My 18th birthday was almost here and I was in serious need of a new piercing. I had wanted my lip done but after a fight about it with my mother I decided that I really did not want to have to look for a new place to live, so I settled on my ears...again. I had, had my anti tragus done once before but poor placement made it swell up for months and even a slight bump to it made it seem like it would explode. But I missed that piercing and I decided I would get it and my anti helix.
At A Glance Author sPiDeR Contact sPiDeR@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Tim Studio Scotia Tattoo Location Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
December 2nd came (it wasn't my 18th birthday yet but I was also getting my tattoo that day and figured I was down in the area so why not get them done) and my friends and I left school to head into Dartmouth. All seven of us piled into my friend Nannie's van and we left. First stop was my to get tattoo done then we were off to Scotia. We walked in and waited for Tim to show up. Which was like half an hour later, but he did show up so I guess half an hour isn't so bad. He came into the waiting room, got me and took me out back to the piercing room which was a really cool an unexpected area since I'm used to piercing room's being sterile and white and just plain blah. This was covered in blue flames and black lights...It was amazing. Tim asked me again which piercings I was getting and then he asked what gauges and barbell or CBR. I told him 14 gauge CBR and he held up the most tiniest CBR I have ever seen. He then prepped my ear, marked where the hole would be and handed me a mirror to check out the placement. I was happy with this since I usually have to argue with pierces about placements because where I want it usually makes the piercing procedure really difficult, but Tim marked EXACTLY where I wanted it. He then told me that it may be more painful then the last anti tragus but it shouldn't be unbearable pain then he made me lay right back in the chair and turn my head away from him. He picked up the needle and receiving tube (NO CLAMPS) told me to breath in deep and hold it and I felt the needle go through. WAY MORE PAINFUL THAN THE FIRST ONE, but like he promised nothing unbearable. I felt him bending the needle so it wasn't digging into my ear and he grabbed my CBR, lubed it up for easy sliding and attempted to slide it in and the needle out. One tug, two tugs, seems my ear has swelled up really bad so it was a long and painful time trying to get the needle out but it finally came out and when it did the blood started. I bleed a lot with piercings so that wasn't unusual, and he slid the CBR in. Now it was t "\ÃwX¯¬ ime to get the ball snapped in which always scares me because if the piercer drops the ball, it's gone down my ear, but Tim got it in no problem. He then cleaned the lube and blood of my ear, handed me the mirror again. I looked at my ear and couldn't stop smiling. My anti tragus was back. Tim told me how to clean it, how long it should take to heal, and he joked throughout the whole procedure just to make me a bit more comfortable, then he went on to my next piercing which was painful, I paid him then we left.
The minute I stepped outside the frigid December air made my fresh holes feel like they were on fire but that couldn't break up my happy, happy day. As we drove back to school the pain of the day hit me hard. My ears began to throb, I felt a migraine coming on and every time I moved my wrist the bandage on my tattoo would pull and my wrist would start to sting. After taking some Ibuprofen the pain in my ears started to feel more like a sting then a stabbing pain which was fine with me at first, but by the next day the dull throbbing pain was starting to get really annoying. It took a week for the pain to fully go away and 20 days for my mom to even notice I had added more holes to my collection of eleven. Any swelling or redness that I had within the first day were gone my day 5 so I had to show some self control when it came to playing with the earrings. Now at 21 days old I have a small keloid on the inner part of my anti tragus and relatively no pain unless it gets caught on something or gets hit., so I hope that this one is a piercing that I will be able to keep.