After getting my lobes done four times on each side and two helix piercings in my left ear (done with a gun before I was well-informed about piercings, but they healed up surprisingly well and I've had absolutely no problems with them - still, I wish I'd gone the safe route and gotten them done properly), I was 17 and looking for different kind of ear piercing at the start of my senior year when I came across the tragus. I loved the way it looked, however I was resigned to waiting until I graduated, as my school had very strict uniform rules when it came to jewellery and piercings.
At A Glance Author danielle Contact danielle@bme.anon When A year ago Artist Lynette Studio Piercing Shop Location Brisbane, Australia Then, last September, I was in the city one afternoon after an exam and was unexpectedly cashed-up. I remembered how much I wanted my tragus done and just decided "to hell with it." I was with a friend, but she decided not to come, so I walked up to the Piercing Shop on my own to see if they had any spots available that afternoon. They booked me for 4.00PM with Lynette, the owner/founder of the shop. The age for being able to be pierced without parental consent here is 17, which was lucky because my parents would never have consented to it (they were big fans of the uniform rule). Being a bit nervous, I went for a walk around the shops below the studio to calm down and to kill time, and returned just before 4.00.
While I waited in the reception area, I chose my jewellery (an 18g stainless steel barbell with plain silver balls), paid, filled in a form and chatted to the girl at the front counter. A few minutes after 4, my name was called, and the girl led me to one of the piercing rooms. I sat in the dentist's chair, and we talked some more while she gave me a head massage with lavender oil (one of the nicest little things about the Piercing Shop) and some stress balls to squeeze if I needed to. She laid everything out on the table, still in the packets, and then she left and Lynette came in. Because it was my first studio piercing, Lynette took the time to explain everything about the procedure and sterilisation to me. She washed her hands and put on her gloves, and then cleaned and marked my left tragus. When we were both happy with the placement, she clamped my ear and reminded me to take deep breaths. The actual piercing only took about 10 seconds, she slipped the barbell in, put the balls on and I was done!
I've read stories on BME about the cartilage "pop" and how much traguses bleed, but mine did neither. The piercing itself was essentially relatively painless - just a quick stabbing pain when the needle went through and some mild discomfort when Lynette put the barbell in. The worst bit was probably when she screwed the ball on to the bar. I even joked to her that I was expecting it to be much worse. She gave me a bottle of tea-tree & lavender wash, went over the aftercare with me and booked a check-up appointment, and I went happily on my way. I tried to put my headphones on on the bus home, but quickly gave up on that idea.
It was the next day when it started to hurt - just this dull throb that never stopped. It also swelled quite a bit and was really red, but I was assured that that was normal. I got it tangled in my hair one day and managed to unscrew the front ball, and didn't that hurt like a bitch trying to get it back on. I also had trouble with it when I slept, because I tend to roll over onto my side, which irritated it. I just kept cleaning it once a day with the solution that the shop had given me, did a salt soak twice a week and didn't touch it other than that (the LITFA policy really is the best), and made sure my hair didn't get caught in it, and it healed up in about six weeks. I've always been lucky in that my ears heal well and are pretty resilient to infection, and I was very grateful that the same was true for my tragus.
Two months after that (when I actually *had* graduated and didn't have to worry about trying to hide it for school), I went and got my other tragus done, again by Lynette, and am planning to go back soon for an industrial in my right ear. A year after my first experience, both my traguses are perfectly healed with no signs of infection anywhere along the way. I highly recommend the Piercing Shop to anyone looking to get pierced in Brisbane - they're friendly, helpful, incredibly clean and do a great job.