Getting a new tattoo or piercing has always been an awesome experience for me. I started getting pierced when I was about fifteen and got my first tattoo when I was eighteen. Like any of-age kid, my first couple of piercings hurt, and I was really nervous beforehand (understandably). But as I continued to add metal and acrylic to my body, I started to really experience the process; I wanted to truly feel every aspect of the ritual that is a piercing. After all, getting a piercing is an almost religious experience. All this to say, I became very aware of my capabilities and of my threshold for pain. I thought that I could handle anything-until one fateful day two years ago. I decided to pierce my tragus.
At A Glance Author Jeremy Contact Jeremy@bme.anon When Two years ago Artist Julio Studio Ancient Arts piercing and Tattoo Location Montreal
There is a tattoo, piercing studio near where I live and all the, "I think I'm different, maybe I'll get a piercing" kids went for their temporary attention fix. I decided that I would try this place out, it was only an ear piercing that I would be getting that day anyway. I wanted to pierce my Tragus, not an out of the question thing to do. It wasn't a surface or oral piercing, shouldn't have posed any problem to a piercer (given he or she is a professional). So in I went and they took me right away, no questions asked, no explanations. I was not aware of this at the time, but the person working that day-the only person working that day- had little to no piercing experience.
The Tragus is a double-layered fold of cartilage that extends out of the middle of the outer ear. I wanted to shove a hoop through it. This means through two layers of skin and flesh-two piercings in one. I had no idea how much fun it was going to be.
The piercer unwrapped a new needle, went through all the motions as I had seen half a dozen times before and marked the little dot on my tragus. He didn't give me half a warning before the needle was pushed in and stopped abruptly before re-emerging out the other side.
"Oh, shit" the piercer said.
"What?" I then said after a brief moment contemplating these two simple words.
"I pierced you crooked" he replied. I stood up and saw in the mirror that he had inserted the needle at roughly a forty-five degree angle through the first layer of my tragus.
"Um..." was all that I could squeak out. Bear in mind that I still had a fourteen gauge needle poking, but not pierced the whole way through my ear.
"Hang on bro." he said, starting to sweat.
What he did next I will never forget. To this day I can imagine the exact feeling that I went through. Mr. Bro the piercer straightened out the needle by pulling it back to the normal angle and then he proceeded to pierce my second layer.
Normally, a piercing-unless it is a suspension piercing- should not take longer than about a minute. This, "routine" tragus piercing took almost three minutes to complete. It took me about two and a half years to heal and about a year for my ear to stop hurting and bleeding. On top of all this, it was the most painful thing I had ever experienced, and I also have had my nipple pierced, which is no walk in the park.
I tell this story not to freak people out, but to remind them to research the studio that they choose to frequent. It really is worth the time and effort to wait and find the best place you can. Going out on a whim is also not the greatest of ideas. Research, ask questions, take some action. After all, YOU are the customer. YOU are modifying your body. I only wish that unprofessional and under experienced piercing is stopped, or supervised a little better. The last thing someone like me want is an art so fine as piercing to be given a bad name due to incompetence.
Not too long ago, I pierced my other tragus, at a very professional studio, and it was incredible. Everything that it should have been. The second tragus turned out great, healed really fast and looks amazing. The piercer even taught me some things I didn't know about piercing. She really helped to make the experience memorable and enjoyable. I now only go to there for all of my piercing as well as all of my tattoos (that I design myself with the help of one of the amazing people at my studio).
So be careful, boys and girls. Don't run before you can walk. Piercing is a beautiful thing, but there are many people who make it very, very ugly. It's worth avoiding the morons.