What Is A Tragus Piercing & How Painful Are They? We Asked A Piercer

Looking for a new piercing to jazz up your earscaping? Sported by celebrities from Rihanna to ScarJo, the tragus piercing has become a popular way to instill unique flair into your jewelry game. But what is a tragus, exactly? For a professional take on this popular piercing, we spoke exclusively to Charly Miner, owner of Juniper's Precision piercing studio, who clarified the very specific location of tragus piercings. "The tragus is the tiny little flap of cartilage that protects the entry to the middle and under ear," Miner explained. It looks like a hard tab of skin that sits in front of your ear canal, close to your face.

Because the site of this piercing is small, it looks great with delicate studs and hoops. However, it can also make the tragus a tricky piercing. "Certain anatomies may be flatter than others and won't support the piercing," Miner warned. Essentially, if your tragus doesn't stick out enough, it may not have sufficient area to hold earring posts. When in doubt, ask your professional piercer. They can evaluate whether you're a good candidate for a tragus piercing and, if necessary, offer stylish alternatives.

That said, your chances of getting a tragus piercing are good, and adorable jewelry options for this site abound. But first, you have to make it through your piercing appointment. From pain in your ears to pain in your wallet, let's take a closer look at the ins and outs of getting your tragus pierced.

Let's say you've consulted a local piercer and gotten the green light for your tragus. How much can you expect this piercing to hurt? Charly Miner not only provided her opinion as a piercer but also as someone who has tragus jewelry of her own. "I got my tragus pierced in Portland by the lovely people of Black Hole Piercing, and it was very spicy, but that was because I got it pierced at a 12 gauge," Minder exclusively told us. "But most of the time, tragus piercings are pierced at a much thinner size like an 18/16 gauge, so it's more of a pinch with some pressure."

If you're concerned about your own pain tolerance, a smaller gauge piercing — which will have narrower posts and require a smaller needle — is probably your best bet. But as with most steps in the piercing process, be sure to run your ideas past your piercer first, as there may be extra considerations that you aren't aware of. For instance, the Association of Professional Piercers notes that choosing too small of a gauge can cause your body to push out a piercing, much like it would a splinter. A professional opinion can help you choose jewelry that's solid enough to stay put, while minimizing your discomfort during the piercing.

For many people, another big consideration before any new piercing — tragus or otherwise — is the cost. But calculating the total to get your tragus pierced will depend a lot on where you get it done and what kind of jewelry you have installed. "All piercers are different when it comes to their pricing, for many reasons such as experience, tools used, etc.," Charly Miner exclusively informed us. "But typically you're gonna see about a $30 to $60 piercing service fee." She added that some studios may also add a setup cost of $20 or less to cover the price of disposable products such as gloves and bibs.

Price points vary widely for your hoop and stud, too. "Jewelry is so broad across our industry," said Miner. "Quality implant-grade jewelry can cost upwards of $50 to $200 depending on [the] metal." So, if you find a reputable piercer and don't skimp on the jewelry, what's the likely price tag for your tragus piercing? Miner gave us an in-house example: "At my shop, your grand total for a single gem titanium stud for a tragus piercing would cost $125."

While it's often referred to as "aftercare," caring for your ear piercing actually begins beforehand with jewelry selection. "What's best is [to] look for jewelry that is made with titanium or solid gold and see if you can look at their mill certs to verify the compounds of the metals," Charly Miner exclusively told us. Mill certifications are documents providing quality assurance for metal products like jewelry, helping you guarantee that you're genuinely getting the piercing you're paying for (via the Association of Professional Piercers). Pay extra close attention to this kind of documentation if you have issues like metal allergies, which can be very uncomfortable and itchy in a new piercing.

Once the piercing is in place and looks amazing, you may feel like the hard part is over. However, Miner stressed to us that you can't overlook cleaning and wound care. As she told us, step one is "sterile saline wound wash twice a day for the healing duration." Changing out your jewelry can also help the healing process. "Get the jewelry shaft downsized after your swelling to ensure it heals straight and doesn't get snagged," Miner said, suggesting that you look into this about six weeks after the initial piercing. 

Finally, do your best to avoid irritating or introducing any bacteria to the area as it heals. For the best results, Miner specifically advised, "Stay away from your AirPods until after your downsize, then keep alcohol wipes on you to regularly clean your AirPods and phone."