Hi there folks!
I don't tend to talk about myself a lot on here, or at all! But here goes!
My name is Cam, I started Bow & Crossbones, nearly 6 yrs ago. And unless you have met me at one of our shows or know me, I tend to hide in my workshop!
I'm a Tattooed, 'rockabilly' Gal who loves music, dancing, 50's, & kitsch things!
Me on the Stall at High Rockabilly Last year
Like a lot of 'Alternative' girls my age, I am now stuck with big holes in my lobes! Unable to wear pretty Dainty earrings.
In my late teens I started getting pierced & started to stretched my lobes. I stretched and happily stayed at 22mm for quite a while.
After hitting my mid 20's I decided I wanted a change... something that complemented my style more.
I took them out every evening and put a smaller gauge plug/tunnel back in, in the morning, (to hide my cat bum holes from the world!) As the months went on I stopped wearing the plugs altogether and started wearing vintage clip-on earrings that I had been collecting & lucite ranges I had started making. Some styles are perfect as they're large enough to be a great cover up!
My stretched lobes.... and Covered Stretched lobes
Now after several years of wearing clip-on earrings, I have started to think about having the piercings surgically closed.
Something which the lovely UK based pin-up model Solene has recently done!
We know there are plenty of other rockin' ladies in the same position, who might be considering shrinking and hiding their larger gauge piercings or even closing them altogether.
So we thought we'd have a little chat with Solene about her experience.
What made you decide to shrink your ear lobes/ Have an earlobe reconstruction?
I pretty much woke up one day and decided I'd had enough of my stretched lobes! Mainly because I kept seeing all these lovely vintage earrings that I just couldn't wear and also because I wanted to have the option of not having to wear anything in my ears if I didn't want to.
What size were your lugholes before?
My lobes were stretched to 22mm at the time I decided to stop wearing jewellery but they did shrink considerably from the point I took my plugs out to my procedure - It was a couple of months in between and I would say they had shrunk by at least 5mm.
How long did you have them stretched for?
I started stretching about 6 years ago but took it really slow as I didn't want to ruin my lobes. I stretched 1mm at a time, about every couple of months because it's pretty much all my lobes could take! I only got to 22mm in May 2013.
How did you find the process of the surgery?
Really easy! Don't get me wrong, I was really nervous at the thought of someone slicing into my ears but I was put completely at ease and felt nothing at all. The procedure took about an hour per ear and the most uncomfortable thing for me was having to lie with my head turned to one side for an extended amount of time, which isn't really that bad! You hear what is being done but don't feel a thing. I guess for the more squeamish this may not be ideal but I found it mostly funny!
Did you have anaesthetic?
Oh my god yes! I wouldn't recommend anyone gets this done without! Lobe reconstruction should be done by someone qualified to use local anaesthetic in any case and I made sure to ask people in the know about it, as well as get information from others who'd had the same procedure done. The injection was the most 'painful' part of the procedure but I use the term loosely as it doesn't actually hurt that much. And once the first injection is done, your ear starts to go numb so the following ones are completely painless! I think he injected about 6 times for each ear, in various areas front and back, to ensure that it was completely numb. He then tests with a needle to see if you feel anything. To put it in perspective, I pretty much had half a lobe before I even realised he'd actually started!
Who did the surgery?
Lestyn Flye at Divine Canvas (179 Caledonian Road, London N1 0SL - 0207 5027736)
As far as I know he is one the best out there for this type of thing. He was recommended to me by a body mod artist in my home town and also by a friend who'd had her ears done by him. He's really easy to talk to, he can be contacted via his Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/iestyn.flyeseven) and when I first got in touch with him to make enquiries about my procedure, he replied pretty much straight away and was happy to give all the information I wanted - and I asked a lot!
Would you recommend this to anyone?
Yes absolutely, to anyone who has stretched beyond the point where their ears won't shrink back naturally to a size that would allow them to wear normal pierced earrings for example, which I wouldn't have been able to do. I was able to conceal the holes by wearing clip-on earrings large enough to cover them, but really wanted to be able to wear hoops with smaller clips and eventually normal pierced earrings.
It is not cheap, I think prices start from £300 per ear depending on how much much Lestyn has to do. He will ask you to send him some photos of your ears so that he can give a quote. However I would happily do it all over again and would have paid more if I'd had to. Before contacting Lestyn I spoke to someone else about doing the procedure and they quoted £200 for both ears. I've since seen some of that person's work and let's just say I'm glad I went with Lestyn! He is absolutely worth it. Don't scrimp on this, it's not a small thing, they're your ears and you don't want them to look like they've been Frankenstein'd basically!
How long till you can re-pierce or wear clip ons?
Lestyn recommended I wait a year before I get my ears pierced again, which I absolutely intend to do! In terms of clip-ons, I wore a pair about a week after my stitches were taken out and wore them confortably all day, but obviously I think it depends on how comfortable the clip-ons are (some pinch more than others) and how tender your ears feel! Mine still feel a little tender when squeezed lightly but it is not painful. What I have found when wearing clip ons is those little plastic pads you can put on the clip, it acts as a cushion and makes wearing earrings more comfortable! I found a pack of 10 pairs for like a pound on Ebay!
Here are the before, During and after shots
Before:
A Huge Thanks to Solene for the interview!
Check out her modeling here!
'B&C does not necessarily endorse, support, sanction, encourage, verify or agree with the comments, opinions, or statements posted in this interview. The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute B&C's endorsement of the linked websites, or the information, products or services contained therein. Other UK-based Body Modification artists are available. Always do your own research before committing to a procedure.
Thanks for reading! Please share you experience with us in the comments! xoxo
Me on the Stall at High Rockabilly Last year 
