For a while I'd been considering what should come next in my long (well soon to be long) line of piercing's, I already had three facial piercings (nose, monroe and labret), a nipple ring, and a double navel, with slightly decorated ears.
At A Glance Author gutter.flower Contact gutter.flower@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Mike Studio Stefs Location Bolton, England My ears have almost always been plain for years I didn't even have a single stud in them!! After my first ear piercing I always kept to traditional lobe and cartilage piercings. After looking at pictures on BME I decided I wanted a snug piercing, to brighten up my dull ears. So one Monday morning, I hauled my ass out of bed and went down to my local piercer's.
I arrived at STEFS in Bolton, but nobody was around. I looked in the display cases downstairs, admiring the jewelry, there were different sized rings and bars with different colors, all shouting out to me, telling me to choose them. There were a few models of body parts with rings and bars through them. I stared at a model of an ear, pinching mine and imagining how it would look with a shiny ring through it. After much contemplation (I now also wanted a tragus piercing) I decided on my original idea and chose a plain silver ring.
Walking up the stairs I found Mike, my piercer, sitting in the tattoo studio. I asked if I could get my ear pierced, smiling he said "no", I pulled a face and asked why, he said he couldn't be bothered! I knew he was joking so saying "please" in my sweetest voice I persuaded him to come downstairs and pierce my ear.
I showed him the piercing I wanted, told him what I wanted it pierced with. He said it would be £40 and that the piercing was rather extreme and would hurt me, alot. I didn't have enough money on me for the piercing and I was now feeling a little queasy at the thought of it, so I asked about the tragus piercing, he told me that would be £15. I agreed to get it done, filled out the forms (although he says he should just photocopy the original form because im there so often) and sat in the waiting room while Mike set up his equipment in the piercing studio.
When he was ready I walked into the piercing studio, shut the door behind me and sat on the "dentists chair" waiting nervously for him to begin. I was certain it was going to hurt more than anything else ever could! First Mike put his gloves on, then got out his pen and marked the place he would pierce. I checked the place was ok and sat back while Mike clamped my ear and froze it, while we talked about my search for a job and other random things. I was quite nervous but chatting to Mike kept me calm, he put the needle through, I honestly didnt feel or hear a thing. I heard him move away on his chair to the counter where my ring was waiting, as I turned to see what was happening I noticed I still had the clamp and needle through my ear, I hadn't actually realized he'd pierced it!! He slid the ring through, which was also painless, and handed me a tissue for any blood. He gave me the aftercare instructions (although if I don't know them by now I dont deserve to know) with a f ree bottle of TDC antiseptic body piercing cleaning lotion. I payed my £15 and left extremely happy with my sexy new tragus piercing.
Taking care of my new piercing has been easy. I clean it 4 times a day with the TDC, I also turn the ring around alot, to work the lotion in and to keep the ring from getting stuck. I got "crusties" the first few days of having the piercing, but now thats died down.
My friends and family all like the piercing, the first thing they ask is "did it hurt?", they don't believe me when i tell them no. But i suppose the experience is different for everybody. For me the piercing didnt hurt at all, who knows maybe i have magical pain free ears?
Non-traditional ear piercing had always seemed scary to me, I imagined immense pain but now I know how fun non-traditional ear piercing is. I plan on getting more cartilage piercing's and perhaps an industrial. Im also considering stretching my lobes.
I would recommend a tragus piercing to anyone, it's a gorgeous piercing that isn't hard to look after. I'd been put off it before because someone had said it was the "most painful piercing I've ever had", I say don't be put off by what you hear from others. If you want the piercing go for it!! It's by far my favorite piercing and I wouldn't trade it for anything!!