A tragus piercing is the perforation of the tragus, which projects immediately in front of the ear canal, for the purpose of inserting and wearing a piece of jewelry. The piercing itself is usually made with a small gauge hollow piercing needle, and typical jewelry would be a small diameter captive bead ring or small gauge post style piercing jewelry. A related piercing is known as the antitragus piercing. The popularity of tragus piercings began to increase around 2005, according to a BBC report.
Barbells, captive bead rings and flat-backed earring studs are the most common types of jewelry worn in tragus piercings. The hollow, low-gauge needle used for the piercing can be either straight or curved, depending on the piercer's preference. Tragus piercings are generally not very painful, due to the small number of nerve endings in the tragus, but the sound made may be uncomfortable due to its proximity to the eardrum. Most tragus piercings will take between 3 and 6 months to heal, however some might take up to 12 months to be fully healed.
Tragus piercings are prone to bleeding, redness and swelling. In most cases this will fade after a few days and usually looks much worst than it is. In most cases these after effects will be slight and completely unnoticeable. The piercing will however be tender to the touch and can throb off and on right after the piercing is done. Basic aftercare will involve hot soaks or compresses with warm water and sea salt twice a day and cleaning the piercing in the shower twice daily. Also you will need to take steps to reduce the likelihood of cross contamination. Due to the location of the piercing you need to take precautions to avoid the piercing coming in contact with cosmetic and hair products. Since sweat tends to collect in the area, it is a good idea to clean the piercing after strenuous activity, especially if you use hair products. With all ear piercings contact with telephones should be avoided especially those used by other people. Also because of the location, ear plugs, ear bugs and stethoscopes should be avoided until the piercing is healed.
If you are in the market for a tragus piercing or any other piercing, head down to Orbit Skate and Boutique a speak with one of our Industry Professionals today!
