Would you like to know more about tragus piercing pain or how much does a tragus piercing hurt? We have information on how much pain you are likely to experience compared to other piercings such as cartilage, button belly, nose, industrial, among other common piercings.
Tragus piercing pain or how much does tragus piercing hurt
If you are considering a piercing on your tragus, it is worthwhile knowing more about tragus piercing pain level. This is due to the fact that different people can tolerate different magnitudes of pain. Of course, you do not expect to miss some level of discomfort completely. It will be there, but to very bearable levels.
The tragus, when compared to the button belly or nose, has very few nerve endings “and comparatively less blood flows through it”. This therefore means that you have little changes of having a lot of pain during the process. It might be much or less similar to a sharp pinch or the pain of a cut and it is negligible.
Tragus piercing generally does not cause much of a pain, however few people experience some feeling of pressure or discomfort shortly after it has been done.” This pain might last for up to a minute.
Tragus piercing pain level
To give you more insight on how much pain you expect, on a measurable scale or chart, we will use a scale of 1-10 where 1 is not painful at all while 10 is very painful. A tragus piercing pain level ranges of between 3 and 4. This indicate that the pain is mild and below average on our scale. That is why we said above that you expect a small pinch and a pop sound as the needle goes through your tragus that is basically a cartilage i.e., “the pain… is usually dull and does not last long”
However, people have a thicker cartilage might experience slightly more pain as opposed to those whose tragus is thin.
Factors affecting tragus pain level
We have already mentioned the fact that piercings on tragus do hurt, but just a little, there are some factors that can influence the pain one is going to experience during the process. Some of the factors that affect the pain level or how much a piercing on your tragus will hurt include:
Piercer skills
Experienced and skilled pierces will do their job precisely and this is going to reduce how much a tragus piercing is going to hurt you. Go for a professional piercer not just because of the pain but also for your safety and a faster healing process.
Pain endurance
Different people can endure pain or discomfort associated with the piercing process to different levels. Other people might say it does not hurt a lot while others will find the pain unbearable.
Tragus jewelry choice
The jewelry choice has an important role in determining the pain you will experience i.e. for some people, the tragus piercing hurts most when the jewelry is being inserted with some reporting a pain level range of between 5 to 7 on a scale on 1 to 10, 10 being very painful and 1 not painful at all.
Generally, straight jewelry such as barbell often cause less pain as opposed to a beaded ring. It is advisable to go for barbell for most new piercings. You can change them later when the piercing on your tragus has healed completely.
Furthermore, to avoid any chances of any allergic reaction to the jewelry used, you need to go for titanium or gold as they are least known to cause any reactions. This will ensure the pierced tragus healing process is smooth and quick.
Piercing tragus pain with a gun vs. needle
One major area of discussion is whether the needle or gun will be more painful. Whereas the pain levels are comparable, it is highly advisable you go for a needle piercing instead of a gun. Most professional piercers argue that a gun might not be ideal even for your earlobes.
Furthermore, a needle is much easier to sterilize and the healing process is going to be smoother than going for a gun.
Vertical tragus piercing pain
Vertical or sideburn tragus ear piercing is done vertically on your tragus and it runs from the outside part to the inner side of your tragus and then out again. It is like having a double tragus ear piercing.
If you intend to have a vertical piercing on your tragus, this piercing is slightly much more painful as opposed to just a tragus. Using our scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is very unpleasant. It ranges between 4 and 7. This can be attributed to the fact that the piercing process creates two channels on your tragus.
Surface tragus piercing pain
This is similar to the vertical or sideburn piercing on the tragus with the difference being it does not go through the cartilage completely i.e. the piercing will traverse through your cartilage flesh without reaching the inner part of your cartilage.
In terms of pain, it is needless to say that surface tragus is by far more painful than the normal piercing through the tragus. It is even much more painful as compared to the vertical piercing on the tragus.
By now, you have an idea of how painful it will be. To help you further estimate the pain you might experience during the piercing process, an answer to the question, ‘does tragus piercing hurt more than cartilage, more than nose or more than button belly?’ will be of much help if you already have other piercings.
When compared to nose piercing, industrial, button belly and cartilage, the tragus hurts least, according to the many responses of people who have undergone both these piercings. Of course, during the process, it is normal to hear the sound of a crunching needle but this should not scare you.
On tragus vs. earlobe piercing pain levels, the tragus being a cartilage, you expect the piercing process to be slightly more difficult and painful when compared to the earlobe piercing. However, on comparing earlobes and cartilage, some people have reported otherwise i.e. the earlobe being slightly more painful.
Tragus piercing jaw pain
Jaw pain after you have had your tragus pierced been reported by some people who feel an aching pain immediately after the piercing and it lasts for a few days. This could be accompanied with swelling around the piercing.
In actually sense, it could be the soar pierced tragus that makes you feel as if your jaw hurts. This pain tend to be worse with smiling. If it persists beyond a few days, you need to see your piercer for further advice.
Tragus bleeding, swelling after piercing
Although we have mentioned that fact that the tragus has less blood flows, it is valuable mentioning that a little bleeding that lasts for a few minutes might be expected.
Again, this depends on an individual as people have blood vessels at slightly different locations and some might have slightly more blood vessels to the tragus than others. It is therefore not possible to say how much a piercing on tragus will bleed.
On swelling, normally, you expect a little swelling that will last for a few days. If swelling remain for a longer period, you might have been caught an infection.
Does a tragus cartilage hurt afterwards?
For those who might be wondering if this piercing is going to hurt afterwards, the truth is that the pain should disappear after a few days and it should be nothing so extra ordinary. A little arching and mild pain is expected.
In case you still experience some pain after a few days, you need to be careful to ensure your piercing on the tragus is not infected. This could be a reason why your tragus hurts.
Our final word on how bad does a tragus piercing hurt
To conclude on how bad a tragus piercing hurts, you need to know that it hurts less than your navel piercing, cartilage or nose piercing. Furthermore, if done by an expert the tragus ear piercings pain can significantly be reduced.
Note: If you are interested in knowing more on anti-tragus ear piercing pain, we have covered it separately as we are covering the anti-tragus type piercing. It is worthwhile mentioning that it hurts slightly more than a normal piercing on your tragus.