Tragus ear piercings have gained recent popularity with social media influencers and other celebrities showcasing their elaborate ear jewellery. An experienced piercer should do perform the procedure, which will vary depending on local policies where you get your piercing.
The typical steps your tragus piercing process will take include:
- The expert confirms your age, most likely from your ID. If tragus piercings are allowed for minors in your area, they must be accompanied by a parent.
- You sign a form where you consent to the piercing.
- The piercer discusses jewellery choices with you and how to care for your piercing afterwards.
- The piercer then cleans your tragus and marks where the piercing will be done.
- The actual piercing is complete in about 1 – 2 seconds. The jewellery is inserted, and the piercing process is complete!
Pro piercers usually use sterile tools, including single-use sterile needles for piercing. The piercing process takes about 30 – 45 minutes, and the cost varies depending on your location and the type of jewellery you pick. However, titanium or steel options tend to be cheaper than platinum or gold.
Tragus piercing is usually done with a small gauge hollow needle, either curved or straight, depending on the piercer’s preferences. There are three significant types of tragus piercings – make sure to check them out and choose the one you’re comfortable with:
- Vertical tragus piercing – also known as a surface tragus piercing, this option does not pass through the tragus. Instead, barbells are used to pierce the skin vertically just in front of your tragus.
- Standard tragus piercing – this piercing passes from the front to the back of the tragus above the ear canal opening.
- Double tragus piercing – just like the standard piercing, but features two perforations.
Tragus piercing pain will typically take a few months to completely heal. Although cartilage is widely known to vary in its healing periods, most tragus piercings take 6 - 8 months. However, some people may take up to a whole year to fully heal, so it's essential to keep in touch with your piercer.
Newly pierced individuals are not advised to use headphones, since they might apply extra pressure on your piercing, resulting in irritation.
The inside of a tragus piercing takes longer to heal; even when the exterior seems completely healed, the inside might still have some healing left to do. It's recommended to keep the stud in for an entire year before switching it with hoops. When the tragus piercing is fully healed, you can easily remove your jewellery for long periods of time.
