This was another piercing which was a bit of a random decision. I had a philosophy essay to write and it was doing my head in a bit so I needed something to cheer me up. I came out of an english seminar and popped to the shop to buy a snack and thought to myself. Right, i have two choices - either I got home and write this essay or I run and get on that bus over there and go to Hedonism. And thankfully I chose the latter. I'd never been on my own to get pierced before so I was a bit nervous - not because of the piercing itself but just because I'm really really shy! But I hopped off the bus and just walked straight there and straight in cause I was determined that shyness wasn't gonna stop me getting pierced! I think they like the way im so sure of myself in there - i never ask questions i always just go in and im like - yeh! pierce me!
At A Glance Author Snoidy Contact Snoidy@bme.anon When A month ago Artist I don't know her name, im sorry! Studio Hedonism Location Stoke on Trent Sooo I just signed my consent form and went straight upstairs and there was no queue which is always handy. As always I ended up talking about how I was meant to be doing work and not getting pierced... it didn't take very long. The girl (I really need to find out her name) cleaned my ear and put the mark on for me to check. It was perfect so I told her to go ahead, she sprayed on some anesthetic and clamped it. I had a random panic inside my head thinking suddenly 'oh God this is gonna hurt!' which was rather silly seeing as I had my rook done with no numbing and coped with that fine! But she soon put the needle through and it really didn't hurt - I was actually slightly disappointed! I like the rush of endorphins that comes with piercings - if i got my other tragus done i wouldn't have it numbed. I'd read a lot of people's experiences that said it hurt a lot and many seem to think it's one of the most painful piercings. Everyone's different though I guess! And for me it was simple and painless.
As always - for me the problem comes with the healing process. I have a terrible TERRIBLE habit of picking off any crusties. VERY BAD IDEA! Also I had been sticking my earphones in that ear for listening to music which obviously is dumb as it increases the chance of infection and puts pressure on the piercing. Also I got bored of the captive bead ring and replaced it with a horseshoe with spikey ends within.. probably less than a week. I'm not a very patient person! As a result of my poor aftercare I have one of those little bumps on the front of the piercing which is entirely my fault! I won't even bother trying to assign a name to it because everyone seems to have different ideas about what they are! Although I have named it Bill.. he basically looks like a spot, he was quite red and my whole tragus has swollen up a little. There isn't any infected looking discharge but even so I think the poor thing is a little bit infected. It hasn't been particularly sore tho and I'm just trying to be careful with it.
A couple of days ago I bought some tea tree oil and have been putting that on Bill, and already he has reduced in size and he isn't as red. So it looks as if it is now on the mend. I am trying to resist the temptation to poke at it or over clean as I don't want to irritate it further. The thing with my piercings is I always poke at them, and if I looked after them properly I'm convinced that I wouldn't have any problems! Tea tree is definitely doing the trick tho and im hoping Bill will have gone away by the end of the week.
I would definitely recommend this one - it doesn't hurt very much to get done and it looks great. As with all piercings the main thing is to clean it once or twice a day and LEAVE THE POOR THING ALONE! Hot compresses and tea tree seem to be the best thing to get rid of infection for me - I've never had to take a piercing out or visit the doctors for antibiotics or anything like that. I find it's best to just give my body the chance to heal - cleaning twice a day is plenty. Do it too much and it will just irritate the piercing further!
It's becoming a pretty common piercing now but I don't think that's any reason not to get it done. If you're thinking about it I'd say go for it!