The day that I sat down to write out an Instagram caption about this particular anti-tragus piercing, was the day that I decided to finally make the blog I had wanted to for so long. I documented the healing of this piercing for the sake of making an educational post about it. There was too much information that I wanted to include and the caption was way too long for Instagram. It’s only fitting that this be the first post here on my blog. So here it is, the anti-tragus piercing journey I wanted to share with the world.
Just as many other things we see online, often with piercings the picture doesn’t tell the whole story. That’s OK, the picture doesn’t always need to. Though I do think that the anti-tragus needs someone to tell it’s story…
You’ve seen it on Instagram, those super cute little anti-tragus piercings with tiny rings in there. The piercing where bold and daring meets elegant and understated, oh so perfectly. The anti-tragus is that little nub of cartilage above the earlobe. Below the tragus and in front of the conch bowl. The rise of the trend brought many people into the studio, bursting with excitement at the idea of adding one of these precious pieces to their own ears.
Little do many people realise, those super cute rings you see are long term goal jewellery. The piercing needs to get through a substantial amount of healing and swelling in order to achieve this result. Since we only see a photo of the end result, it’s natural to assume that you could walk into a piercing studio with a naked ear and walk out with something that looks like this.
So what’s the anti-tragus piercing story?
My client let me document the process as we set out on a journey to achieve the tiny ring. Partially because I am one of those weirdos who like to document body modification journeys. However mainly because I wanted to show Instagram everyone the whole story…
Fresh | November 2018
This piercing’s journey begins in November 2018. As you can see, we’ve actually placed it a little higher up the ear than you would traditionally see an anti-tragus piercing. Purely for aesthetics. The most important thing I would like to point out however, is the length of the barbell. These piercings swell quite a lot. This much length is certainly necessary to facilitate the initial swelling of this piercing. We used a 14g (1.6mm) 3/8″ (9.5mm) curved barbell for this anti-tragus. The jewellery is implant grade titanium, internally threaded and hand polished from Anatometal.
1st Checkup | February 2019
We did the first check up and downsize on the piercing 12 weeks later. Here you can see what it looked like. Downsizing is an important part of the healing process for many piercings. After the initial swelling subsides the excess length on the jewellery is no longer necessary, and if left in can move freely through the still healing piercing channel. This can also cause catching and snagging. Both of these things will hinder the process of healing, which is why downsizing the length of your barbell post is recommended.
At this first downsize we have shortened the length to 5/16″ (7.9mm). If you have a keen eye you will be able to see the difference in the tissue between the fresh piercing and this downsize. On fist glance it doesn’t seem there is much going on. However, comparing this picture to the fresh piercing you can see that the tissue is twice as thick as it naturally is. That shows us that there is still inflammation present in the tissue, which is a normal part of healing. This is also what a healthy, well healing piercing looks like. Notice that while there is inflammation and healing happening, the tissue looks quite calm.
2nd Check Up | May 2019
Approximately another 12 weeks after the first, we did the second check up. At this point the piercing is roughly 6 months old. Notice that the piercing doesn’t really look much different to the last check-up. We do see a reduction in the inflammation and at this stage we downsize the length of the barbell to 1/4″ (6.4mm).
3rd Check Up | January 2020
It wasn’t until 8 months after that second check up and downsize before I saw this piercing again. This here is the same piece of jewellery as we installed in May 2019, the 1/4″ (6.4mm) length barbell. You will notice the significant difference in the tissue here when compared to the photos from the last visit. Now there is a complete absence of inflammation. It’s healed!
Many people think that healed is when the piercing doesn’t hurt anymore, when it doesn’t have many “crusties” or when it feels comfortable to sleep on. While these are all valuable indicators to the health of your piercing, they don’t necessarily mean that healing is complete. Healed is when a strong, sealed channel has formed inside the tissue and there is a complete absence of inflammation.
If this client wished to continue to wear a barbell, we would have downsized the length again to a 3/16″ (4.6mm). When we originally did the piercing we used twice that length! Since that wasn’t the goal, today we were ready to upgrade to the long awaited tiny ring…
(As a side note, some clients may need a third downsize, and to roll with that for a little while until the piercing gets over the last hurdle of healing. This particular client heals things beautifully, so it turned out that wasn’t necessary for her. Everyone is a little different, remember that.)
The Anti-Tragus Piercing: Goal Achieved
We did it! Now this piercing wears an 18g (1.0mm) 3/16″ (4.6mm) seam ring made from solid 14k white gold, by BVLA. We installed this piece in January 2020, approximately 14 months after we had done the piercing. Isn’t it just lovely? Such a subtle and unique accent to the ear.
The anti-tragus piercing in summary…
With this post I intended to illustrate two things. Firstly, having a piercing is completely and wholly a journey. Instead of focusing on the end result, it’s so important to enjoy the journey for what is it!
Secondly, tiny rings are something that are reserved for when piercings are healed. Think of them like a reward for getting through your healing journey! As we saw here there is a substantial amount of swelling and inflammation that happens in a piercing when it’s healing. Tight fitted rings don’t allow for this much room, and as such just won’t be comfortable in the piercing until it has healed.
The best part is that the end result is truly stunning, and of course absolutely worth it!
Love,
Piercer Suzanne