The “tragus” is referred to as the oval small cartilage flap which is located right outside the ear canal. Piercings made to this portion of the ear are commonly referred to as Tragus Piercings.
Even though the trend has changed a bit, the lobes have remained a popular choice among people to flash pieces of jewelry and ear piercings. Tragus piercing has come out as a popular choice for people who are extremely fashion conscious and willing to try different things to maintain a look that is unique and distinguishable from others.
There are two types of Tragus Piercings that we will discuss below, one more popular than the other. If you want to skip the unique tragus piercing examples, then you can go directly to Tragus Piercing Costs & Procedure or Tragus Piercing Pain, Healing Times & Aftercare here.
The Tragus Piercing
This piercing speaks to the perforation of the tragus, the small pointed cartilage section of your ear that extends over the ear canal. You can wear just about any kind of ring once this piercing heals but most people tend to stick with small barbells or tiny circular rings due to how small the area is.
To pierce this area, a small gauge hollow needle is used (usually a 16 gauge). This is the more popular of the two tragus piercings.
The Anti-Tragus Piercing
This is a piercing placed in the elevated fold of cartilage that is opposite the tragus. If you place your finger on your earlobe and then slowly move it forward towards the inner ear you will feel the raised cartilage; that is where an anti-tragus piercing is placed.
The anti-tragus varies in size according to the person’s ear. The size of the anti-tragus varies and in some people, it might be too small to pierce. If you wear other earrings or have stretched lobes we recommend checking that there will be room for an anti-tragus piercing even with your other jewelry in. The anti-tragus piercing should not be confused with the snug piercing, which is placed just a little above the anti-tragus piercing.
Before getting this piercing, you should not only consider the size of your anti-tragus but also whether or not with an earlobe ring in your ear it will become crowded. Too much jewelry makes cleaning harder and even after your piercings have healed, you are at greater risk of having your piercings becoming infected with many tragus piercings in one place.
If the earlobe becomes too crowded, piercing jewelry can also rub against the piercing site causing discomfort. Furthermore, are anti-tragus piercing is notoriously known for bad a healing process.
Before getting a Tragus Piercing
The care and consideration of these two tragus piercings are basically the same. Before you get either piercings it is extremely important that you first look at the work of piercer. With other ear piercings, there is more surface to play around with, this is not the case with tragus piercings. This means that the piercer needs to have both experience and precision.
You should ensure that your ear is clean and without any infections before getting a piercing. A problem that the human ears can have, is a yeast infection in the ear. This can either occur on the outer ear or the middle and inner ear.
It can be dormant for a while but you could have a serious problem if there is a dormant yeast infection on the outer ear, since the piercing will become infected. Hence clean your ears thoroughly for up to five days before doing your piercing. Use saline water as it dehydrates bacteria cells.
Tragus Piercing Jewelry
There are different kinds of jewelry options when it comes to the pierced tragus. Tragus jewelry comes in many different shapes and sizes. It is a good idea to consult with some experts regarding the length of the jewelry so that infections can be avoided at all costs. The most common tragus piercing pieces of jewelry are:
- Studs: Studs offer a unique, sophisticated look and perfect for people who wish to maintain a sense of professionalism along with an equal focus on style and fashion.
- Rings: These are the preferred choice of most people as they offer a huge range of styles to select from which include beaded rings, barbell rings, segment rings and more.
- Barbells: Barbells are perfect for people who wish to showcase the wild side of their nature. These exotic adornments come in different designs and patterns ready to provide that catchy look.
One of the setbacks to anti-tragus piercings is that area of the ear is often used to hold earphones, however, there are many earphone designs that you can experiment with to find your perfect fit. For this reason, a captive bead ring, the most common tragus piercing, is recommended.
Circular rings are also used, but the smaller the better and the chicer your piercing will look. This, however, is totally dependent on the person wearing the ring.
Tragus Piercing Jewelry Examples
Tragus Piercing Costs
Tragus piercings prices in the United States range from $30 up to about $50. It all depends on where you go to get it done and the kind of rings you choose. In Europe, the average cost of the tragus piercing procedure is around €30 to €40. Sometimes more experienced piercers will charge more but $50 dollars is usually the cut-off price. There are some piercing studios that may charge extra depending on the jewelry required.
Tragus Piercing Procedure
Unlike nose piercings, tragus piercing requires some extra pressure from the piercer, since the tragus is harder than other parts of the body. People are always advised not to try this piercing at home as it can lead to severe complications. The steps that a piercer will proceed will be as follows:
- The person is told to lie down, either upside down or straight on the back.
- Damage to the ear is prevented by placing a cock within the canal.
- The area is cleaned thoroughly to avoid infections.
- With the help of a curved or straight hollow needle, the tragus is pierced with some pressure. Bleeding is bound to occur naturally, but there is nothing to get worried about. Pop is sometimes heard as the needle pierces the cartilage and because cartilage is being pierced
- The Tragus Jewellery is then inserted into the pierced area.
Tragus Piercing Pain & Healing times
The fact that you are piercing the cartilage is both an advantage and a disadvantage. The amount of pain felt is both dependents on the tolerance level of the person having the piercing done as well as how much one thinks it will hurt. Truth is, there are very few nerves in the tragus and anti-tragus areas and so little pain is felt in reality. Though pushing a needle through just about any part of the body will cause a bit of pain, it is far from as intense as it is made out to be. The pain will be felt for the first few days after the piercing is done but excellent tragus aftercare will make it much more bearable. The healing time of a tragus piercing may vary from 6- 18 weeks. This is the disadvantage, your tolerance for pain when getting things pierced. We are all different and to each their own!
Tragus Piercing Aftercare
As with any piercing how you handle tragus aftercare is extremely important. Even the smallest amount of neglect or lapse in care could result in an infection and the body could then cause the piercing to migrate as it begins to reject it.
With tragus piercing, it is possible that you can obtain an infection. However, there are ways that you avoid the infection and tragus piercing aftercare pain. The best thing that you can do is to follow your piercer’s advice on vertical tragus aftercare, surface tragus aftercare, and anti-tragus aftercare. Be sure to stick to it. With proper tragus aftercare cleaning, your tragus piercing can heal without any problems.
Tragus Aftercare Instructions
Here’s a tragus aftercare youtube video that can help you in taking care of your piercing.
- Step One
The most effective ear-piercing tragus aftercare is to wash your hands before you touch your tragus piercing. - Step Two
Use antibacterial soap in cleaning your tragus piercing. This can eliminate any germs. - Step Three
Wash your tragus piercing with warm water for 5 minutes. Be sure to do this three to four times a day. - Step Four
In order to prevent any infections, place a warm compress made of a saltwater solution into your tragus piercing to help. - Step Five
- Tragus piercing aftercare swimming must be avoided at all times.
Tragus Piercing Aftercare Products
Piercing Aftercare Swabs
Dr. Piercing’s Aftercare swabs are developed exclusively for the care and cleaning of piercings and help prevent infection. These swabs are conveniently packaged using advanced technology for easy, sanitary application. These piercing aftercare swabs are most commonly used 2/day for the first week and 1/day for the next 3 weeks. This completes the pack in 4 weeks and after this point, good routine hygiene with liquid soap (anti-bacterial if preferred) and water should continue the healing process.
Piercing Aftercare Spray
This Piercing Aftercare Spray is enriched with over 60 trace elements and minerals from the richest coral reefs of the ocean along with natural antibacterial enzymes which kill bacteria & help protect healthy living cells. Natural Healing & Cleansing Solution H2Ocean safely removes dried discharge and lymph secretion when used every 2-3 hours.
H2Ocean increases circulation to the body or mouth piercing and accelerates the healing process. It will also help reduce lumps and scars. This formula remains sterile in the state of the art can. The h2ocean non-aerosol dry mist sprayer is ozone friendly and the can itself is recyclable. It is absolutely vital when taking care of a piercing to make sure that bacteria isn’t introduced to the affected area, and the only way to do this is by using a sterile formula like this one. In the case of an oral piercing, we also recommend getting the aftercare mouthwash to protect your new piercing.
NeilMed® NeilCleanse® Piercing Aftercare
Your tragus piercing and its surrounding must be cleaned with the saline solution at least twice a day. With NeilMed® NeilCleanse® Piercing Aftercare, you don’t have to spray it, rather you need to pour it. Aside from tragus piercing, this is also great for cuts and wounds.
Provon Medicated Lotion Soap
This antimicrobial soap can effectively kill germs. It is greatly recommended by the Association of Professional Piercers. Be sure to dilute it first before applying it on your piercing so it can reach the deepest part of your piercings. It can also be used for washing your hands while you are in the healing process.
Tragus Ear Piercing Aftercare Tips
There are three basic tragus piercing healing and aftercare tips to be considered to ensure your piercing heals well and quickly.
- Clean the tragus area twice each day ensure to use saline water solution made of sea salt and NOT table salt to clean the entire ear. Pay special attention to the area closest to the piercing. One thing that can be particularly helpful is soaking the piercing. Place a towel over the shoulder under the ear that has the piercing and soak a cotton ball in the saline solution then remove it, squeezing just a tiny bit of the water out and place it over the piercing. It will trickle into the inner ear so you can prevent this by placing a dry piece of cotton at the opening of the ear canal, to prevent the solution from flowing right into your ear. Rotate the piercing while cleaning the area.
- Do not play with your piercing. Even though your ears might be throbbing you will be heavily inclined to touch the piercing. Please resist all temptation in doing this. The only time you need to be touching that piercing is when you are going to clean it. Very often piercings get infected regardless of how diligent one is with cleaning it because you might insist on playing around with them, thus, transferring bacteria from your hands to the wound. Try not to answer phone calls nor use earphones that irritate the piercing while it is in the healing process. Excess irritation will lead to longer healing time and infection. You can choose to cover the piercing with plastic a band-aid each night before bed so it doesn’t move about and to prevent the balls from coming loose while you sleep.
- Do not use antibiotic ointments. Your piercing needs room to breathe to get better, any oil-based product will prevent this. Avoid cleaning with Betadine®, Hibiciens®, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, Dial® or other harsh soaps, as these can damage cells. In the case of piercings, ointments do more harm than good as they will prevent necessary air circulation.
Specifically for the tragus piercing (or any ear piercing) use these tips from the Association of Professional Piercers after you receive your new piercing to increase tragus healing times as much as possible:
- Dress your pillow in a large, clean t-shirt and turn it inside out every night; one clean t-shirt provides four clean surfaces for sleeping.
- Maintain cleanliness of telephones, headphones, eyeglasses, helmets, hats, and anything that contacts the pierced area.
- Use caution when styling your hair and advise your stylist of a new or healing piercing.
In Case of a Tragus Piercing Infection
Pain and swelling are common up to the first week after you have your piercing done and occasional bleeding will also occur even after this period. This does not mean the piercing is infected. Diligent cleaning will prevent this. However, if you see a yellow pus-like discharge when you clean it or the area becomes green or excessively swollen around the puncture site weeks after your piercing is done, then you have an infection.
The ear is particularly susceptible to infections because of its open position on the body. Sweat, wind-borne bacteria and hair products can lead to horrible infections. This is why the fact that you need to keep up with your piercing aftercare, cannot be stress enough.
If you have an infection clean three times each day instead of two and do cotton soak each time for up to 15 minutes. Change your bedding regularly, and if you are inclined to touch your ear regularly ensure you wash your hands with anti-bacterial or anti-microbial soaps just as often. You might also want to consider removing your earlobe piercing if you have done an anti-tragus piercing. Bacteria from that ring could also infect your new piercing.
Do not attempt to experiment with different tragus rings until your piercing has healed. There are many stylish rings available for piercing, choose one you can live with for up to 18 weeks and get accustomed to its monotony. Experimenting can lead to infections of different tragus rings until your piercing has healed. There are many stylish rings available for piercing, choose one you can live with for up to 18 weeks and get accustomed to its monotony. Experimenting can lead to infections.
For more information about various ear and facial piercings make sure to check out our other piercing models’ posts and articles! Pierce on!
Hello! My name is Emily and I obsessed with piercings (and tattoos) since I was a little girl of 6 years old. I was fortunate enough to make my passion my work after meeting my amazing husband Jeffrey who owned his own tattoo shop. I just recently finished my internships at some of America’s most famous piercing shops and a dream to start something together was born. After falling in love with each other (and each other’s piercings and tattoos) we decided to expand his tattoo shop and I got to manage my own piercing shop in the same space! I’ve never been so happy being able to share my love for piercings through my shop and this blog I started back in 2013. We love to share models and inspiration, so feel free to email me your suggestions, pictures or if you just want to say hi!