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To me,tragus piercingsalways stood for college rebellion.
Bella Geraci
One of my friends got hers pierced a couple of weeks after starting our freshman year.
Another got hers done while we were studying abroad in London.
Tragus piercings are generally popular, though.
Adrian Castillo
“The tragus has always been one of the most popular piercings around the ear.”
Last month, I told Beyonce’s piercer to do whatever he wanted with my ears.
And let me just say: I am thrilled with the result.
The writer with her fresh new tragus piercing.
Curious about getting this part of your ears pierced?
First of all, where is your tragus?
(He had the honor ofpiercing my septumearlier this year.)
Still unsure of what a tragus is?
Picture it like this.
It extends from your cheek and covers and protects your ear canal.
The writer with her fresh new tragus piercing.
That piercing sits in the ear cartilage across the lower ear canal from the standard tragus.
How much does a tragus piercing hurt?
Quite simply, it hurtsa lot.
It’s the most painful ear piercing I’ve ever gotten.
That’s just my opinion, though.
“Tragus piercings hurt no more than any other cartilage piercings,” Castillo says.
This was my first-ever cartilage piercing, so I had nothing to compare it to.
Thompson assures me that’s not the case, though.
“That’s not how pain works,” he says.
“Your nervous system doesn’t care if the part is thicker or thinner.
I can attest to that.
That sensation lasts all of two seconds at most, though.
I’d say it’s about a five, but it’s all relative.
Thompson went on to do a vertical stack of two studs on my right lobe.
They felt like nothing compared to the tragus.
Are there any risks of tragus piercings?
Of course, there are always risks involved when getting a piercing.
Don’t believe the urban legends about nerves possibly getting hit during a tragus piercing.
How long does a tragus piercing take to heal?
“There’s healed, and then there’s fully healed,” says Kelly.
He advises switching to over-the-ear headphones, which cause less disruption than AirPods or earbuds.
It’s hard, but airplane and donut pillows help.
To be safe, give your piercing about a year before taking out or changing out the jewelry.
During that time, Thompson recommends leaving it alone.
“Be careful with it.
Look at it; don’t touch it,” he says.
“It’s there to be admired, not to be played with.
It’s not a puppy.”
How do you clean your ear’s new tragus piercing?
The only time you should get close to the tragus piercing is when cleaning it.
Both piercers and Dr. Akhavan advise using unscented soap, likeDr.
Bronner’s 18-In-1 Baby Unscented Pure-Castile Soap, and water.
“Move the soap around the jewelry, not the jewelry around the soap.
Keep the stud or hoop stationary and gently move the suds inside and out and rinse.
That’s all you oughta do.”
Thompson likes theNeilMed Wound Wash Piercing Aftercare Fine Mist.
“Use that two or three times a day for the first few weeks,” he says.
I like to think of it as another step in my skin-care routine.
How much will it cost?
The writer with her fresh new tragus piercing.
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