know what to get you for Christmas ... an earring rack! My daughters bought me one a few years ago when they noted I had quite a few earrings on the dresser.
It looks nice, Lew. I'm looking forward to our next Charlotte area SBG get together to see it first hand.
What was the issue getting the starter earring out? Was it removing the clutch in the back? or actually removing it from it's home? I found my started had a very tight clutch, probably on purpose to make it difficult to pull off during the first months. Once the clutch was removed, then the stud came out easily.
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The issue with removing my earrings is that they had an arrow-like device that locked the back of the earring into place to prevent it from falling out. I wasn't aware of it until I removed the first of my two earrings. All of my other pairs are screw backs, so I won't have that issue to contend with future removals.
I got this really cool acrylic jewelry chest off eBay last month that I'm putting my earrings in for storage. It's going to do the job just fine.
Hopefully I can make it to the next Charlotte get together. Let me know once you've got a date set for that.
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Looks good Lew and glad to know things went well!
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Looks good. You mentioned you got 11 pairs of earrings. Are they all studs and are they just different colours then?.
I have a pair of black studs that I wear quite often and i think they look really cool on guys.
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Looks good. You mentioned you got 11 pairs of earrings. Are they all studs and are they just different colours then?.
I have a pair of black studs that I wear quite often and i think they look really cool on guys.
It's funny you mention that because I put a pair of black studs in my ears yesterday. My wife said she liked them over the pair I was wearing that are pictured in this thread. I got studs of various colors and even splurged on a pair of Versace earrings with a wicked design on them. My ears were very sore when I replaced my earrings yesterday so I think I'm going to leave the black studs in for a while because they're a lot more comfortable to wear when I'm sleeping.
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Nice one!
The dyed goatee to me is better not dyed but thats just mt view.
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Looks good. You mentioned you got 11 pairs of earrings. Are they all studs and are they just different colours then?.
I have a pair of black studs that I wear quite often and i think they look really cool on guys.
It's funny you mention that because I put a pair of black studs in my ears yesterday. My wife said she liked them over the pair I was wearing that are pictured in this thread. I got studs of various colors and even splurged on a pair of Versace earrings with a wicked design on them. My ears were very sore when I replaced my earrings yesterday so I think I'm going to leave the black studs in for a while because they're a lot more comfortable to wear when I'm sleeping.
Yes, I like the black studs. I see a lot of guys with the black studs and it looks very masculine.
The Versace ones you mention sound really cool. any chance of a pic of those?
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Looks good. You mentioned you got 11 pairs of earrings. Are they all studs and are they just different colours then?.
I have a pair of black studs that I wear quite often and i think they look really cool on guys.
It's funny you mention that because I put a pair of black studs in my ears yesterday. My wife said she liked them over the pair I was wearing that are pictured in this thread. I got studs of various colors and even splurged on a pair of Versace earrings with a wicked design on them. My ears were very sore when I replaced my earrings yesterday so I think I'm going to leave the black studs in for a while because they're a lot more comfortable to wear when I'm sleeping.
Yes, I like the black studs. I see a lot of guys with the black studs and it looks very masculine.
The Versace ones you mention sound really cool. any chance of a pic of those?
I purchased four more pairs of earrings off of eBay yesterday. One pair I got has a dragon's claw grasping what looks like a turquoise crystal ball. The Versace earrings I purchased are pictured below.
(https://s31.postimg.org/egbi7pn0b/versaceearrings.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/4vrvktxo7/)
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you sound like you're really getting into this earring purchasing. that's cool.
Those Versace ones look cool. they look quite big in the picture. what size is the face of the earring or the part that is pictured? is it more than 1 cm?
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you sound like you're really getting into this earring purchasing. that's cool.
Those Versace ones look cool. they look quite big in the picture. what size is the face of the earring or the part that is pictured? is it more than 1 cm?
Here's a comparative picture of one earring and a US penny for reference. The earrings aren't too terribly big.
(https://s31.postimg.org/pgyy6ybjv/IMG_4738.jpg)[/url
(https://postimg.org/image/5z4ar0elz/)
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Very cool, and the look transformation is awesome!
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Hi Lew,
Looking at the before and after pics, I think you did the right thing. The Versace earrings look pretty expensive, something to wear to a nice club night out!!
I like the idea of having a jewelry chest, maybe I should get one to organize my stuff. You got any pics of it?
Cheers
Tes
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Here's the jewelry chest I purchased for my earrings. It serves its purpose quite well.
(https://www.slybaldguys.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs12.postimg.org%2F5oo5rkqvx%2FIMG_0196.jpg&hash=f73ca98a42abc3226d2db4713251393bfd0bbfef) (http://postimg.org/image/t2w53i8t5/)
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I have decided to try gauging my ears. Nothing too radical - probable only up to a 6 gauge. I talked to my piercer about it today. He said that it should take about 4 months to do it.
I figure, what the heck; if I don't like it I can just let them shrink back.
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I have decided to try gauging my ears. Nothing too radical - probable only up to a 6 gauge. I talked to my piercer about it today. He said that it should take about 4 months to do it.
I figure, what the heck; if I don't like it I can just let them shrink back.
Take it slow R. Us , older guys don't stretch as easily as the young guys. PM me for any advice you may need. SlyRed (oldest gauged Sly Bald Guy in the world!) ;)
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I have decided to try gauging my ears. Nothing too radical - probable only up to a 6 gauge. I talked to my piercer about it today. He said that it should take about 4 months to do it.
I figure, what the heck; if I don't like it I can just let them shrink back.
Good luck with that and hopefully you'll be pleased with the results.
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Three Week Ago:
(https://www.slybaldguys.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs33.postimg.org%2F7mat4v8b3%2FFull_Size_Render.jpg&hash=6f21c2bdba5344812237875f97b4fa3d6b17ff10) (http://postimage.org/)
Today:
(https://www.slybaldguys.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs33.postimg.org%2Fronaja4lr%2FIMG_4400.jpg&hash=d0052bebf180cde29c3b3865156b7db176f8bd13) (http://postimage.org/)
In addition to a shaved head, today I had both ears pierced and used JFM on my goatee. I think this is enough of a transformation for right now. I'm just glad I finally mustered the courage to make some physical changes that were long overdue.
dude: from insurance salesman to rock star. Well done.