When I was in the ninth grade, I went into a piercing craze. That year, I got my navel, 2nd lobes, tragus and cartilage pierced, after not having anything pierced for about 8 years. My most memorable, I would have to say, would be my tragus.
At A Glance Author Nikki Contact Nikki@bme.anon When A year ago Studio Images Location Brodheadsville, PA My dad and I had decided about a year earlier, that if I did well each semester in school, I could get a piercing as long as it wasn't too drastic. After doing well the second semester, I decided I wanted something I hadn't seen on too many people. and I decided that piercing my tragus was perfect. It was very spur of the moment: I asked my dad about it and he suggested going to get it done the following day, much to my surprise.
We went to Images, where I had gotten my bellybutton done, and I also had some friends that had gotten piercings there and were very happy with the quality. I wasn't nervous, because the place is very comforting and the guys there, although they're heavily tattooed and pierced, which is pretty intimidating, are extremely reassuring. I told them what I wanted, and they checked my I.D. and my father's I.D., and we had to sign some forms. I believe the piercing was $22, which I was pretty happy about. My piercer asked me if I wanted 14g or 16g, I told him 14g so that I wouldn't have to gauge it. I figured that might be pretty painful.
When he was ready for me, I walked into the back room and sat down on the table. It was the same kind of table they have in doctor's offices, padded and with paper for sanitary issues. He asked me which side I wanted to get pierced, and I wanted the right one pierced. He marked the hole on my ear, and I approved of it, and he told me he would count to 3. Only then did I start to get a little nervous. On two, he pushed the needle through and I heard a little 'pop'. It didn't hurt, I have a pretty high threshold for pain. As he went to put the jewelry in, he pulled the needle out and told me he needed to pierce me again. He told me that as he was trying to push the needle through, he missed the hole. I was fine with it, thinking that if it didn't hurt the first time, why should it hurt the second? He repierced it, and called for his coworker to bring him a wet paper towel. I asked if I was bleeding, and he said I was bleeding a lot. I could tell by the look on his face that he was just kidding. It bled a pretty decent amount. But anyway, the second time hurt a little more, and I winced but it wasn't anything serious. He got the jewelry in fine, and got the ball in without a problem. I looked at it in the mirror and all I could do was smile because I was so excited. He gave me a fresh wet paper towel to put on my ear and a sheet with precautions about my piercing. He told me to use yellow Listerine to clean it with, and it worked wonderfully.
I had school the next day, and it didn't really stop bleeding. The blood would clot, but I ended up picking it off so that I could move the jewelry around. It bled for around a day. I think if it had been pierced thoroughly the first time, it wouldn't have bled as bad. My friends all thought I was crazy for doing it, but a lot of them liked it as well. I showed one of my teachers and he couldn't understand why I would do such a thing to myself. All I could say to that was that I liked how it looked. It's hard to explain the addiction of piercing to someone that's not pierced.
For the next few weeks, I didn't even attempt to sleep on that ear. After about a month, I had no problem sleeping on it though. It crusted for about 2 weeks. It was very easy to clean, just use a q-tip and dip it in yellow Listerine and clean the area. I never had any problems with infection or migrating. If I lay on it too long, it hurts a little, but it doesn't last long. I also kept on getting my hair caught in and around it while I was showering, but like any other ear piercing, you adjust to it and don't have any big problems.
I definitely recommend this piercing, it's a lot of fun to play with when I'm bored in class, and a big attention-getter. Research it on BME to help you make your decision, the stories help a lot.
Happy piercing!