Seeing as since I was 16 I've gotten my tongue, rook, lower navel, seven other ear piercings and a tattoo done to myself, I figured a tragus piercing would be the perfect finishing touch. Wow, was I ever in for an experience!
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Andre Studio Living Colour Location Ottawa, Ontario I decided on July 7th to go downtown with a male friend of mine who wanted to get his nipple pierced. I had been to Living Colour Tattoo for many of my other piercings and my tattoo I knew this was the best place to go. When we arrived, we signed the contracts and explained what we wanted done. I was asked whether I wanted my tragus to be pierced with a ring or a barbell. I really preferred the look of the barbell, so that's what I chose.
After an eventful nipple piercing for my friend (passing out and all), I hopped onto the bench, slightly worked up over my friends misfortune, but not anymore nervous than usual. Following his prep, the piercer marked my ear and went ahead with the piercing. It didn't hurt all that much; a crunch, and then a lot of heat, but nothing too painful. All was going well until he couldn't get the inside bead on my barbell. I had to lay down on my side and endure 20 minutes of poking and pulling on the fresh piercing. Finally he said he got it, and that it was just tough to do cause he had such 'fat fingers'. My friend and I both left the parlour quite pleased with our piercings, little did I know, things were about to get a lot worse...
One week later, I found myself cleaning my new tragus piercing, when suddenly the inside bead falls off! I was really upset, knowing that I'd have to go back downtown to get it fixed. The next afternoon, after working 9 hours with the piercing taped against my skin (making sure it didn't fall out), I made my way back into Living Colour. Even though I had called earlier, explained, and they told me to come in, when I arrived I was informed that there is no piercer working that night. The receptionist took me into the back room and tried for about 10 minutes to get the bead back on, but I ended up leaving with nothing fixed. I walked down the road to another piercing parlour that I had been to last year. They were sweet enough to take me in and managed to get the bead on for me! They did mention how swollen my tragus was, how deep he had pierced me, and how they didn't quite know why I had pierced with such a short barbell! I didn't really think twice about it though, I was just happy to have the bead back on!
Now we come to August 8th, just one month after the whole piercing took place. I find myself in Rotterdam, Netherlands, travelling with my mom and sister. One morning I wake up to find the front bead of tragus missing! Oh great! You can imagine how upset I am at this point. I'm half away across the world, in a country where I don't speak a word of their language. I spend most of the morning trying to pull the piercing out the back hole, hoping I can get it out, flip it around, stick it in through the front hole, and tape it down until I can find a piercing parlour. After much excruciating pain of trying to remove the barbell and some very severe swelling, my sister realizes that I really need to get this piece of jewellery out of my ear. We manage to find a parlour that will stay open late until I can get there. Once we arrive, and have a family member translate our problem, the young lady takes me into the back room and lays me down. Then comes the sentence I didn't want to hear... "have you ever thought that maybe the front bead it still on the barbell, inside the hole?"... Oh gosh! This is not something I want to deal with, but it is true! She goes at me with some huge claps, with myself shaking and crying, I feel the barbell get ripped through the inside hole of my tragus, the bead attached as the piercer had thought. The piercer hands me the barbell and tells me to take it back to Canada and say to the piercer "Greetings from Holland; you're an idiot!" Haha!! Anyways, I am so relieved to have this ordeal over with, except then my ear gets completely filled with blood. I manage to clean it out as best as I can, but end up spending the rest of my European vacation with a blocked ear; which did not make for a pleasant ride home on the plane because the pressure is already painful enough minus having an ear plugged with dried blood.
Oh! What an experience. In the end, I did go back to Living Colour and tell them what happened and how disappointed I was. I was pierced with too short of a straight barbell (it should have been curved; I never would have been able to put a ring in if I decided I want to), and too deep. I got my money back, but will never go back to their parlour and will never recommend them to my friends again!