Tragus piercing in Auckland
A needle, never a gun, at 389 Parnell Road. Open seven days.
How much is it?
titanium
you choose the piece
The piercing and the jewellery, both in the price.
Either way it covers the piercing and the jewellery together, the aftercare, and the checkup four weeks later. Nothing is added at the chair, and there is nothing to pay when you book.
Where it sits
The small flap of cartilage in front of the ear canal. The piece sits flat and out of the way of earbuds.
None
Every spot on the ear
Does it hurt?
Short and sharp, and less than most people expect.
Who pierces it
Tom or Kat, one client in the room, forty-five minutes. Sixteen and over. Everyone brings photo ID.
TomWednesday to Sunday
KatSunday to Tuesday
How long does it take to heal?
Ten to twelve months
- Day onePierced, and your checkup booked before you leave
- Four weeksYour checkup, free for everyone pierced here. The bar comes down if it is ready
- Ten to twelve monthsHealed
No earbuds on that side for at least three months. Glasses are fine.
It sits at the front of the ear, where things catch it: a pillow, a phone handset, a bag strap over the shoulder. Sleep on the other side, or use a travel pillow with a hole in it so the ear sits in the gap.
Warm water in the shower once a day is the whole clean, then pat it dry with a paper towel. Nothing else goes on it.
If a bump comes up beside it, come in. It is almost never an infection, and if we pierced it the look is free, healed or not.
Any problem with a piercing we did, the look is free.
What goes in it
Small solitaires and fine clusters suit it best.
It is a small piece of cartilage, so the piece has to be in proportion with it: one well-chosen stone does more here than anything busy would. Gold goes in on the day, because the piece is chosen before the spot is marked. A ring, or any change of style, waits until it is fully healed, at least twelve months for cartilage.
In the case nowpierced, in the price
What happens at the appointment
Forty-five minutes, one client in the room.
It starts at the low table with a mirror in your hand. We check the tragus will take it, find the spot, and you choose the piece if you would like gold. Nothing clinical is out yet. Then the mark, which you see and agree with before anything else happens.
The piercing is one pass of a single-use sterile needle, under a minute, and the piece goes in at the same moment. A needle, never a gun. Your checkup goes in the book before you leave.
Is my tragus big enough?
Not every one is, and this is the first thing we check.
The flap has to be wide enough and thick enough to hold the piece away from its own edge. A piece set too near the edge is the one that works its way out over time. There also has to be room behind it, so the flat back rests on cartilage without pushing on the opening of the ear canal.
A very small or very flat tragus gives neither. If yours is borderline you will get a straight answer, and a look at what else would sit well nearby.
Earbuds
This is the one to plan around. An in-ear bud presses straight onto a healing tragus, and hours of that a day is the most reliable way to stop one settling.
Keep them out of that ear for at least three months. Over-ear headphones are fine, and so is a bud in the other ear. If you are in them all day for work or training, pick a stretch of the year where you can go without on that side.
Book a tragus
$150 in titanium, or from $350 in gold. Nothing to pay when you book.
389 Parnell Road, Parnell, Auckland. Open seven days, by appointment. Directions