I've always had an obsession with tattoos and piercings. I have 8 ear piercings (now 9), two tattoos and my right nipple pierced. The story of my tragus piercing starts just after my boyfriend came home one day with an industrial. I was so jealous. He had something new and fun to show off, and I hadn't done any body modifications in almost a year. Thus, I decided to go off and get my tragus pierced which is something I've wanted for quite a while.
At A Glance Author Alyssa Contact Alyssa@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Mark Studio Creative Body Art Clinic Location Windsor, ON After debating between two tattoo/piercing places (both of which I'd had mods done), I decided to go to Creative Body Art Clinic because it was closer to where I lived. When I was finished work, I drove right to the piercing place. On my way there, my car started to smoke so I had to abandon my mission and call a tow truck.
A couple days later, my car was back in working order so I decided to try once again to go get my tragus pierced. I made it to the place with no car troubles, but with a few butterflies in my stomach. When I got there, Mark (who does the piercings) was off on a break so Andrew (the tattoo guy) told me to take a seat and that Mark will be back soon. Although it was only 10 minutes, it felt like I was waiting forever. I sat there looking at the magazines, and took comfort in the familiar buzzing of the tattoo guns. Finally Mark came back. I told him what I wanted, filled in the paperwork and paid for my piercing. I waited another 15 minutes for everything to sterilize and for him to set up.
I was so nervous walking into the room. I have heard mixed reviews about how painful a tragus piercing was. Some people told me it was very painful, while others on BME wrote that they barely even felt it. He had me sit down on the 'doctors table' and he washed his hands and put on his gloves. This was it; no turning back now!
He could tell I was nervous so he chatted to me about how they moved the location of their shop, and just general stuff like that. I also made him aware that the crunching sound that most piercings produce makes me nauseous. He cleaned my tragus with an alcohol swab, and marked a dot with the little marker. He handed me a mirror so I could look, but I wasn't exactly sure where it's supposed to be pierced so I put my trust in him.
He layed out all his equipment on the table like a doctor about to do heart surgery. Being a nursing student, curiosity got the best of me and I started to stare down all the stuff on the table. I noticed the needle was curved, which came as a shock to me. I looked up at him and he assured me it was okay. He told me to turn my head, and took the needle in one hand and a little tiny blue cork in the other. I heard the familiar crunch which sounds like stepping on a cornflake. He repeatedly asked me if I was okay, so I'm thinking maybe I went flush? The pain was like something I hadn't experienced before. My nipple piercing was a stabbing smooth pain which went away quickly. My back tattoo was a burning pain that dragged on as long as the needle was touching my skin. But this, was something different. It started with a stabbing pain, but it quickly turned into extreme pressure which travelled to my cheek as well. He put in the ring, and after fiddling with the ball, and a good cleaning I was all set.
We skipped the majority of the aftercare speech because I've heard it so many times before, and I couldn't stop staring in the mirror.
I love my piercing so much. It was honestly one of the most painful mods I've had done, but it was so worth it. The pain went away within a couple hours, and now 2 days later I can rotate it while cleaning with little or no pain! The only trouble I've ran into is the cleaning process. The first day, I couldn't get the ring to rotate even in the shower. It concerned me as I've always been told to rotate my piercings when I cleaned them. It eventually loosened up a little. The second thing that bothers me, is that it feels like theres constantly something tickling just inside my ear. Because the ring is bigger than it is supposed to be (to allow for swelling), it hits the hairs just inside my ear and it's very annoying. But, I gently stick in a Q-Tip and everything is good again.
Now, the piercing has not bled since I got it done, and all that is left is a small bruise from the clamp, and a beautiful piercing that I love showing off!