I got my tragus pierced almost eight months ago now, and am still completely in love with it. It wasn't something that I had wanted for a long time, but I had seen one or two people with the piercing, and thought it was an original, classic place to have jewellery. It wasn't too big but was noticeable, and as not many people had even heard of it, I thought it was nice and not a cliché.
At A Glance Author Anonymous When Six months ago Artist Mark Studio Mark's and Punctures Location Aylesbury, Bucks One day I was talking to someone and noticed they had their tragus pierced, and realised how much I really liked it. The liberation of being sixteen and able to get a piercing without permission (wow.) made me realise I could have that too, so thought about it a bit.
So, I decided one day at school that I wanted to get it pierced, and that was it. That day I went down to the studio with a friend, signed the necessary consent forms and waited for my turn. Looking back it was done completely on a whim, but it paid off and I'm so glad I did it.
As I'd never had a 'proper' piercing before (ie only my ear-lobes), I started to get quite nervous as a friend of a friend had told me about the dreaded 'crunch' as the needle goes through the ear and how much it hurt, etc. However I'd heard only good things about Mark's and Punctures, the studio, and as almost all of the piercings are done by the owner himself, it's all really personal and friendly. The staff there are completely professional, everything is totally clean and sterile, and they know exactly what they're talking about. The studio's won a few awards too, I think, which made me feel in safe hands.
When it came my turn my friend came into the little back room with me, as Mark put on his gloves and got out his sterilised equipment. A dot was then applied to my tragus with a special pen, and I was asked to go and look in the mirror to see if it was in the right position. After that, I was asked to lay down on the bed, and freeze-spray was applied to my ear. This felt cold and tingly but nice. I felt really relaxed but still had butterflies. A clamp was then put on my tragus, which just felt like you'd expect. It didn't hurt at all, just like gently squeezing your ear with your fingers.
So then came the big moment! The needle was slowly pushed through my tragus, then the jewellery (a labret) was fed through behind it. Once it was done I sat up and went to look in the mirror, and was over the moon. There was no 'crunch', no blood, hardly any pain at all. It just felt like a burning sensation, and was one of those 'nice pains' that just feels like pressure.
I found getting my ear-lobes done a lot worse than my tragus, as the little gun used there is sudden, whereas the needle here is gradual (only a few seconds, but compared to the instantaneous gun..) so isn't so much of a shock to the system. The whole process took about ten minutes, which was good because it's done gently and carefully, but doesn't take too long.
My parents knew I was getting it done and althought they didn't particularly like it, they let me as I was old enough and they are pretty good with things like that. Everyone at school asked if it hurt and couldn't believe it when I said it didn't, but it truly isn't bad. I'm not even one of those tough people who has a high pain threshold, but I was really pleasantly surprised. I only found out that some people have bad experiences with blood etc after I got it pierced and came on here, and was glad I didn't read the stories beforehand as it may have deterred me. Remember, each story is only one person's experience, and if you go to the right place and really want your piercing (meaning clean it properly and take care of it), then you should be fine.
It wasn't particularly tender afterwards, and I got the side pierced that I don't sleep on or usually hold the phone to (you really need to think about these things!). It hurt a couple of times if I knocked it, but that's only to be expected. I was told not to play with it or touch it too often, but could do so (with clean hands!) only a few days afterwards.
If anyone's even considering this I'd say get it done. It was a really pleasant experience, no real pain at all and a really pretty, easy to care for end result. They say you should keep the original labret in for 3 months minimum, which I did, and had no problems after cleaning it 4 times a day to begin with, then twice a day when I could remember after that. It even averted infection in Africa! So really, it's a great piercing to get, especially if you're new to the whole process. Just follow the instructions you're given, and if you can, buy cleaning solution from your piercer - it's a lot quicker than salt water! I was really lucky with the place I went to and people I got, so just be really sure that the studio you're going to is clean and professional. Good luck!