Ever since I got my first lobe piercing when I was 16 (so late, I know!), I have loved earrings and piercings. About a year and a half after I got my first set of lobes done, I begged/conned/pleaded with my mother to allow me to get a second hole. The only reason she relented, I think, was because I was going to the college that she wanted me to go to, but either way, I finally got them done. Eventually, I naturally had to have a third and fourth set of lobe piercings, and get them I did.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Colby Studio New York Adorned Location New York City, NY Since I ran out of space on my lobes and knew I wasn't done with piercings, I realized I needed to add something new to my collection of 8 holes. I have loved the tragus piercing ever since I saw it a year or so ago (a girl in my Russian class had one, and at the time, I didn't even realize you could pierce a tragus!). I knew from the first time I saw it though that I had to have one- it was just a matter of when.
So I was in New York about a week ago, near New York Adorned, which I heard amazing reviews about. I almost chickened out when my friend and I walked past the shop, but I couldn't let myself. I had come too far to quit. The only bad thing I'd ever heard about NYA was that the desk staff was unfriendly, but this is completely not true at all. They are amazingly friendly and chatty and extremely informative. I was dressed in very conservative, business style clothes, and Colby, the piercer who was heavily tattooed and modded, was more than happy to pierce me.
I gave the receptionist my state ID, filled out forms, and paid. My bill was quite pricey, $110 (before the $20 I tipped at the end because Colby did an awesome job), but this was with good reason. I paid for a (18g) 14k white gold CBR because 1) I thought the gold would better facilitate healing and 2) I don't plan to take the ring out even once it's healed, so I wanted something nice. That is the blessing and the curse of NYA- they have such a beautiful, exquisite selection of jewelry, but you will pay the price for it (Colby showed me a pretty opal bead, but sadly my budget couldn't quite afford that). My bill however also included some anti microbial soap as well as the piercing itself, so it was worth it, in my mind.
After I paid, Colby took me back to the piercing room, which was separate from the tattooing area. He was still very friendly and helpful and chatted with me the whole time, though surprisingly I really wasn't as nervous as I thought I'd be- in fact, I was more excited because it was finally going to happen after so long! Anyway, he cleaned my ear, marked it, and told me to lie down, after which he proceeded to open everything up in front of me, make sure the jewelry was sterilized, and change his gloves about four or five times (very clean). After this, the piercing began.
He clamped my ear, which really wasn't too bad, just a strange feeling since I've never had anything but my lobes pierced before. He told me to breathe in and then out, and obviously when I exhaled, he pushed the needle through. Surprisingly, there really was not much pain at all! I was shocked. I think it actually hurt more to get my lobes needle pierced than it did to get this piercing. Unlike the pain with my lobes, which involved a much more precise, stinging, localized pain, the pain with my tragus was really more like a flat, dull pressure. Inserting the ring stung a little bit (I grasped my friend's hand a little and kind of said, "ooo"), but neither the piercing nor the insertion was an unmanageable amount of pain at all. Either I have a really high pain threshold, or this really isn't the most painful piercing you can get. I don't know, but in my opinion, it was a piece of cake. I also didn't bleed at all, which was great. Who knows, maybe my piercer just really knew what to do not to make it hurt, but nonetheless, I still don't understand how this ends up being so painful (supposedly) for some.
Finally I got to look at it, and it looked so amazing!! It was everything that I'd hoped for. This piercing is so delicate and feminine. It also looks very unique to people who are unfamiliar with mods, which makes it a potentially good conversation starter.
Either way, I am so glad I got my tragus pierced. It's been a week now, and it's really not sore at all, though I have been vigilant about cleaning twice a day with anti microbial soap, not touching it at all, not sleeping on it, not using the phone on that side, and not using ear buds. It sounds extreme, but this is how you prevent infection and promote good healing. The ease of getting my tragus done (as well as how happy I am with it now!) has convinced me that I definitely need some more piercings- I am thinking next about a forward helix or daith in the opposite ear. But if you are thinking about getting a tragus piercing, definitely do it, because it's not as bad as everybody says, and in the end, it looks utterly gorgeous.