Tragus and Anti-Tragus Piercings
Tragus piercings and anti-tragus piercings are becoming more and more popular; in fact, tragus piercings are now one of the most common ear piercings. Ear piercings are the most familiar form of body piercing and the tragus and anti-tragus are fresh expressions of mundane earlobe piercing.
The tragus is a small thick piece of cartilage that protrudes from the ear canal. To understand the exact location of the tragus, place a finger at the outer corner of your eye. From this point, sweep your finger back in a straight line until it touches your ear. The first part of the ear that you will feel is the tragus. You should be able to grasp this little nub between your fingers; this is where the drilling will go through.
There are all kinds of misconceptions about the drink. Some people may try to tell you that piercing your tragus will affect your balance; that is simply not true. His balance is affected by the fluids in his eardrums, which are deep in his ears and far from any pierceable surface. Drinking has nothing to do with your balance, so don’t be fooled by uneducated people who might try to tell you otherwise. In fact, the sole purpose of a swallow is to hold headphones (like standard iPod headphones) securely in your ears; And once you’re pierced, there are thousands of earbuds to choose from that won’t irritate your piercing. Honestly, swallowing has nothing to do with your hearing, your hearing, or your balance. It’s just a flap of cartilage, maybe if humans developed sonar and echolocation the tragus would be useful (for example, super-developed tragus help bats use sonar), but alas, in our species, it’s just a surface that begs to be drilled. !
It is recommended to pierce the tragus with a captive ring of beads, but a bar will suffice. The reason rings are almost always preferred for initial piercing over bars is that rings tend to heal faster, better, and more safely. Once healed, you can wear any type of jewelry, even the typical jewelry normally reserved for earlobes. Your piercer will help you choose which gauge is right for you (and by the way, expanding the tragus is not unheard of, but rare), mark the location on your ear, and push the needle through. Some piercers may put a cork behind the tragus to “catch” the needle, some piercers just use clamps to help the needle through, and some just use their hands. Every piercer is different, so they will pierce based on their style. Tweezing is the most common method, and many people report that tweezing to secure the skin hurts more than piercing. The tragus piercing should be painless, there aren’t a lot of nerves there, but some people feel mild, temporary pain. Because it’s so close to the ear, some people even say they hear a little “pop.” sound when the needle pushes through. If you hear a little noise, there is nothing to worry about. Once the needle is in, the jewelry is slid into place and secured, and voila! The entire process, from preparation to completion, should not take more than five minutes.
The tragus takes time to heal, sometimes up to a year to fully and completely heal. Many people irritate their new piercing by placing their dirty cell phones near their ear or by sleeping on their ear with the piercing on. I suggest NOT doing any of these for at least the first six months. If your piercing gets infected (and it shouldn’t with proper aftercare), soak it in warm salt water, keep your hands away, and perhaps (using a Q-tip) rub some diluted tea tree oil around the piercing. drilling. Never use any type of isopropyl alcohol, as it will irritate and scar the piercing. However, your piercer will give you a full rundown of what to expect and how to handle your new piercing, so heed their advice.
The Anti-Tragus is very similar to the tragus. It is pierced the same way, the aftercare is the same, and the healing time is also the same. To locate your antitragus, place a finger on your earlobe (usually where someone’s first ear piercing would be) and with your finger, draw a straight line upwards. The flap of cartilage you reach before the empty space is your antitragus. Its tragus and antitragus are located very close to each other, with the antitragus being right in front of the tragus. Like the other piercings, this piercing does not affect your hearing or balance. Anti-tragus is rarer than tragus, mainly because many people don’t believe they can pierce this area, but it can be pierced and it looks great when healed. Curved bars and captive ring beads are most often used in these piercings.
If you are considering anti-tragus or tragus piercings, be sure to use a licensed professional. Once fully healed, how you adorn or decorate the piercing is completely up to you, and the jewelry possibilities are endless!
