I set up an appointment with my usual piercer, Ron that I would have my right tragus to be done later that day. I came into the shop around three and he proceeded to check all the angles of my ear to make sure it was thick enough and it wouldn't be a wasted effort. He agreed it would be doable and started to get all the necessary paper work for my mom to fill out and an after care sheet for me too look over as he set up all the equipment needed for the procedure. His shop is OSHA certified, and has a very clean shop compared to ones I've seen and should have been condemned in areas near and about western Maryland, so he is very trusted in my book. He made the initial marking and had me lay down on the padded table he has set up for piercing, my friend Will was working and he gave a huge grin as he walked away.
At A Glance Author volkadice Contact loveisinevitablydead@hotmail.com When A year ago Artist Ron Studio in the skin Location oakland maryland I figured it wasn't a biggie, and didn't really ponder what would happen next, that it would just be quick and painless but I was wrong. I was waiting for him to put it through and kept wondering what was taking him so long when all of a sudden I felt a slight pinch, and felt a load of pressure on my right side. It stopped and I thought "wow that wasn't bad at all, people suck that wasn't painful", but right after I made that notion BOOM I feel it again! ; It felt like the last push but instead of going quickly, it just kept resisting and you know there's something wrong when a grown man cant push a needle through your ear.
The pressure stops and he seems kind of pissed that he can't get it through and says to me "You've got one of the thickest ones I have ever done". I thought, "Great, I'm the lucky one with the thick-ass bitch that he hasn't seen before" Finally after what seemed like 4 straight minutes of torture, I feel cold steel slide through an opening and a great sigh of relief was let out. He cleaned up the blood and told me to have a look at it, when I was checking how far it looked into the tragus he said," I had to remark it because it slants in from the back, it gives an optical illusion from the front that's sort of confusing", I thanked him for his work and went home to enjoy my swelled ear.
I figured it would only take 3 months to heal, but I was very wrong. The entire healing process had its up and downs like an annoying circus ride, but I promised I wouldn't give up even if it gave up on me. The first few weeks it was sweet because nothing ever made it hurt besides sleeping, but once band started and school started was probably the ultimate test of how much I could tolerate at the time. After two months I never checked the backing of my tragus I guess it went unnoticed for a while, until I felt a slight bump forming. I checked it in the mirror the next day and said something like "Jesus tits what the fuck is wrong with it now, I didn't do anything", I always blamed the piercing like it did it to me on purpose, but what can I say piercings make people more emotional than relationships, at least they do with me.
I had a remainder of three more bumps to go, but nobody can guess this until it just happens. Every time I would put a small amount of peroxide on the bump before I cleaned it, then gave it a few salt soaks and then rinsed, than went to bed. Finally it was healed, it was probably six or seven months total of emotion, frustration, and pain, not just healing but it was worth it. Then was the journey of the next piercing I would yet have time to endure. But my advice to anyone who wants theirs pierced is to focus on the fact it's a wound healing around metal, and the fact that cartilage can take a year or more to heal average.
So if you have that friend who gets one doesn't take care of it and it's perfectly fine, don't sweat it cause I know what it feels like to be a slow healer. Another thing is that your piercer is the best judge of what to do, and he may give advice that is very hard to hear and may not correlate with your body but its also good to research what works for you and take one opinion to form your own, well that's all I have to say about it. Good luck to anyone that wants their tragus, or any piercing, done for that matter.