Alright, well I'll just start off with my story then. :)
At A Glance Author anna Contact anna@bme.anon When A month ago Studio Art Factory Location Vienna , Austria First of all, I want to say how helpful bmezine has been for me. It's the only resource online (that I could find) which is so in-depth and complete.
Call me a clean freak, but I knew exactly where i didn't want to get my tragus pierced ... In a dirty little piercing parlor. I know stereotypical thought, but that was my criterium. So after years (yes years) of nothing happening I finally found the piercing parlor I was content with: The Art Factory in Vienna, Austria. I mean it looked like IKEA! It was so clean and immaculate (and not to mention that it's approved by the Government health standards) had me sold. The owner aka piercer aka manager who is studying nursing also was very helpful and nice. He also takes his job seriously which gave me confidence.
Now, the piercing wasn't exactly cheap, it's made of Titanium and alone costs 30 Euro. The piercing itself cost 60 Euro. Okay now some of you might be saying that that's way to expensive for a piercing, but I'd rather pay more and be sure that it's safe, than play cheap. I mean he was going to stick a needle through me.
First I wasn't even sure which piercing to get. I really like the very very high helix (the piercing above the tragus ... Not a lot of people have it, but I didn't feel like I would have all the jewelry options the I would have had with the tragus. And since I'm not the one to get a ton of piercings (I find it loses the appeal of the piercing itself, me and my friend decided it would be better to take the tragus piercing.) I also thought about the problems I might have with a tragus piercing, but my fears were all unfounded. I thought that after having the tragus piercing done, I wouldn't be able to use earphones anymore. This is completely untrue, I can use earphones without a problem.
After I chose the jewelry (a bar with a flat back and a ball closure with a clear stone) it was off to the actual procedure. Now I wasnt actually too nervous, he offered to do the piercing with local anesthetic (yes it's done in Europe:)) , but I didnt take it, because I didnt believe that the piercing would hurt that much. I've seen my friend get a cartilage piercing and was amazed at how smoothly the needle pierces the skin ( Like a knife through butter) ... and the procedure itself is so short.
So here I was finally sitting on a doctor's table. First he checked my ear with an acupuncture machine, to see if he wasn't going to hit a nerve. Then he marked me up and asked me if I liked the placement, all the while I saw how clean and orderly he was working, I saw him sanitize the jewelry and open autoclaved equipment. He also changed his gloves periodically and sanitized his work area.
Alright now to the actual piercing ... He clamped my tragus and then pushed the needle through. Now the clamp didn't hurt at all. When he began piercing me, I felt a slight pinch through my top layer of skin and then a very dull light pain going through my cartilage and a sort of crunching noise ... It actually took a bit. But I was much more nervous before the actual piercing! Finally the needle is through, he removes the clamp and proceeds to insert the 16G Barbell. He screws on the top ball and hands me a mirror, and im impressed because the placement seems so perfect!
I then proceeded to pay and tip him, and went back home. It has never hurt. It was my least painful piercing . My standard LOBE piercings hurt more! I slept on it the first night and I felt nothing. Now I did have to be careful while showering and I wasn't allowed to go in public pools or saunas for a week, because it could irritate the piercing. The healing process went really well. I had to clean the piercing 3 times a day for 2 weeks, using a Disinfecting spray and Tyrosol (an antibacterial gel). No crusties, no puss, no blood, NOTHING. It's as if it were always there. The only time I had a problem with my piercing is when I accidentally swiped in on a door, and it bleed a little bit, since I ripped the skin a little bit.
I find the tragus piercing a most beautiful and not too obvious piercing (Even my grandparents don't mind it)
So If anybody reads this and lives in Vienna and is thinking about getting a piercing you should definitely check out The Art Factory (on Gumpendorfer Strasse)
Til then, servus!