I began wanting my tragus pierced a few months ago. My first piercing was my navel, back in September '03. (Simple, right?) That was the only piercing I ever really planned on having. However, no one ever told me how addictive piercings really are. (Except of course the NAME of the studio I go to!) So after about 5 or 6 months into my navel I started wanting something else too. But I didn't know what. I'm not one for facial piercings; My husband is worried about the way nipple piercings will effect our sex life; And ear lobe piercings just aren't strong enough, if you know what I mean.
At A Glance Author joemama Contact joemama@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist Waxx Studio Chronic Tattoo & Addictive Body Piercing Location Elyria, Ohio So after looking around on BME at pictures and tons of experiences, I finally settled on my right tragus. Reading those experiences helps a lot, I think. At least most of the time. They give you an idea of what to expect. Sometimes, though, people do write stuff that would scare you out of getting a piercing! Of course, everyone's everything is different, but at least you can get a little hold on what could happen. Now, as with a lot of piercings, half of the people say it hurts like hell and half say it's nothing. The only way to find out is to do it!
So I went to my favorite studio, Chronic Tattoos and Addictive Body Piercing in Elyria, Ohio. I actually live in Cleveland (about a 40 minute drive from this studio), but Chronic came highly recommended to me from about 50 people. Plus since my navel and other visits there, I have found that the staff is great. Very helpful, honest, and knowledgeable. And they want you to be knowledgeable too, which I love about them. I totally trust them. And it's very important to trust your piercer. Why would you let someone you don't trust stick a giant needle through your body?
Anyway, once there, I met up with the piercer, Waxx, who also did my sister-in-law's and my navels. I told him what I wanted, filled out the forms, the usual. He made sure my tragus was big enough to pierce (because some aren't) and then he did his usual cleaning of the room (wiping down the table with Lysol, taking out his autoclaved instruments, etc.) as I waited. When I went in and sat on the doctor's table he uses, he cleaned my ear with a cotton ball soaked in some cleaning stuff (I don't know what) and asked me if I had any questions, as he proceeded to do throughout the entire time I was there. So I asked stuff like "When can I sleep on it?" "How do I wash my hair?" "What are all the cleaning rules?" You know, regular stuff. And, of course, he had all my answers. So we began.
He got out the jewelry, sterling silver 18-gauge 5/16-inch cbr. It's so cute how small it is! He had all his tools on his little cart. I'm sorry I can't tell you what they all are. I didn't look at them. I prefer not to know what all he's sticking through me. All I know is that they're all clean. I'm not a complete glutton for pain! I lay back on the table and he began with his clamping and positioning. I know that it's dreadfully important for him to do that, but it's so freaking annoying and uncomfortable, especially in my ear. When he finally got the dot right he asked me to check it. But I told him he could see it better than me, so how did it look to him. He laughed and said "good". So I lay back down and that's when the fun began!
Waxx told me to start taking deep breaths, or whatever would make me more comfortable through the piercing. So I did. Then he shoved the needle through. (He said he pierced with a 16 gauge, though the jewelry was 18 gauge.) At first it wasn't too bad. I mean, yeah, it hurt, but not killer. Then he corked the needle and prepared the cbr to go through. That's when it started hurting like hell. Once he moved the needle again, the nerves right near my tragus felt like they were going to burst! I said, "Oh shit! That hurt." And he told me to keep breathing. So I did. It took a little while for him to get the jewelry through and bent back the right way and get the ball in. That's what hurt the most: the jewelry. Man, that part was not fun! Of course, about 5 seconds after I sat back up it didn't hurt anymore. I never heard the "pop" or "crunch".
Again, he asked if I had any questions, and I told him he already answered them all. So he gave me the aftercare info: clean daily with antibacterial soap, turning ring to clean inside; and soak about 10 minutes per day with sea salt solution. So we went to the front and I paid him. This time I tipped! And he was mighty happy about it, too! And I drove home. Wow, what an exciting day I had!
I've had my tragus for a little over a month now and all is well. It was pretty swollen for the first 10 days or so. And that really sucked, but I just took some ibuprofen before bed to help it while I slept. Now it's just like normal, almost. I do have to be a little careful sometimes, like when I'm on the phone or hugging someone really tight on that side. That hurts! But all in all, it's great and definitely worth the pain (as with anything you love!).
If you want your tragus pierced, I say go for it. It might hurt like hell to get it done. But how long does that last? Not nearly as long as the piercing will. So like I said, go for it and have fun! And don't forget to tip your piercer!
Happy piercing.
-joemama