I hadn't really thought about getting my tragi pierced as long as I had agonized over wanting other piercings. Maybe it was because I had thought the ear piercings boring and un-original for a time, or maybe it was because I assumed they wouldn't hurt as bad as how much I thought my clitoral hood piercing would hurt. Whatever the reason, I suddenly decided that it was time to get my tragus pierced. I had called some tattoo parlors some weeks before on an unrelated project, and, unable to locate the whereabouts of my former tattooist/piercer, decided on the Church of Steel. When I contacted the shop, Art, the owner, answered the phone and informed me about his shop policy, their sterilization techniques, and the education of his staff. Being a veterinary technician, and having had several other piercing experiences, his shop and staff sounded sanitary, and almost as importantly, he sounded friendly and seemed to lack the "tattude" that is so prevalent at many shops.
At A Glance Author the lioness When It just happened Artist evan Studio church of steel Location san diego, ca Last night I decided to drive down to the shop and get my new holes. I packed up my husband, who wanted to talk to someone about doing a cover-up tattoo on his wrist, and off we went. The drive was not too long, but the only negative as far as the shop location is concerned is it's proximity to the downtown nightclubs and the baseball stadium. There was a game going on, and it being Memorial Day weekend, there were lots of revelers at the clubs...which made parking a bitch. After driving around the block several times, we finally found parking and got out of the car.
We entered the shop, which was brightly lit and set up like a museum. There were artifacts and pictures of primitive peoples on the walls, a running fountain, and a kind of Spanish Inquisition theme, complete with a huge cast iron bell (think Liberty Bell.) The floors and display tables were immaculate, as was the piercing room. A thin, wiry guy with black hair came immediately to greet us, and said his name was Evan. I told him what I wanted and he had me sign the paperwork. Before I knew what was happening, I was in the large piercing room, and Evan was marking both my tragi with ink. I checked the placement, told him okay...and lay down on a chair that reminded me of the Dr.'s office. Evan told me that he was placing the receiving tubes behind my tragus so that I didn't get any extra holes, and that he didn't use clamps for any of his piercings as he found that the bruising and pain seemed to increase with their use. I said okay, and immediately after that was told to take a deep breath in and out. On the exhale I felt a sharp pinch and then a pop. It was done...but my poor right ear was to go through much more than that. Since there were no clamps used, I was bleeding pretty heavily, and unfortunately Evan had pushed the needle too far through my ear to get the jewelry in. He dug around a few times with the jewelry, which hurt quite a bit... and then decided to use a taper to get it in. By this time my husband was giving me a strange look, like "You should see what the fuck this guy is doing to your ear." The jewelry followed the taper just fine. He put on a fresh pair of gloves, and then snapped the bead in place. Time for the left one. This one hurt more than the first, as my adrenaline spike had begun to wear off, but it was not unbearably painful, and the jewelry insertion was thankfully uneventful. This ear also bled a bit, so Evan dabbed the blood off with a gauze pad. He did this a few times, and then commented that the more he dabbed it with the gauze, the more it was going to bleed. He stopped and told me to let it coagulate and then wash it off at home. We discussed aftercare, he asked what form I had used on all my other piercings, and seemed sufficiently satisfied when I said that I preferred the natural route: hot water compresses, sea salt soaks, or for irritated piercings- a drop of tea tree oil in my soak. I also said that I may just follow the LITHA method unless there was a problem. He claimed that was what he used, as well, and to call him with problems or questions.
I thanked him for my pretty new holes, paid the bill and left a tip. There was minimal pain after the piercing, and there has been minimal pain so far today. Sleeping posed a minor challenge, I like to sleep on my side and I hadn't really considered that having both tragi pierced would force me to sleep on my back or at a funny angle. Oh, well. I am really happy with my new piercing. I didn't think I would enjoy my pretty little tragi as I have say, my Monroe or my tongue...but they are quite nice, and they're in a spot where I don't have to use a retainer if I go visit Grandma!