I frequently get asked about my experience with my tragus piercings. It seems as though it is a piercing that a lot of people want, but are afraid to get.This is because there are so many people with horror stories about how much it hurts. I had both of them pierced at two different studios, within 6 months or so, and I had two very different experiences.
At A Glance Author Xalia Contact Xalia@bme.anon IAM Xalia When Six months ago Location Kalamazoo, MI Tragus 1 (right):
I got this one done on 7/10/06. I was talking with Iam:Dreadboy, and he mentioned that he would give me a discount if he pierced me. I decided to head to the shop he was piercing at, Studio 138 in downtown Kalamazoo. I hadn't heard much about it, but Iam:SynTheticPerfection and I decided to go and check the place out. After talking to Zack, I decided that I would get a tragus piercing. I decided to do the right one, because I only had my lobes pierced on that side. I picked out a 16G purple titanium ring for it. The procedure went very smoothly, and as for the actual piercing, I didn't feel it. At all. After he had pierced me, and was trying to get the earring in, he made a comment about how it was going to feel a little bit awkward. "What? The piercing?" And he laughed, and said, "No, that's done, I just have to get the jewelry in." So that's right, I didn't even feel the needle.
For aftercare, he told me not to touch it, and to just leave it alone. He also told me to wash my hair every day, and to soak the piercing while I was in the shower, so it wouldn't get irritated.
I did not feel any pain whatsoever with this piercing, with the exception of getting it snagged on someone's hair during a hug the night I got it done. It was fully healed within a month, or less. It bled a little bit the first day or so, and after that, no crusties, nothing.
Tragus 2 (left):
I got this one done on 2/12/06. My best friend from elementary school came back in town for a weekend, and she wanted me to come with her when she got her tragus piercing. I told her that I'd get a piercing too. I didn't know what I wanted, so I went in to Art & Soul, and I asked Kaz, the piercer if he had any suggestions, and we came up with a few possibilities, and my friend suggested that I get my left tragus done. I agreed, and we went downstairs to be pierced. Once again, I got a 16G purple titanium ring. I went first. He marked the placement, and asked me if it was OK, and I approved. He put a steel receiving tube against the barbell in my inner conch, which hurt like a mofo, and went ahead with the piercing. The piercing itself was incredibly painful. I was not expecting this at all, and it was very uncomfortable. He put the jewelry in, which also hurt, and then I was done. Of course, I had to lie to my already nervous friend, because not five minutes ago, I told her that it didn't hurt at all. For aftercare, he told me to soak it in sea salt twice a day, but otherwise to leave it alone.
It was quite painful, and it got rather swollen and angry looking. Nonetheless, I was very gentle with it and continued to follow the aftercare instructions, and while it wasn't doing the greatest, I kept with it. Everything went great until one fateful night at a Clutch concert. I took a nasty knock to the ear, and it ended up pretty bruised and bloody and swollen. I figured that cleaning it gently would be enough, and that the scab would fall off, and everything would work out okay. That did not happen. After 3 weeks, the scab fell off, and behind it was a big, nasty bump. I tried puncturing it, but nothing came out but blood, so I figured that it had to be scar tissue. I went back to Art & Soul, and their other piercer, James looked at it, and told me that it was not a keloid, but was instead just a big pocket of pus. I figured that it would be the death of my piercing, but he punctured it, and told me that if I soaked it in sea-salt twice a day, it should survive. I have to go back in a week, to make sure that it's doing okay.
What I learned from this is that even if you think you know what it's going to be like, you don't. Also, if you're at a concert, and a crowdsurfer comes over, duck!