So the piercing addiction has continued. It is hard to believe how addictive piercing is unless you are a part of it all. It started with my navel 4 years ago, then I re pierced my tongue 4 months ago, then I did my VCH which didn't last but 8 weeks, then my rook and most recently my anti-tragus.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Mike Studio Shrap Metal Location Colorado Springs, CO I really wanted a piercing that would mirror my rook and balance out my ear and after much research here on BME I decided on the anti-tragus. It is just so unique and amazing looking that I decided to go for it.
My husband and I headed down to the piercing studio and surprisingly I was not the least bit nervous this time. I was very calm and ready for it.
We got there and I filled out all the paperwork. Then it was time to wait for a few minutes while Mike set up. Mike is very thorough and I trust him a great deal.
I went in and he said you want your "what?" pierced. So I showed him and he started to say how much it was going to hurt but then stopped and said I will be as gentle as I can but I can't promise that it won't hurt because that piece of cartilage is very thick. I told him that I trusted him and I was ready.
He marked my ear and then had me look at it and I was very happy with the placement. He then asked me if I wanted a hoop or barbell and I said a barbell of course. He used a receiving tube for this piercing which is only but a pinch, it really doesn't hurt at all. Then he told me to take a deep breath in and let it out slowly. Let me tell you, this was the most painful piercing I have had yet. The feeling was white hot and filled with tons of pressure. Had this piercing lasted much longer I think I would have let out some foul words but thankfully just in time it was over and time to insert the jewelry. Usually barbells hurt going in because of the threads but this time it didn't and I only think that is because my ear was already in so much shock. He got the jewelry in and told me to take a look. I now had a 16g barbell to match the one in my rook. I was thrilled, It was perfect!!! He then took a picture for the studio album and because it was his first time doing this piercing. He did an amazing job as I knew he would. Immediately after it started to swell like I can't even tell you. I have never seen anything on my body swell like that. It was so swollen my skin looked shiny and it throbbed terribly. Of course my rook (5 weeks old at that time) had to jump in on the pain as well so my whole ear was just going boom boom boom but that was ok it looked amazing.
After I got home I took some anti-inflammatory medicine and that helped a lot. Surprisingly the pain went away quite quickly after this piercing. That night when I cleaned it, it was only tender and nothing more. I was told to clean it 2x day with antibacterial soap and to use H2Ocean every four hours for the first few weeks. From time to time cleaning this piercing I would get a burning sensation in it and of course it was tender but the pain was very minor compared to my other cartilage piercings.
It is now 6 weeks later and the piercing continues to do amazingly well. It has given me so few problems, minor aching here and there and from time to time it would burn when I would clean it but other than that this has been a very easy piercing to care for. I honestly expected it to be much worse like my rook but as each person is different so is each piercing. I guess I have also babied it as well, I do not sleep on that side and I do not talk on the phone on that side either. I figure why take any chances with my beautiful piercing.
Like always I recommend you do your homework before going to get this piercing. I would say the piercing pain was a 7 out of 10 but the after pain and care was a piece of cake. I am just now able to sleep on my left ear again but that is partly because of my rook and also because my anti-tragus would ache a bit too when I tried.
Admittedly this piercing does get in the way sometimes and my hair loves to curl up in the barbell but that hasn't been any kind of problem for me. It is a very unique piercing and most certainly worth the care it needs. One warning, Be careful when you take your shirt on and off, I have had my jewelry catch a few times and it doesn't feel good to say the very least.
Good Luck to all of you & Happy Piercing : )