I caught the piercing bug the September before I turned seventeen. I'd wanted piercings for a while, but I'd only ever had my lobes done. They'd closed up at this point and getting them repierced was the beginning.
At A Glance Author Beth Contact Beth@bme.anon When N/A Artist I think her name is Stormy Studio Electric Ink Location Redcar, UK I had my tragus pierced in May. Between September and then, I'd acquired three sets of lobe piercings, a cartilage piercing and a lip piercing (my first non-ear piercing and the first one I had done at Electric Ink, a month after I turned seventeen). I'd been considering getting my tragus done for a while, but nerves kept getting in the way. My best friend decided she wanted hers done as well and that was the final push I needed.
This was my second piercing at Electric Ink and I'd been a few times with other people. The piercer is friendly and always makes me feel comfortable, which is good because I psych myself up for pain and get very, very nervous.
We arrived at the studio after college one day and asked if we could get our traguses (is that the plural of tragus?) pierced. She looked at them, said yes, filled in the forms and gave her our ID (at the time you only needed to be seventeen to be pierced there. I don't know if that's still the case).
We didn't have to wait long before we were taken through to the room where we would be pierced. If I'm remembering right, Laura let me go first because I was nervous and wanted to get it out of the way.
I didn't need to be nervous at all. The piercer told me to lie down on the table/bed and turn my head so my left ear was facing up. She numbed the area. The numbing spray was cold and tickly, but I was thankful for it since I was so worried about the pain. I always feel like a fraud when a piercing is numbed, like I haven't really experienced it, but then I'm not one of the people who enjoys the pain - the quick sting of a lip piercing was fine, but I think the pain of crunchy stiff hunk of cartilage might make me a bit unhappy.
As it was, I didn't feel the needle go through at all. Not a single sensation. I didn't even feel or hear any crunching or popping, which I was a bit sad about! After it was numbed, the whole thing was over in a minute or so and I had a nice CBR through my tragus. I was in love with it immediately.
There was very little pain for the first couple of days and I even found myself sleeping on it without trouble. I'd found the area covered in black blood once or twice, and cleaning had started stinging a bit, but it was nothing compared to the aching that came after two or three days. It was constant and severe and the area felt swollen, which I suppose is to be expected. Talking, yawning and chewing all aggravated the pain and I was terrified. I felt constantly self-conscious, too, like I had some huge growth on the side of my head even though it didn't look anywhere near as bad as it felt. Concentrating in college was almost impossible. I was using headphones that fit over my ear instead of trying to force the little bud type in there, and I was cleaning said headphones with antibacterial wipes. I wonder if that might have irritated the piercing or if the aching was just a normal part of healing.
I left it alone, just cleaning it as normal and the pain subsided in a day or two. Laura, my friend, didn't have any of the pain I did, but she did end up with a huge bump that didn't go away for about a year. I think I was lucky, really.
That was three years ago. I still haven't changed the CBR and I'm still in love with it. It's definitely one of my favourite piercings. Since then, I've got two more cartilage piercings, an industrial piercing and a nose piercing. I don't think there's anybody who wouldn't suit a tragus piercing - there are so many types of jewellery available for it, after all. I've known several people who weren't fans of piercings in general who had tragus piercings. Oh, and I can fit bud headphones in now without any irritation whatsoever! I don't have a problem sleeping on that side and I can hold a phone against it as well. I obviously can't say anything about the pain of actually getting it pierced, because I didn't feel it, but I think even if it had hurt like hell getting it done, I wouldn't love it any less. It was definitely worth the money and the aching, I know that much.
Tomorrow I'll be getting the piercing I've anticipated most - my tongue piercing. I'll be going back to Electric Ink for it. I've been living in Manchester for university for the last two years and I always wait until I'm back in Redcar and can go to Electric Ink for a piercing. I got my nose done in a piercing studio in Greater Manchester and while technically it was fine, the atmosphere was nothing compared to Electric Ink, where the staff are friendly and put you at ease. I was in the studio yesterday with a friend and it's changed and expanded, but definitely not for the worse! I would recommend it to anybody in the area.