The Tragus Piercing. Cute but deadly? I was told by a cousin this would be like a hornet the size of a rat attacking my cartilage... I have nothing but earlobe piercings so I went into this assuming cartilage would hurt more but the hurt would be worth it... and well, this is my story.
At A Glance Author glitter_vertigo When It just happened Artist Katrina Studio River City Tattoo & Piercing Location Sacramento, CA While sitting across from friends at Starbucks discussing New Year's resolutions none of us are probably going to go through with, we all decided to take the short walk to Old Sacramento and get what we each fancied done and stop merely talking about it. Granted we've all marched down there three times before and I'm usually the only one to ever feel a needle but they were serious this time about doing it. Serious, serious. Off we went to add something beautiful to ourselves.
River City Tattoos rests downstairs in the Gold Rush reminiscent part of Old Sacramento. I'd heard from a coworker they had a piercer now who used to work at another popular piercing shop in town who did well on both her nipples and her Labret. We all stepped in with a merry jingle of bells announcing our arrival and asked for Katrina. We'd need a Tragus, tongue, two navels and an eyebrow done respectively and in that order. Lucky for us she was there and could take us all one by one as soon as paper work was filled out.
I dared to stray from the lobby and find a pen and when I returned all four other girls had fled the scene. I thought to chase after them but as habit would suggest, would just try to boost their bravery and fail miserably. I apologized for my friends and had a laugh with Katrina and finally it was time for me to face the needle.
I showed my ID and chose a captive ring for my Tragus and followed Katrina to her table and took a seat. I took the time to admire how well lit this area was and watched her take out all her sealed equipment and gloved up while she explained how this would all go down. She was really calm and went over everything casually but carefully. Not to mention she was adorable with her little knit hat and Medusa piercing (not a good way to decide a piercer is good, but I appreciated!).
My Tragus area was cleaned front and back and I was told to lay on the table with my head towards her and turn my head to the left to give her the best access to my right side. She took the time to ask me if I was doing alright, which I was at that point and I appreciated her concern. She asked me to take a deep breath, I did and prepared for pain. Just then, someone in the shop let out a loud cry and I moved my eyes in that direction in curiosity. I was busy thinking "That had to be a Prince Albert... maybe an Industrial...?"
By the time I stopped attempting to eavesdrop on someone else's misery, my own puncture was over and the ring was already slipped in place. Honestly, whatever slight discomfort I felt I assumed was Katrina taking a hold on my Tragus, not actually piercing it. Surprise, surprise! It was done and I was free to get up and admire it in the mirror. So adorable and the insignificant pain wasn't even great enough to draw my attention from being nosy. Perfect!
I grinned and thanked Katrina, paid my $45 to my cute piercer(the piercing is $35 sans tip) and went out front to find my friends waiting in the lobby, looking ashamed. I gave them one more chance to grow some stones but they'd decided they wanted to go home. We all left and I was the only one with a smile on my face.
I still can't decide what's more amusing... the fact that my four friends want to go to a piercing shop again as they do all the time and still don't have... and probably never will have piercings? The fact that my little ring is so cute and is still as painless as when I got it? OR the fact that it turns out Katrina is the only piercer at River City and the painful shout I heard was actually someone stubbing their toe?!
Let's not forget aftercare. I'm very careful with my right ear. No talking on the phone on the right side, no touching, no resting on it. I was advised to microwave a coffee cup of water for a minute, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and hot compress with a clean paper towel twice a day. Then clean gently with mild soap (I'm using Dr. Bronner's All-One Hemp Soap: Tea Tree). So that's exactly what I did and am still doing. I was also told not to spin the ring so I don't agitate the hole and cause scarring, so none of that. I've heard this can be a painful piercing to keep up but it's been easy and painless in my experience. The hardest thing for me is not sleeping on my right side! So far so good.