So... I started a little late with my first non-earlobe piercing at the age of 20. My enduring addiction started about two and a half years ago. "I swear, one nostril piercing and that's it." Yeah fucking right!!! After three 16 gauge earlobe piercings, a Helix piercing in my right ear, and a nostril piercing, it was time for more pain!! Tragus piercings in both ears...
At A Glance Author Kristin Contact fairytale143@hotmail.com When Three months ago Artist DJ Studio Alternative Connections Location Melbourne, FL I had been taunting myself with the idea of getting both of them done for about a year. I asked everybody I saw with Tragus piercings all of the same questions everybody asks when they are thinking about getting something done. Basically, everybody told me the same, "it doesn't hurt at all, you just hear a loud crunching noise and that's it." I found out that I was having surgery in February, and decided to wait until right after I recovered so I didn't have to worry about taking the jewelry out. One week after my surgery, I decided it was time. Nice little Valentine's Day present to myself, since there would be no others. (It's all good, best present I could have gotten!)
The 40 minute drive for me to Alternative Connections to see DJ (my piercer) is well worth it, I definately recommend finding a good place, where they are clean and they make you feel comfortable, even if it means you have to take a little drive!
I picked out my 18 gauge captives and we were on our way to "the room." Familiar smell, it reminds me of some of the best times in my life. I usually get a piercing after I've gone through something rough in life or significant, my way of "remembering" how things always come around.
Anyway, DJ asked me to lay down in the chair and that was that. He marked them, I took a quick look in the mirror and I was on my way to yet another great rush! He curved the needle so it wouldn't poke me in the side of the face, I thought that was pretty nice of him!! He never counts with me, he just does it, that is the way I like. I wasn't expecting a lot of pain, just because everybody I had asked about the Tragus piercing said not to worry, no biggie!
CONTRAIRE MON FRAIR!!!!!!!!
"Fuck!!!" just came spewing out of my mouth!! It felt like somebody was ripping the side of my face off. No crunching noise, just lots and lots of pressure and pain. I thought, at least, before that moment that I had a high pain threshold. Slipping the jewelry in hurt more than the actual piercing. Then.... came the other ear. I knew I could do it, and surprsingly, either it didn't hurt as much as the first one or I just knew what to expect. He cleaned the blood off and I was on my way.
I cleaned my new piercing religeously, sea salt soaks twice a day and anti-bacterial soap... worked fine with all the other peircings. A month went by and I started to develop keloids on both ears. The bumps just kept getting worse, and they were very visible since I had captives in. I had to wear my hair down all the time and I was disappointed that I couldn't show off my new piercings. I decided to go back and see DJ so he could look at them. After doing some research I wanted to talk to him about changing them out to bars so it would let some of the pressure off, in hopes of the keloids going away. DJ asked me to try Tea Tree oil for two weeks and if they didn't start to shrink to go ahead and come back for him to change the jewelry.
Two weeks went by, and no improvement. Time to switch them out to bars. I went back into my favorite room, and he took my hoops out. Unfortunately, the holes shrunk at that instant and he couldn't get the new jewelry in, I guess because it had only been 6 weeks since I got them done. He had to use tapers to stretch the holes back out which, as you can imagine, hurt way worse than the original piercing. He left the taper in each hole for a couple of minutes and then proceeded to put the bars in from the inside of the ear since it is easier to screw the beads on from the front. All of that is kind of a blur, it hurt like hell and when he was done and I stood up, the back of my shirt was soak and wet from sweat... it hurt so bad. BUT, that is how important those piercings were to me and it was worth it!!!
Over a month has gone by and the keloids are gone. I am so happy with both of my Tragus piercings. People stare all the time and I get, "didn't that hurt?" from people everyday. I am surprised at the amount of people who want to get it done and they just need somebody to share their experience with them. I am also surprised at the amount of people who say they want them done with a gun... and I always give the the speel about how bad it is and recommend good places for them to go to so they can get it done the right way.
NEXT ON THE LIST.... INDUSTRIAL!
I'm getting that done next week and I will be sure to post my story about that when I get it done!!