Tragus Piercing (I love it)
About me: I'm a 15-year-old girl, living in Belgium and I've got 3 lobe-piercings and a helix-piercing in my left-ear, my right-ear only has one piercing in the lobe. (Though I plan to have a second lobe-piercing there.) All of them were shot with a piercing gun, so I didn't have any experience with piercing with a needle and to tell you the truth, I was really scared...
At first I just wanted another helix, or even a plain lobe-piercing, but then I started looking on the internet... I found a lot of things that I wanted: an industrial, a daith, a rook, ... (Frankly, I would have liked to get everything, but I'll have to wait a few more years...Darned parents... ^_^)
But in the end I found the perfect piercing for me: a tragus.
I wanted to get my tragus done for a few weeks now, but my parents didn't allow it. When I discovered this site, I showed it to them. And all those experiences of others must have had an effect because... they were convinced easily! (Thank you, bmezine.com!) They gave me permission for my tragus, as long as I paid for the piercing myself. It probably would cost around 30 euro, and I was more than willing to pay that price for my piercing so I didn't hesitate: I got to the piercer as soon as I could.
Although I really wanted my tragus, I was very nervous when I stood outside the shop. My friend kept saying that I should get it over with, but that didn't calm my nerves. When I finally composed myself (that took a while), we went inside. The shop looked clean and it was bright because of the many windows. Behind the counter stood a tall guy (didn't catch his name) who was very friendly! I noticed he didn't have any piercings, though. (As far as I could see...)He carefully explained how he would pierce, answering all my questions. He asked if I was absolutely sure, and when I confirmed he led us to the back of the shop.
It was a room with 3 chairs on a row, they reminded me of those dentist-chairs, and a few cupboards. While the piercer got everything ready (he certainly took his time!) I chatted with my friend and the guy in the chair next to me, he was getting a tattoo. He looked even more nervous than me. A few minutes passed, and then the piercer told me to stand. He disinfected my ear and marked it. I checked the tiny dot in the mirror, but it was perfect, so I sat down in the scary dentist-chair again.
My friend was trying to distract me by babbling about...almost everything really. It was funny and I felt myself relax a bit. I closed my eyes because I really didn't want to see the needle.
I heard the piercer say that he was going to spray some cold stuff on my ear and that I shouldn't be startled. It was really cold, like ice or something. He then attached the clamp. I read stories of people, claiming that it was the most uncomfortable feeling in the world. I didn't feel much though. But then again, maybe that cold fluid had numbed my ear a bit. Ok, now the painful part: the needle. I had my eyes shut tightly, and the palms of my hands were sweaty. The piercer counted: 'One...two...three!'
It was a very strange feeling, like someone pinching reaaaally hard. But nothing like I thought it would be. Relief flooded through me. I had done it! And it didn't even hurt that much! My friend laughed at the happy look on my face, I must've looked quite idiotic. ^_^ Anyway, the man pulled the piercing through, wiped away a little blood and told me I could look in the mirror now. The guy next to me (getting the tattoo) said it looked nice and my friend agreed. I closely looked at it in the mirror... and loved it the second I saw it.
The piercer then handed me a bar of anti-bacterial soap, instructed how and when to use it and told me to come back in six to eight weeks to change the jewellery.
I now have my tragus-piercing for one week. At first it was swollen a little, which is normal, I suppose. And it proved to be difficult to clean it, since you can't get a washing cloth behind your tragus, especially not when it's pierced ^_^ But I managed to clean it with some cotton wool. Now it's healing really nicely, I think: I can twist it around without any trouble most of the time.
So no problems at all!
In fact, I find it incredible (and a little disturbing) how a little piece of metal like a piercing can make me this happy!
Disclaimer: The experience above was submitted by a BME reader and has not
been edited. We can not guarantee that the experience is accurate, truthful,
or contains valid or even safe advice. We strongly urge you to use BME and
other resources to educate yourself so you can make safe informed decisions.
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