Tips for Ear Piercings
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Ear piercing is the oldest form of body modification with references dating into the early history of mankind.
Carvings from various parts of the Persian Empire displayed soldiers wearing ear rings. Tribes will perform ear piercings, among other piercings, to show a rite of passage whether it be puberty, marriage, or war. In southern India, most children have their ears pierced before they were five years old; today, many children get their ears pierced around seven months to one year of age.
Ear piercings extend further than the simple ear lobe. Today we have industrial piercings, rook, daith, helix, inner and outer conch, anti-tragus, orbital, and reverse lobe piercings.
Healing Ear Piercings
Most piercers will recommend cleaning the jewelry and area around the jewelry with a mild soap while in the shower. Make sure to thoroughly rinse the piercing. You do not want to leave any soap to irritate it.
You can, also, clean the piercing with saline. Soak a cotton ball, and hold it to the piercing for 10- 15 minutes, 2-3 times a day.
Try not to play with the jewelry unless you are cleaning the piercing. The more you irritate it, the harder it will be to heal.
Do not over clean the piercing, as drying it out will, also, irritate it.
The average healing time for most ear piercings range from 6-10 weeks. Cartilage piercings take longer to heal.
Captive Bead Rings
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Lot of 35 16g CBR Captive Bead Rings Nostril Eyebrow
Current Bid: $10.99
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Lot of 40 14g CBR Captive Bead Rings Nipple Eyebrow
Current Bid: $14.99
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X-LARGE Opening & Closing Pliers Captive Rings CBR BCR
Current Bid: $16.99
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SMALL Opening & Closing Pliers Captive Rings CBR BCR
Current Bid: $14.99
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Ear Piercing Placement
Lobe: Can range from a single piercing to several. Fastest to heal. Usually placed at the fleshy portion of the bottom of the ear.
Orbital: A ring through two piercings, usually in the outter conch area
Industrial: A barbell pierced through two sides of the ear. The standard industrial crosses the top of the ear.
Inner Conch: A barbell or CBR pierced through the inner portion of the ear cartlidge.
Daith: A piercing made through the inner-most ridge of cartilage above the Tragus. The daith is not subject to pressure from sleeping and irritation from daily activities.
Helix:Through or around the upper, curled edge of the ear, including the curled edge towards the face.
Rook: Pierced through the antihelix, the ridge above the Daith ridge. Prone to rejection/migration.
Snug: Horizontal piercing of the antihelix, across from the tragus.
Tragus: Prominence of cartilage in front of the opening of the ear canal. Tends to take up to 12 months to heal.
Transverse: A horizontal piercing through the lobe with a barbell
Ear Piercing Jewelry
Captive Bead Ring (CBR): A ring with a gap left to insert the ring through the ear. A ball to sits in the gap once the jewelry is in the ear.
Circular Barbell (Horseshoe): Similar to the barbell, with one permanent ball on one end and a screw in ball on the other. But, the barbell is bent in the shape of a horseshoe, leaving the jewelry easy to insert and remove.
Banana Barbell: Sometimes banana barbells are used in ear piercings. Similar to a regular barbell, with one permanent ball and a screw in ball, except the barbell has a slight curve to it.
Flesh Plugs: Short cylinders with flared ends to hold them in place. Some require small rubber rings (O rings) to keep them in place.
Flesh Tunnels: Also called eyelets. Similar to flesh plugs, but they are hollow in the center.
Studs: Studs are very difficult to clean thoroughly. The butterfly clip backing can become clogged with hair, discharge, and dirt. This make the piercing more prone to bacteria and becoming infected.
Inner Conch Piercing
- Earring
The history of ear piercings. Types of earrings. Types of ear piercings and piercing techniques. - Piercing[dot]com
Find all sorts of body jewelry. Most of which you can use for ear piercings of any kind. - Ear Piercing Stud
Find info about the basic stud that the majority of the population uses for their ears- the stud.
DOs and DONT'S of Piercings
Do
- Clean the piercing once a day in the shower.
- Check the piercing every morning to ensure that your hair hasn't become entangled in the jewelry.
- Be careful not to knock the piercing while it is healing.
- Use clean pillowcases and bedding to reduce the likelihood of bacteria getting into the wound.
Don't
Turn the ring in the wound for the first 2-3 weeks as this aggravates the wound.
Remove the jewelry during the healing phase, pulling it in and out can increase the likelihood of infection.
Put methylated spirits, Tea Tree Oil, Peroxide, Betadine or Alcohol onto the wound as they are too astringent or damage the cells which form the sar tissue.
Get hairspray or cosmetics on the piercing during healing
Horseshoes
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Pair 10 Gauge Steel Horseshoes Ear Plugs 10G 1/2"
Current Bid: $2.99
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6 gauge steel circular barbell horseshoes plugs 6g 1/2"
Current Bid: $5.89
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16g Circular Horseshoe Eyebrow Rings Bars Ear Lot ^ZCI
Current Bid: $12.90
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16g~5/16" Eyebrow Horseshoe RingsTragus Bars Lot 6 JKA^
Current Bid: $8.80
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Piercing Guns
The piercing gun was originally intended to be used on earlobes only. But, in any sense the ear piercing studs are usually too short to accommodate swelling and thicker earlobes.
Piercing gun procedure can cause tissue traumas. The studs are considerably dull and can literally tear a hole through the tissue. A cleanly made hole is especially important in cartilage piercings.
Most importantly, the cleanliness of the piercing gun method is questioned. Ear piercing guns are often made of plastic which cannot be properly sterilized in an autoclave. Simply wiping the gun with a surface disinfectant between clients is not adequate when the piercing gun could have possibly been exposed to blood borne pathogens. Although the piercing studs themselves may be sterile, piercing guns which touch the earlobe before and after the procedure can be easily contaminated with blood. The gun may also be indirectly contaminated if the piercer touches the studs after they are installed and then touches the piercing gun without changing gloves.
Plugs and Tapers
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EAR TAPER STRETCHER PLUG 14G 12G 10G 8G 6G 4G 2G 0G
Current Bid: $14.99
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8G 6G 4G 2G 0G 00G EAR TAPER & PLUG STRETCHER SET BLACK
Current Bid: $19.99
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EAR PLUG STRETCHER TAPER 14G 12G 10G 8G 6G 4G 2G 0G 00G
Current Bid: $16.99
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24 Pc EAR STRETCHING KIT 00g - 1" PLUGS + TAPERS 1/2 0g
Current Bid: $49.99
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Piercing With Needles
Piercing needles are hollow, beveled and sharpened similarly to the hypodermic needles. Most are about 2 inches in length. Piercing needles slice a crescent-shaped hole and do not remove tissue.
Because the single use needles are very sharp, they easily glide through the skin, causing very little, if any tissue trauma.
Needles are autoclaved appropriately before using, and are ONLY used once.
Using needles is much more sanitary and causes less trauma to the body than a piercing gun.
Fake Ear Plugs
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Lot 16g Fake 0g 8mm Ear Plug Cheater Earrings Ring $ZBA
Current Bid: $13.69
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Stainless Steel Black Onyx Mens Screw Earring Fake Plug
Current Bid: $.01
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Lot 16g Fake Plug 2g 0g Cheater Ear Ring 2 0 Gauge =ANK
Current Bid: $7.00
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Lot 16g 16 gauge Fake Ear Plugs 0g Cheater Earring ^AXC
Current Bid: $7.99
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Stretching an Ear Piercing
Stretching any piercing can be a permanent move to undertake, so before stretching a piercing, make sure that you know what you want and can live with the enlarged hole permanently.
When stretching a piercing, any piercing, make sure that you only move up one gauge at a time, meaning if you're at a 14g ring, you will want to purchase a 12g ring.
Slow and steady wins the race. Never rush stretching your piercings. Make sure to let the newly stretched piercing heal and relax for at least two weeks.
When stretching too quickly too soon, you can suffer ear tears, ear blowouts, and infection.
For more information on how to properly stretch your piercing Click HERE.
If you choose to attempt to close an enlarged piercing, you can leave the piercing free from any jewelry. If the piercing is noticeably large, (I'd say over 0g), you can insert smaller gauged jewelry to make the hole less noticeable until the hole is smaller or closed in.
But, you must remember that larger gauged ears will never shrink full back to size once you hit the end of no return point, which is usually a 0 gauge hole.
It will take much patience to close a piercing fully, especially one that has been stretched.
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Comments
Lou: That may be your opinion about guns, but in reality they cause more trauma to the tissue and skin, especially with noses! They are a bit more complicated than ears with cartlidge, and should be pierced with a sharp beveled needle. Piercing guns use the standard ear jewelry with the butterfly backs. These jewelry studs are very dull, which is what causes the most trauma to the tissues it penetrates. Also, the guns are hard to clean as they are plastic and cannot be sent through the autoclave, which means the bacteria of one person could penetrate YOUR body! How's that sound to you?
The healing time of a gun versus a needle, will not vary. I depends on the skill of the piercer, and your ability to heal the piercing. But, most of the time guns will take longer to heal due to the trauma from the blunt object being shoved through your body.
I will admit, that there are many cases in which there is not any complications with the piercing gun, but there are many more cases where there are. Plus, the workers at the mall who use piercing guns are given little to no training.
If you want to get pierced with a gun, go ahead, but I won't risk my body with them or the handlers that use them...
A quick google on the subject will lead you to TONS of info about the cons of piercing guns. I would suggest you look it up.
i had my ears pierced as a small child. apparently they had to do it a few times and it wouldnt stay and they finally got a doctor to pierce it. My nose piercing was painful as hell. i got it gunshot a twice and it hurt like mad. then i finally did what we call in india a 'taar piercing' where thye use a hot wire to poke through skin. lot less painful and it stayed well. my lip piercing was a gunshot and that hurt very little.
You used a piercing gun for you nose and lip? Did I understand that correctly? Or are you using gunshot in reference to something else.
If you used a piercing gun for those piercings, that's definately not reccommended for either! Well, it's not recommened at all for any piercing. But, if you're going to do it, it's better off left to ear lobes.
Omg peircing guns are so terrible, I couldn't agree more. Watching the videos, it's like wow, i can't watch lol. But i have my lip, my ears, my industrail, and im getting my tragus or w/e this friday. So it isn't too bad, right.
... a hot wire? ouch.
Joni- I wouldn't recommend a hot wire, if that's what you're asking. I only recommend going to a professional. I've heard traguses can be a little complicated, but with proper care you should be fine. I'd love to get mine done, but I'm pretty set on my second inner conch.
piercing guns were invented for livestock not for people
DONT USE THEM
EVER
Is it ever possible that a size 10 gauge hole will never go back to normal size?
Yes. 10 gauge is still pretty small. I have 2- 10 gauges in addition to my stretech lobe. People can't tell the difference between the 10 and a regular piercing. Most people anyway.
would u recommend getting my tragus done? i play sport but am thinking of getting a barbell, not ring. any thoughts? how longs the healing process?
Tragus are one of my favorite piercings, although I do not have it done yet. My piercer hates piercing them because it's hard to get a good placement and he hates piercing cartlidge in general. I'd say the barbell would make heal easier, but I'm not a piercer. I prefer the look of the barbell in the tragus. I'd estimate healing anywhere from 4 months to 12 months, but it can vary.
I just got my inner conch pierced and while I was asleep last night it kept bothering me. I just remembered to not lay on that side of my head. Then when I woke up this morning, my ear was bleeding. It wont stop bleeding. I cleaned it with my H2Ocean Spray and put neosporin around the hole on the inner part of my ear... but it wont stop bleeding. Is that normal? I just got it done two days or three days ago. My sister had pierced part of her cartiladge and said it was normal because hers bled.. but I need to know from someone ..... a bit more knowledgable about these sorts of things. It didn't bother me before, now it's just this. PLEASE HELP!
It's normal to bleed the first few days. I would avoid sleeping on that side. You need to clean the piercing with saline instead of the hcocean spray. It will work a bit better. I've had my inner conches pierced for over a year, and they are still not fully healed.
Hi
About six weeks ago I had 10 gauge captive hoops put in my ear. I love them, but I have absolutely no Idea how to get them out. I tried pulling the area around the ball (the ball is suppose to pop out?) but I still can't get them out. Just to show you exactly what I mean I have these in my ears.
http://www.hottopic.com/hottopic/store/product.jsp
please help!
The CBRs can be tricky, you can try twisting the sides of the jewelry a little
I agree with you now to not use a gun to pierce your ears or any other part on your body, especially at one of those places in the mall. I didn't think it was such an issue before until I visited a few of those shops to inquire about getting a new piercing. While watching I noticed all of the clerks were handling the "guns" without cleaning them first, going from customer to customer and inbetween setting them down on a dirty surface. I can understand now why a needle and an autoclave are essential to getting pierced safely.
hi..i got my industrial piercing like 3 weeks ago...when can i remove the jewelry...the wholes sometimes are swollen and they hurt...n i have this problem in my ears that if i put on jewelry that is not gold or silver my ears get red...could that be the problem with my industrial piercing...???
angie if the holes are still sensitive you have a while to wait before removing the jewelry. You should really wait until fully healed to remove the jewelry. Hopefully you told the piercer that you have to wear gold or silver to not irritate your ears; if not then it's kind of your fault and you'll probably have to go back to have the guy switch out the jewelry early (and please if you have to go early to change to jewelry you really need to have the professional do it as you can really irritate a piercing by changing the jewelry too soon).
I GOT MY CARTLIDGE IN MY EAR PEIRCED ON JUNE 14TH AND I GOT A HOOP BUT I DIDNT LIKE THE HOOP SO I WENT TO WALMART AND THAT WAS LIKE THE STUPIDEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE CAUSE THE LADY TOLD ME A REGULAR EARING WOULD WORK BUT THEN THIS JULY I WAS IN THE MALL AND THIS LADY WAS SELLING EARINGS AND SHE TOLD ME MY EAR WAS INFECTED AND THE EARING WAS GROWING IN MY EAR SO I BOUGHT THE PROPER EARING AND IT WAS FINE UNTIL A FEW WEEKS AGO AND THEN I GOT THIS LITTLE WHITE PIMPLE LOOKING THING ON THE BACK AND IT KINDA HURTS WHAT DO I DO?? SHOULD I TAKE IT OUT I REALLY DONT WANT TO!!!!
You should go to a real body piercer and not the mall to have it looked at. Leave in the jewelry and never use a regular earring (especially those with butterfly backs) in any piercing.
For Sasha: DO NOT take it out. If it really is infected, you could trap the infection inside your ear. Soak it with a saline solution and use a mild antibacterial soap if necessary. It should clear up (although at some point it may ooze at you... eww). IF IT GETS WORSE, as in really painful, red, swollen, etc., you need to go see a doctor right away and get some antibiotics.
For Angie: what is the metal of your industrial bar? And have you tried wearing titanium? If you have metal sensitivities, make sure that you are not wearing anything with nickel in it. Also, an industrial is a cartilage piercing. That means it takes a MINIMUM of 3 months to heal, and probably up to 6 months to heal completely. Put in a quality bar (titanium!)... it needs to heal.
Umm well I do not really know what kinda metal it was... but I went to a doctor..they took out the industrial bar, well all i know its that from the two holes in my ears, one was in the cartilage and the other one was in the fleshy part right below the cartilage, well just the one in the cartilage got infected the other one was healing and i could see it, it did not bother me at all, so they basically took it out for the one in the cartilage and i had my ear cleaned. by next day my ear was better so i just put on a regular earring on the fleshy part and it looked nice.and i wanter to put on this body jewelry on the cartilage and it was already closed.I did not wanna touch it nor interrupt the healing process. Actually i noticed that the skin over the cartilage its fully healled and it looks good but when i touch it i can still fell a hole in the cartilage...could i get another piercin on that same spot?
It typically takes much longer to heal cartlidge. 3 months is not nearly enough time to heal a cartlidge piercing. steel is the best to heal piercings with.
I really want to have my lobes pierced, especially when I see really cool earrings. Or even a second lobe piercing if the first heals nicely. I am going to try it for a second time. The first time I did it (about 10 years ago), I cleaned them twice a day with saline solution and they never healed . . . after 4 months!! I did do it at the mall, which I now realize was a big mistake but did not know it at the time. I tried to change earrings a couple times because it had been so long but my lobes ended up getting infected. I was so mad I threw the earrings off and just let the piercings close. The few family members of mine that have ear piercings also had healing difficulties. My cousin's lobes didn't heal until after about a year after. Given my crappy healing history with piercings, would it be better to get pierced with a slightly larger size needle than average lobe piercings? A co-worker recommended tea tree oil along with salt water for cleaning. Is tea tree oil really that astringent? What if I used it highly diluted? Or after the first two weeks? I also wish, after they heal, I could take my earrings out for a couple days with out the piercing closing, but my aunt's piercings will close after one night earring free so I have a feeling mine would also. Any advice on that?
It really sounds like you're going to have problems no matter what you do to getting them to heal. Some people just can't heal piercings. You need to remember that you are putting a foreign object through your body, and the body's natural reaction is to reject it. I have heard good and bad things towards tea tree oil, and I am still not sure whether or not it truly works. I have never seen it work successfully; usually it's used for keloids and not for healing new piercings. As for taking them out for a few days and them not closing, well that too is all dependent on the person's body, and theres really nothing that you can do to elongate that time frame. I had mine out of well over 6 months and had no problem with them, but I also never had a problem healing lobe piercings. As for getting them pierced with a larger gauge, that may or may not work. I will all depend on your body, and it really sounds like you and your family both have a history of complications healing piercings, which probably means even if you get your loves pierced with a larger gauge for example a 14g, which is 1 or 2 guages up from the average lobe, depending if you get it done at a tattoo shop (16g) or the mall (18g). Your end result with going a guage or two higher for hte initial piercing can either 1) create more complications or 2) make things a little easie. It really all depends on your body.
I want my lobes pierced at the mall. At the piercing place I am going to, they clean the gun before using it again. They also give you an ear piercing aniseptic and it always heals. They never use needles. My mom said they are worse than guns. What should I do?
Your mother is wrong. I'm sorry. Needles are much more sterile. The piercings guns may be cleaned before use, but they can't sterilize the equipment. To sterilize it will melt the plastic gun, so alcohol is used on the outer portion, but that doesn't clean off the inside where blood may get. I wouldn't do the mall thing. It's the most unsanitary thing that you can do. If you research a little, you'll find more information about how bad piercing guns are. If you can make your case, maybe your mom will take you to a tattoo shop to have sterile needles used instead. Also with the needles, they are hollow, which means that the small chunk of tissue is removed, instead of just pushed to the side. More tissue truama is involved with the guns.
hey i just have a question... I got my industrial pierced oct. 15 ( i remember the date bc it was my first real piercing other then my lobes which have been gauged unguaged and guaged again and im only 15), Anyways, The bottom hole fatherest from my ear stopped hurting less than a month after wards but the top only hurts a bit now and isnt swollen at all. Is that normal or just pissah luck that um a fast healer. Also a girl im in school with has had alot of problems with hers is that normal?
I'm not sure exactly what you're asking about being in school... Otherwise, it could be that the one is healing faster than the other hole or that there is an irritation to the one hole.
Okay, My friend bought me some ear gauges. He got me a size 12g and 10g.
But My ears where pierced at 18g for like 10 years, Im 17 now, Well like 3 days ago, I decide to put the 12g in, I did, and I waited like 15 mins and the put the 10g in. it worked. But... My left ear seem's to be worse then my right ear.
So I decided to clean it and it was just little bloody and had little puss coming out.
I wanna know if I should take it out or just keep it in.? I have it in right now.
~Also I wanna know if you can get a blow out if you stretch from a 18 to 10g.?~
You can get a blowout even at that small of a gauge. By not being patient, you have caused infection in the one ear. You should have waited at least a week before putting in the 10g. At this point, just leave it in and strat cleaning with saline or sea-salt solution.
sorry im a very confusing person i was asking if it is normal to have problems with an industrial because i had an infection in one hole that has cleared up and another hole that had no problems and someone i know has had nothing but trouble or is it just case sensitive? thanks for the help
The piercing isn't for everyone, and that area isn't for everyone. There are many people who do not have thick enough cartlidge to properly heal an industrial piercing. I had my done twice, until my piercer realized what the problem was. Just keep cleaning the piercing as normal, being careful not to overclean.
thanks for the great advise, i've decided to go and get a regular helix today!
I am strongly considering getting an inner conch piercing. I think I may be a low pain tolerant person. I have my lobes pierced since I was 9 and I also had my helix pierced with a gun at 13 both of those felt like nothing( I don't intend on getting my conch pierced with a gun) I never had any problems with either of them. Do you think I will be able to handle a inner conch piercing? Is an outer conch piercing any less painful? My helix closed up because I always had to take it out for sports. I am still very active I run and swim all the time. Is a conch piercing a wise idea? And finally how much should a conch piercing cost on average?
If you have a low pain tolerance than it will hurt a good bit. I have a high pain tolerance and I will admit that the inner conch has been the worst piercing I've ever gotten. I currently have 3 inner conch piercings, and will soon get a 4th, but they have been the hardest to heal (besides my industrial) and they have been te most painful. But the pain will always vary per individual. Also high pain tolerance means that you can withstand more pain than a low tolerance person.
I've never had an outer conch piercing, but I would assume that it doesn't hurt as bad as it has less cartlidge to pierce through.
Swimming with a new piercing is a bad idea, but running and such isn't going to bother an ear piercing. Just make sure to clean it regularly (twice a day with saline). If you swim with a new piercing you risk infection.
The price is going to vary per tattoo shop. It will also vary depending if you get one or two (one each ear). Mine were $35 each since I got two done at once, but they were regularly $40. Most shops in my area do $35 each period. But, the price will vary per your location and the shop that you use.
Hey, I had 6gs for a while then a couple of weeks ago I decided to go up, and I went to the mall and got some 4gs. Then a week later, because i'm impatient I guess, I went back and got some 2gs and put them in. I've had those in for a couple of days now, but when I was getting out of the shower I noticed what I think is a minature blowout. Im not exactly sure what a blowout looks like because ive never seen one, but this looks like a little red bulge at the top of the back of my piercing. When I got my 2gs I also got 0gs, but im scared to go up now because I dont want this thing to worsen. Is there a way to heal this thing if it is a blowout, and do you think I should go up anymore?
Check out the below article about stretching your ears. It should provide you with a lot of help and assitance. It does sound like you have a blowout, which means DO NOT stretch anymore until that is taken care of. You may want to consider downgrading one size, letting things ease up and then trying to stretch again. Patience really is a virture when it comes to stretching piercings, as it is your body and you want to take care of it.
hi, i got both ears pierced about two weeks ago. my right wear was infected a little bit because i have thick earlobes and the earring was too tight. anyways i losened up da back and its ok now. but whikle i was trying to losen it, the earring fell out and i put it back it wit no prob, i just couldnt find da hole for a while. my question is how long should i wait to change my earrings? i pretty much changed them already in a way right?
whats the worse that can happen if i change them
You can cause irritation and infection. By changing too early, you can cause mild to severe problems, depending your body. You want to leave them in until healed. If it's a basic lobe piercing, I would say at least 6 weeks. Continue cleaning at least once a day with saline.
My 18 month daughter has had her ears pierced for a little over a year. She just started pulling the earrings out. I even got the ones w/ safety locks on the back and she can pull those off too. I'm worried the hole will close up - will it?
If you leave the earrings out for too long, then yes it is possible for the ear piercings to close up. It's the risk you take by having a baby's ears pierced.
hi, i got my ears done like 3 years ago, so i thought id try FAKE plugs, the ones that make ur ears looked stretched, but ive noticed it has actually made my lobe sag?... and become thick loose, why is this and will it go back to normal?
Because they're relatively heavy. They should shrink back, if they've stretched a little. Just remeber that the longer you have a piercing, the more likely it will be to stretch in general, especially if you wear heavy jewelry.
I RECOMEND YOU USE A NEEDLE....EVERYTHING SAID ABOVE HAPPENED TO ME. I PIECED MY EAR (THE CARTLIDGE PART) WITH A GUN...AND ABOUT A WEEK LATER...MY EAR WAS REALLY FAT. IT CONTAINED LOTS OF BLOOD AND PUS...REALLY GROSS BY THE WAY..I HAD TO BE TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL AND THAT WAS A PAINFUL EXPERIENCE...NOW MY EAR IS FINE BUT A PIECE OF CARTLIDGE IS SORT OF MISSING...MY EAR LOOKS FINE...BUT IT FEELS DIFFERENT..KIND OF SOFT INSTEAD IF ITS NORMAL FEEL.
Hi. I got a lower cartlidge piercing in both ears about 2 weeks ago and I just recently started getting an infection in the right year. I think the piercing stud was too tight on my ear so I went to this other place and she told me to get the longer stud and take the earring out and clean it and immediatly put the other earring in. Well we did that but how long will it take for the swelling to go down and the infection to leave. I'm wishing I didn't do it now. I was also told to use some tea tree oil for the infection. I just want the infection to leave so the hole can heal and it can stop throbbing and hurting!!
i just got my ears pierced....just the lobes. and one ear became infected and turned whitesh gray around the hole....then a ball of meat or skin came off my ear...looked like a couple layers of dead skin. is that normal?
Ariebell, try saline instead of tea tree oil. Also try a teeny dab of antibiotic ointment or cream, wiping away any ointment or cream that is surrounding the jewelry. Also consider that maybe you are allergic to that metal. Consider changing to a piece of jewelry that isn't a stud with a butterfly back. This jewelry is horrible for piercings because they can harbor bacteria as they don't really let the piercing breath properly and unless cleaned all the time can buildup bacteria which can infect the piercing. Consider a small CBR. Also, if it was pierced with the stud at a mall with a piercing gun, that is another concern that can lead to higher infection risks
Dawn, No that doesn't sound normal. I would see a body piercer or doctor to check that out. Are you sure it was meat or skin?
Hi thanks for that info. i was using saline and still am. i also have been putitng the cream on it everytime i clean them. i changed from gold to pallidum that may not be how u spell it. its still a stud but no butterfly clip. i don't think i can go thru changing the earring again. it hurt real bad and my hubby almost stopped in mid process. hope this will be ok. the throbbing has stopped and the swelling is pretty much gone! thanks again for you help!!
Good luck. Just keep doing what you're doing, and it should heal up fine.
If i get an Industrial and want it to close, will it?
i want to have an industrial for a few years but after college i want it to close for the real world of jobs. i am just worried it wont or u will be able to see the old holes. what will happen if i take it out and let it close?
Hi! I got my tongue pierced like last October and took it out a month or maybe a bit more ago and now I want it again. I know the hole is still there but it shrunk. Is there anyway to stretch it back to a 14 gauge without getting it pierced again?
Jodine, an industrial will close after having it pierced if you decide to take it out. The holes are noticeable but only up close. It'll be more or less a scar.
Kristina, If you can find a very thin barbell to start off and let the piercing relax around it, you can eventually stretch it back to a 14g. Typically though, the hole will be closed after a month. You may just be seeing the scar.
if i get an industiral and get tired of it, but dont wanna close it can i just put regular studs in?? or will the hole be to big?
You can use 14 gauge jewelry in the holes. Many people will use 14g loops instead of the barbell.
Thank you, i have another question. if i take the bar out can i put two earrings in the holes instead? do i have to wait any time frame in order to do this?
No one earing per hole. Wait until the piercing is fully healed, which can take up to a year for cartilage.
i had my cartilage pierced with a gun a year ago. it is totally healed and fine but my question is, will a 16 gauge earring fit in it?
Depends on if you got it pierced with a 14 gauge or a 16 gauge piece of jewelry. Either way yes.
hi i got my top ear pierced a couple of months ago. i got a t-bar earring for it but now that its healed i cant take it out!? the place where i got it pierced said they can take it out for me but i wanted to do it myself - do you know how i can take it out safely?
The piercing probably isn't even healed yet. You should leave the jewelry in until it is healed, and upper ear piercings typically take longer than a few months. Otherwise, taking it out you should just need to remove the balls on two sides and slide it out.
hi i got my earlobes pierced 4years ago and they got rly infected so i took the earings out and let it heal. there are like scars visible on the back of my earlobes now (looks white-ish and round). so is it possible to get it repierced at the same place? - and another question, i got my cartilage pierced on both ears, its been like 5weeks and it looks a bit swollen and it itches...is that a sign of an infection?
The scars sound like keloids. It's not a good idea to have them repierced there, but a piercer would be better able to answer that for you.
It is possible that you have an infection in your cartilage piercings. Are you sleeping on them? Properly cleaning them? The itching could be attributed to normal healing, but typically after 5 weeks, piercings aren't swollen any more, but that really depends on your body. Remember that it takes cartilage piercings much longer to heal than lobe piercings; in some cases it can take up to a year.
So I originally pierced my ear to a size 12G about 2 1/2 years ago. I was wondering if there is any recommended way to move back to a 16G or a 20G. Should I just gradually use a smaller and smaller earring? I'm concerned because my friend had hers pierced at a 12G, lost her earring, and put in a belly button ring that was 12G so that it wouldn't close and her ear ended up bubbling out around the new ring. Eventually she just took it out all together, but there's still a bump. Any advice would be much appreciated!
You can either just take it out and let it close up or use smaller jewelry. Because 12g isn't that big, it's not going to be that big a jump to 16 or 20. Navels are a little different, so the end result will be different.
So even though my ear was pierced at 12G and not stretched from a 20G to a 12G, it will gradually close up? Is there anything else I can do to make sure the process goes smoothly like cleaning or gradually decreasing the size of the ring?
Yes, the piercing can still close. If you had it pierced at 10 gauge or 8, it can still close up, because the body does not naturally have holes. Why did you get it pierced at 12, if you only want it 20g, which isn't even the average piercing size?
hi whitney. I was thinking about getting an industrial, but apart of the usual obstacles (ie. mothers) I have a few doubts in regard of:
1. the size of the hole.- As I see it in the pics, it is much bigger than the usual earring. When I take it out for w/e reason, won't it have like two huge holes? Can it close after, lets say, a year or two? Let's say I got an industrial in which the bigger part is a bit shorter, so it has two thin parts like a regular earring. Would the backside need to be the kind that's not a butterfly? (you know, the screw thing..dunno how it's said in english, I'm from somewhere else.. :D)
hmmm so yeah. Thanks for your time. ;D
An industrial is tpically done with a 14gauge needle and jewelry, which is the normal gauge that any cartilage piercing is done with, when pierced at a tattoo shop. It can close; like I said it's the average piercing gauge for any cartilage piercing done right. You should never use a piece of jewelry that has a butterfly back, especialy with a new piercing because they harber bacteria and can easily infect the piercing. No proper piercer will use these.
I'm not sure what you mean by the bigger part being shorter so that it has two thin parts like a regular earring.
Hi. I have 2g ear plugs... and I've had them stretched to a 2g for several months now (sorry I don't specifically how long.) I've been wanting to put in wooden ear plugs, but I do not know if I should. I know that your ears have to be completely healed from stretching before you switch to wooden ones, and I was wondering if mine are fully healed? Is there a certain way to know or not? Also I've heard that with them you have to use some type of oil or something to maintain them, why? and what type of oil is it? I've also heard that since wood is porous that you have to take out the plugs every time you take a shower, swim, etc. Is this true?
They should be healed, but there's no true fire way to tell. I'm not really sure what type of oil, or what exactly it does. I would assume that it helps the wood from drying out. Yes, wood is very porous and they should be removed when showering, swimming, etc. They can harbor bacteria.
I got my earlobes pierced five days ago with a 14ga needle and have captured ball rings. I haven't used any soaps or chemicals to clean them, only warm water in the shower once a day. My piercer suggested to run the hoops a tiny bit through the holes in the shower, and other than that (and normal head jiggling and an occasional small bump with my hair) I've left them completely alone. There are no signs of infection and they are tender if slightly bumped but otherwise fine during the day, but every night they bleed enough that there are good-sized scabs front and back each morning. Last night (fourth night) the crusted blood had run all down the back of one ear. I've been careful to sleep only on my back and not have my ears lay on the pillow (no blood on the pillow last night, for example). Is it par for the course that they bleed this much after several days? Do needle piercings tend to bleed more than gun piercings? Do hoops bleed more than studs because they move around more (i.e. leaning or shaking your head)? Thanks for your advice. :)
It's not common for piercings to bleed so much days or a week afterwards. Most of the bleeding is the first night. Needle piercings cause less trama to the piercing, which is better in the long run. It's not necessarily the hoops either. I would use saline to clean the piercing twice a day, and stop moving the hoops through the piercing that is probably irritating them.
I got my ears double pierced at the mall 2 days ago, with the piercing gun (I was unaware, until now, of the problems with the guns, but it was cheaper anyway). Either way, the piercings are a bit painful when touched/cleaned. One is more sensitive than the other. I'm fairly certain that's normal, because they are healing I was just making sure, because I worry too much. Thanks!
You're going to run into more pain and soreness with the piercing guns than needles. You're also going to run into higher risk of infection becase butterfly backs can harbor bacteria and the piercing guns are not properly sterilized bc they're mostly plastic. Cheaper isn't always better.
I had the cartlidge of my upper ear pieced a few years ago and it did fine for a while. Then it got snagged a couple of times and got infected a little and scar tissue started forming. The bump got really big, so I ended up taking the earring out. (I probably shouldn't have, but too late now.) Now I still have the bump on my ear, which is on both sides, front and back, of where the piercing was. I've tried massaging it to break up the scar tissue, with no luck. Is there anything else I can try to get rid of this, besides having it surgically removed?
Surgery is the only proven method of getting rid of a keloid.
I had my industrial about half a year, and on the top hole there's a bump. Though the bump keeps going away and coming back it seems. I clean the piercing daily and rarely touch it. At one point it seemed completely healed for about 2 weeks, didn't hurt at all, then the bump ended up coming back and started becoming sensative again. Could this be because the jewellery doesn't fit properly/holes aren't lined up, or is it possibly just because it keeps getting irritated?
Idustrials aren't for everyone, and they can be hard for some people to heal. If the holes aren't lined up and there is stress on one of the piercings for the barbell to reach both holes, that could cause irritation causing the bump. It's not healed, as otherwise there wouldn't be a bump. You'll want to continue cleaning and be careful of it.
I had the bumps, and the only way I could get them to go away long term was to 1) use plastic retainers and then 2) just remove the piercing altogether and the bump went away. I'm not sure if that will solve the problem for you, but that was my only solution.
I got my earlobes pierced a little over a week ago @ Claire's, and everything was fine except my left earlobe slightly sensitive to touch (the area around the hole was looking a little red too). And yesterday, when I was cleaning it with antiseptic solution using a Q-tip, it bled a little, but the bleeding went away pretty quickly (at least, I would like to think so, because I didn't see anymore blood). I cleaned it a little more with the antiseptic, and now the redness around the hole has gone down and my ear looks okay. Do you think it's an infection and I should go to a doctor? Or is slight bleeding normal? Thanks!
Use saline to clean the piercing. Because they were pierced with guns, you're going to experience more pain and complication than if you had it done with needles. There is more trauma to the tissues when guns are used.
Piercing guns are more likely to create problems, as they cannot be cleaned properly. They're aren't sanitary, and bacteria can get stuck within the parts that they can't get to. Because a stud is used to make the piercing, more trauma, generally more pain, and higher risk of infection, irritation, and other complications.
Hey you seem really knowledgeable about piercings so I have a question. I got my inner conch pierced a week ago and I have been cleaning it with Johnson and Johnson Baby Soap because that is what my piercer told me to clean it with. Its working well but my ear is still very sensitive to touch and its very painful to clean. I was wondering if this is normal for this type of piercing and is there anything else I can do to help it heal quicker? I know its going to take a very long time. Thanks so much!
Never clean new piercings with soap, as soap can get left behind and badly irritate a piercing. Saline is the best choice to clean a new piercing with.
I have my inner conches pierced, and they were sore for a little while as the cartlidge in this area is thicker.
Don't lay on the piercing. Don't fiddle with it. Don't twist the barbell. Be very careful of getting hair stuck on the piercing.
Inner conch piercings will take a good while to fully heal, up to 12 months in some cases.
Hi, I have a titanium hoop through my new cartialge piercing i got yesterday, and in a few weeks would like to go swimming. Is it safe to with a cartilage piercing and also will the titanium react with the chlorine like i have read? My piercing was done with a needle by Quentin, a guy who is well known around sussex, england. he is trained in body modification, but didn't mention about me not being able to put my ring into chlorinated water, do you think this is reliable?
I havebeen told to clean my cartilage with salt water every day, twice a day, but have noticed that it's impossible to turn my hoop, and that there is like a scab in the hole which i can't get out. Is this normal? My ear bled like crazy yesterday, and so maybe this scab is from the dry blood? My ear doesn't really hurt, it just feels slightly tender when i touch the piercing. Does this mean i'm healing fast?
Never swim with new piercings that are still healing. It can take a cartlage piercing up to 12 months sometimes to heal, depending on your body. Titanium usually isn't the choice of new piercing jewelry.
don't turn the hoop. Don't mess with the jewelry. Just clean it. Make sure that you DON'T use table salt, but actual sea salt, purchased at the store. You want a good ratio of water to a tiny bit of sea salt. The scab is normal, don't pick it. When cleaning the piercing or after a shower, take a q-tip and try to gently wipe it off.
You're healing normal. It can take 6-12 months or longer to heal a cartlage piercing.
Titanium was what they pierce everyone with there. It's good for me because I react to silver and gold. my ear still feels tender, but now the hoop turns when I put the slat solution on it. My piercer also gave me some teatree tincure to put on as of tomorrow. What will this do to my ear?
Typically piercings are pierced with surgical steel in order to reduce reaction and complication. I have never heard of tea tree tincture, but I'm assuming it's just like tea tree oil. It's supposed to act sort of like an antiseptic, but there is no proof that it actually works on healing piercings.
i had my cartilage peirced at walmart with a gun about 8 weeks ago and im thinking it is an 18g, but i am not sure. they told me to wait 12 weeks before changing it, so ive got about a onth to go. however, i really want to either stretch or have it punched to a 14g. do i have to wait until it is fully healed to have it stretched or punched? is it possible to strech the cartialge (or any of my other four lobe piercings) just by inserting an earring that is one gauge higher than the hole i have now?... oh, and is the new cartilage hole supposed to feel like a ball inbetween my skin?
also, I will be spending time at a lake for about two weeks starting about 5 days from now. Is 9 weeks of healing enough for my cartilage piercing to be okay while i am swimming? Will it get infected, even if i clean each time i exit the water?
Guns are terrible. Walmart is not a good place to get a body piercing. Try to avoid that next time. It takes up 6-12 month sometimes longer, on average to heal cartilage piercings. 12 weeks is not long enough to wait before changing the jewelry, and that is definitely not long enough to stretch. A professional piercer would have pierced correctly at 14 gauge, you generally don't want cartilage piercings any less.
Also be leery of the butterfly backs as they can harbor bacteria, as can the piercing gun used to pierce you.
You should wait until healed before swimming. It only takes a second for the bacteria to get into the piercing, and cleaning after may be too late.
Thank you! i wanted to get it done at a tattoo shop, but when i finally convinced my ma, we were At walmart, so i figured i better take what i could get :/ ... i will definately be getting any future piercings at a shop, i think there is One in my small town. Thanx again!
Sometimes, it's better to be smarter and patient than rushing.
I got an outer conch piercing and went swimming in the sea with it last friday. I had it done about 3 weeks ago. Since then it has stopped hurting altogether. Is this good? I have noticed that the skin just around the CBR has gone lighter, is this alright?
The skin should not be lighter. Be careful of infection as the ocean is slammed with bacteria. It's not advised to swim in any body of water with a new piercing.
hello...I was thinking of getting a 3g or 2g plug. My wife thinks it is a bad idea because my hole will not close if I decise to ever take it out....is this true?
There is a possibility that it will not close up. You make each stretch as though it will not shrnik. There isn't a 3g. It goes from 4g to 2g.
i have had my cartlridge peirced a week ago and it is swallon but i clean it 4 times a day .what can i do please help.x
how long does it take to heal a cartlidge peircing
Cartilage can take up to a year to heal all the way. Some people can't heal it ever. It will depend on your body. You can over clean. Try just twice a day- morning and night with saline. One week is nothing in terms of time to heal. It will take you much longer to heal a cartilage piercing than a lobe piercing.
Hey Whitney, I've been reading your blog and I have found a lot of great information! I'm getting an industrial in the next couple of days, and I'm very nervous/excited about it. (It's my first piercing!)
I wanted to know if the saline you keep mentioning is like contact solution saline or if their is a different kind?
I've done all the good stuff like finding an experienced piercer, making sure that he uses needles. But I've been really worried about the consequences of getting a cartilage piercing, like infection, keloids, and stuff like that. I wanted to know your opinion about the odds of one of these consequences happening. I already know that I'm going to take good care of it, and I'm going to clean it regularly and do my best not to jar or irritate it. I also have plenty of room in my ear to get a proper industrial. So I was just wondering in your experience, what is the likelihood of negative consequences? And is saline and sea-salt the only thing needed to properly clean a piercing or should I use anything else?
By the way, I was wondering what you thought of H2Ocean? If it's a good product or a waste of money?
It’s not technically contact solution, but it’s sold by contact solution, but specifically states saline. It will be in a similar bottle. I’ve never used H2Oceans, but I’ve heard from some it works, but from many it’s too strong. Use saline OR sea-salt (properly diluted and mixed) not both.
Keloids are common for cartilage, but not everyone develops them; it all depends on your body. Infection is common with cartilage since there is little blood flow in cartilage. Cartilage piercings aren’t for everyone, and not everyone can heal them. Be prepared for up to 12 months or more of healing. Likelihood will be the same as with any other cartilage piercing, most of which will depend on your body and how you care for the piercing. If your cartilage isn’t thick enough, it won’t heal properly (in my experience, my upper ear cartilage isn’t as thick as most, and having my industrial for a good while, it would never heal; my piercer recommended its removal).
How can I tell if my ear is blown out? I went to a Hot Topic today (which is probably not a reliable source) and the guy told me it didn't look like my ear was blown out but to use Vitamin E lotion and clean it everyday. I actually have a picture of my ear if you would like to see it. But it looks like a little bit of skin came out. But the thing is it doesn't hurt and when I take out the plug it's not poking out or anything. Please help!
If you can post a link to the picture, I can try to help you. There's no reason to use vitamin E. Just continue cleaning it.
hello, i had my industrial for 2 weeks and 1 day now. My ear is really swollen, like very very fat and big. Why so? And its still very painful that i had to take ibuprofen in order for me to go to school and enjoy the rest of my day. Im also taking some anti inflammtory medicine and antibiotics because i fear its infected. There's this yellow fluid that would go out and its like mucus. Its annoying! it doesnt smell bad though. Can you give me tips on how to reduce swelling and how long will this agonizing pain stop?
Pain will vary per person. It shouldn't hurt that bad after 2 weeks though. You may be allergic to the metal that was used. Usually surgical steel is used for new piercings to prevent irritation to the metal, but there are still some who can have reactions to the metal. Continue cleaning with saline, and that's about the only advice I can give you, since you've already been to the doctor to get anti-inflammatories and antibiotics.
The only piercing problem I ever had after 9 piercings (back in the 80s and early 90s) was at a "professional" piercing studio. They pierced my navel and it hurt like bloody hell, was super slow, was crooked, etc. It also caused a ton of scarring when I got pregnant later.
I respect and appreciate the role of piercing studios, but the mall guns are not bad "evil" for ear lobes and even noses. The gun never touches your ear. The earrings are in sterile packages. The mall piercers are also professionals...they are trained and pierce ears all day long. As long as they use gloves and use the sterile earring packages, problems are unlikely. Plus, the gun is super fast.
My nose piercing with a gun was the least painful piercing I've every had, and I never had one single problem with it, including healing.
However, I totally agree that with ear cartilege you have to go with the hollow needles.
I really wish that piercers would stop slamming the guns for ear lobes. Literally millions of ears are pierced that way with no problems except those that can occur with any piercing from bacteria later.
Also, how is removing flesh with a hollow needle less traumatic for skin than a tiny earring going through it? I think that's probably a matter of opinion. In the end, neither one is a big deal.
It's not a matter of opinion that guns are bad. It's a proven fact that guns typically cause more trauma to the skin than the hollow needle. nose is still cartilage and should not be pierced by a gun. Anyone using a gun to pierce is not a reputable source.
Piercing guns cannot be properly cleaned. They tend to harbor blood and bacteria from previous piercings. They have been proven as an ill source of a piercing method.
Claiming that piercing guns are not a big deal is an ignorant statement. The pressure from the peircing gun can cause cartilage to shatter. In all actuality the lobe is much safer with the gun than any other part of the body, but it's still not the better option.
Hollow piercing needles cause less traume because they basically slice the tissue and push a hole (not cutting out any tissues just moving it to the the side) in order to allow for the jewelry to be placed.
hello, i currently have 12g piercings on my lobes, say i keep them in for a few months until they are fully healed, and so happen to want to take them out, even if they are fully healed, will the hole totally shrink back to size?
they could potentially shrink back altogether. no guarantees.
LOU has a death wish. and !amie vengeance. says:
2 years ago
We think using piercing gun is less painful whilst getting your ears/nose pierced and causes less trama as it is a quick sharp pain that doesnt sting afterwards.
I got my nose pierced with a gun and 4 weeks after i was able to remove it and change nose studs with no pain or bother.
SO DO IT BBZ;]
xx