I got my tragus pierced yesterday. I am a sophomore at the State University of New York at Albany and my new boyfriend and I decided to get pierced together (he got his eyebrow done). I originally wanted to get my rook pierced on Sunday, but apparently many piercing/tattoo shops are closed. So mike and I took the bus downtown to Jay Spaulding tattoos on Central Avenue in Albany on Monday.
At A Glance Author Amanda Contact mandisquarepants@yahoo.com When It just happened Artist Joe Studio Jay Spaulding Tattoo Location Albany, NY The studio walls were covered in flash designs for tattoos. There were two men behind the counter. The environment was bright and it passed my approval for cleanliness.
I told the piercer that I wanted my rook pierced, and he didn't know what I was talking about. So I showed him, and he confirmed with his coworker that they do not have the proper tools (a curved needle) to do that. So I settled for a tragus piercing as a second choice, which he affirmed he could do. Mike went first because he is a piercing virgin (I've had my vertical nipple done twice) and it went smoothly.
Then it was my turn. They had a tv on with Judge Judy or something like that which helped calm my raging nerves. I went into the room and he was taking out the tools and jewelry. I found it kind of odd that he didn't choose a captive bead ring based on my ear size, but rather just "the standard they use for everyone" (I think Mike actually has the same exact one in his brow!). The ring was 16g by the way. I sit down in the chair. It seemed to take forever for him to get the equipment together because I was so anxious! Listening to the TV was a great distraction. He marked my ear with the pen and put on the clamp. I took a deep breath in and on the exhale he began to insert the needle. I thought it was over but then he pushed it the rest of the way through. The second push hurt more but I was relieved when I felt the needle pop through the other side. The piercer then called the other guy in... That made me kind of insecure so I asked him "is everything alright?" and luckily he said, "Yes I just need some more hands for this". Phew. Next thing I knew, the jewelry was in and I was looking in the mirror, perfectly content. We paid (both of ours cost $45 including jewelry), tipped, got our aftercare sheets, thanked and went on our merry way.
It didn't start to hurt until mike and I were walking to the bus stop. It was a lovely day, besides the strong wind which felt weird on my ear. I would compare the sensation to a slight stinging with a little pressure. The pain got worse throughout the day and continued today. I have been using sea salt soaks and the sea salt solution to clean it. Because of the location of the piercing I found it inconvenient to hold a cup to my head during a soak so I have been using a cotton ball, slightly pulled apart into two lobes, each side saturated with sea salt solution with one side inserted into my ear (behind the piercing) and the other side draping over the front. This seems to work pretty well. I then use a sea salt solution saturated q tip to clean off any matter that may come out during the soaking. I was quite apprehensive to turn the ring at first because of the slight resistance, but after soaking it I figured that I eventually had to do it and went for it. Thankfully it wasn't as bad as I had expected it to be. I noticed some yellowy greenish pus on the q tip I used to clean the piercing. I was told that I should use antibacterial soap but when I tried it my ear became very itchy and bothered.
I have accidentally leaned on my ear and that extremely hurt. I have also bumped it while taking off a hooded sweatshirt. That was quite painful too.
The best word to describe the dull constant pain sensation is discomfort. I would have liked a smaller ring, but I'll just change it when it is fully healed to a smaller diameter. I love the piercing anyway and I'm not regretting it so far. I would recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind a little pain for beauty. I also like watching people cringe when they see that I got it done. Be prepared for the question, "did that hurt?" Yes, it did, I tell them.
A side note on something that I also liked. The piercer washed his hands 4 times while I was there, before piercing mike, after piercing mike, before piercing me and after piercing me. I couldn't have asked for a better hand washer, which is how it should always be.
Thanks for reading and happy piercing!