I'd wanted my tragus pierced for quite a while but hadn't gotten around to it. A couple of days ago I remembered it and decided I really wanted it done before I get sidetracked again. I asked a friend if she wanted to come then prepared to head to a local salon once the weekend was over. I was rather excited and tempted to go earlier but held myself back as I had only just had my ears pierced a second time, and wanted to give it a couple of days.
At A Glance Author Lynelle Contact Lynelle@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Tegan Studio One44nine Location Mildura, VIC I usually get all my piercings done at Blondies in Mildura because that's the only place I'd ever been to before and they seemed ok from what I had gathered. So naturally I thought I'd go there again for my tragus. I also have a couple of friends who have had their tragus pierced, and they recommended Blondies. However when I went there on the Monday (yesterday) they were closed (I had no idea they are closed on Mondays) and I was very disappointed to say the least. I then remembered that One44nine in the mall do body piercings. I was a bit hesitant as I'd never been there before and didn't know if they were reliable or not, but I really wanted to get my piercing that day. I went up there and asked the girl at the counter about it, she told me it would be $50 ($10 cheaper than Blondies!) so I bit the bullet and said I'd do it. I was again disappointed when the girl informed me that Tegan, their body piercer, was on holidays. However she then continued to say she could give her a call and see when she was available to come in. I was thinking I'd have to wait a few hours or even until the next day, but I was pleasantly surprised when I was informed Tegan would be there in half an hour.
After waiting for around half an hour and getting some sugar into my system in the form of coke and chocolate, I returned to One44nine to meet Tegan. My first impression was she seemed very friendly and warm. I was asked for some identification, which I was pleased about, as some other places I've been to don't do this. Tegan then gave me a form to fill out and took me to the room used for piercing. I noticed the room is a lot neater and cleaner than the one at Blondies, which made me feel much more comfortable. It's a small and rather comforting room. The piercer, Tegan, was great, and I strongly recommend her. She was friendly and cheerful about the whole procedure, chatting to me about other piercings I had and such, which helped settle my nerves. The actual piercing hurt me quite a bit, but it wasn't painful enough to bring on tears or anything like that. It's definitely something I could withstand. The part that hurt was the piercing of the skin, which is to be expected, but putting on the jewellery was pain-free. Tegan was very efficient and got it done quickly, so the pain of the needle subsided after around about 20 seconds. There was no dizziness or nausea once I sat up again, contrary to many stories I've heard of people falling over or fainting.
A friend of mine who came with me also had her tragus pierced, but it didn't seem to hurt her as much as it did me. I insisted on having mine pierced first because I knew I would back out if I saw the procedure being performed, although watching it wasn't that bad (much better than actually getting it done!). She also had the top of her ear pierced, which is something I'm now considering.
Tegan also made sure I was ok afterwards, something I hadn't experienced at Blondies. She told me to sit for a minute to make sure I was good to stand up, while chatting to me about random topics. You don't get the feeling that it is just work for her; she actually seems genuinely interested, which was a nice feeling. Tegan then gave me a lollipop to keep my blood sugar up (yet another thing they don't do at Blondies) and a couple of free medicated swabs to clean the piercing wound at home. She also showed me how to remove the ring after the wound has healed, which was helpful as it's pretty tricky to figure out yourself.
Overall my experience was great and very enjoyable, and this place is by far the best I've been to. After all that, I've decided to get all my future piercings performed by the great staff at One44nine in Mildura, and I highly recommend anyone else wanting body piercing to do so as well.