I put a lot of time and effort into my “How to properly care for a new ear piercing” article. That time and effort seems to have been well used, as it’s my second most popular post.
As much time and effort I put into that entry, I’ve noticed that a lot of questions probably aren’t answered as well as they could have been. Some of these aren’t exactly questions but I feel they’re worth discussing.
List of questions answered
- Dry skin around piercing
- How to make a sea salt solution for your ear
- How soon can you change a new ear piercing?
- Turning new ear piercing
- Can an ear piercing seal up in an hour?
- How to clean an infection from ear piercing
- How to clean newly pierced helix? / How to clean newly pierced ear?
- Can you use contact solution on ear piercings?
- How long should you clean a new piercing for?
- How many times do I clean newly pierced ears?
- What to do – ear piercing not healing?
Dry skin around piercing
This is usually caused by either cleaning the new ear piercing with the wrong solution, by over-cleaning or not removing the excess solution from the site of the piercing.
Don’t use alcohol-based products to clean your new ear piercing, as it will dry out the surrounding skin and make it uncomfortable (itchy!) and unsightly. There’s a very good reason why using stuff like Surgical Spirit hurts – it’s not supposed to be used!
Don’t clean the new ear piercing more than twice a day, unless you have some pussing going on, or if the new ear piercing regularly comes into contact with something dirty (hands / fingers, hair, etc) – if any of these are the case, then clean the piercing up to three times a day.
Always remove excess solution from the site of the piercing – not doing this can eventually cause the area to become dry. You can do this the same way you clean the piercing but DON’T rub the area.
How to make a sea salt solution for your ear
Fill the kettle up and start boiling. While you’re waiting, get a large CLEAN measuring jug, a CLEAN teaspoon and some sea salt (NOT rock salt or table salt or any other type of salt!).
Measure out about ¼ of a teaspoon of the salt and pour it into the jug.
When the kettle has boiled, pour out about 300ml / half a pint of the water into the jug.
Sit and wait for it to cool down – I like my water to be warm, so I wait around half an hour. My sister likes her water cool, so she waits for about an hour.
How soon can you change a new ear piercing?
This depends on the placement of the piercing – a lobe piercing can be changed after around 2 ½ months but a helix piercing (“top of the ear” piercing) needs to have at least 3-4 months to heal.
The first time you want to change the jewellery in your ear piercing, you should go back to the piercer; it costs very little (it costs around £2 here) and they make sure the jewellery is clean before they insert it.
It’s really best to wait for as long as you can stand the jewellery. 
Turning new ear piercing
Don’t twist or turn the jewellery in your new ear piercing! Doing this is kind of like picking your scabs; as the piercing is healing, there are going to be tiny new scabs inside the wound, where you can’t see or feel them. These tiny scabs will “stick” to the jewellery. By twisting the jewellery, you are effectively picking at all those tiny scabs and then rubbing them into all of the newly opened wounds; you’re increasing the chance of your new piercing becoming infected.
Your jewellery will not get “stuck” into one position if you don’t twist or turn the jewellery – all of those tiny scabs I mentioned will eventually be removed by your body.
You’re not “helping the hole form” or “helping the healing process along” by twisting or turning the jewellery – by twisting or turning the jewellery in your new ear piercing, you’re hindering the healing process and making it go on for much longer than it needs to.
Also, it’s really gross.
Can an ear piercing seal up in an hour?
Depends on how old the piercing is and if it has an infection.
An unhealed piercing can – and will – heal up very quickly. This is why you should wait for as long as you can before changing the jewellery.
When I was eleven and had just had my first helix piercing, I decided that I was bored with the jewellery already and wanted to change it, despite the piercing only being a week old at the time. In the time it took me to take out the original “stud” and try to put the new one in, the hole had partially closed up. My mum had to help me force the new “stud” into the hole and I ended up with a lovely infection as a result.
How to clean an infection from ear piercing
Bump the cleaning up to three times a day, using a sea salt solution and make sure you keep your hair up!
If the infection is still present after a week, go back to the piercer, as they can tell you what to do and where to go next. Unless the piercer (and no one else!) says otherwise, do not remove the jewellery! You need to keep the jewellery in, otherwise the wound will close up and keep the pus inside your ear. If the pus has no where to go, it will then rot and will create an even bigger infection.
If your ear seems fine and then suddendly swells or “puffs up”, go straight to the hospital, as this could be a very serious infection. If you’ve knocked it and it suddenly swells or “puffs up”, you don’t need to go to the hospital, but you do need to be more careful.
How to clean newly pierced helix? / How to clean newly pierced ear?
Make up a sea salt solution and use clean cotton buds / q-tips.
You dip the cotton bud into the solution and let any excess drips … er, drip. Then place the cotton bud against the site of the piercing and roll it gently towards the end of the jewellery, while keeping it in place. Do this all around each side of the piercing (you should have two sides – front and back) and use a clean cotton bud each time.
Once you’ve cleaned, use a clean and DRY cotton bud to remove the excess solution from your piercing. If you leave it on, the salt in the solution can cause dryness.
Can you use contact solution on ear piercings?
NO.
How long should you clean a new piercing for?
For as long as it takes but make sure you clean the piercing for at least the recommended amount of time. You can get that information from your piercer – just phone them up or go into the shop.
How many times do I clean newly pierced ears?
Twice a day for at least the recommended amount of time. This depends on the placement of the piercing and you should really ask your piercer for this information.
What to do – ear piercing not healing?
Most piercers will offer free “check-ups” on the piercing you have had done with them. If you feel that your piercing is taking too long to heal or doesn’t seem to be healing at all, you should go back and see them.
No related posts.
Tags: Body Modification, Piercings
Hey, i had my ear pierced 2 days ago and it has fallen out! the clip at the back must of wiggled free and then the stud has come out… Now the whole is healing up VERY fast and i cant get the stud back in through the back of my ear… what should i do?
Go straight back to your piercer to see if the piercing can be saved.
If it can’t, don’t worry because it can always be repierced again later.
Hi, I had my tragus pierced about a year ago, and it’s still really really nasty.
It’s been on and off for the year, and i’ve used a whole series of different things on it to try and clean it up. Currently, there is a big red lump above the ring, which seemed fine yesterday, but burst today with the slightest touch and quite a bit of puss came out.
I have been back to the piercer, he told me to take it out. I was on antibiotics for it, the doctor also told me to take it out. I have seen another piercer, he told me to persivere if I wanted to, but that i should probably take it out.
If I do take it out, what sort of treatment should I begin? Salt water? Tea tree?
Please please help! x
If you decide to take it out, use a salt water solution to clean it and clean it twice a day, like you would if it was freshly pierced. Keep cleaning it until the hole is totally closed up.
You could use tea tree oil if you want to but when I used it on my navel piercing, I found that it burnt my skin pretty badly (it looked like I’d put out a cigarette on the area!). The tea tree solution I used was in a ready-to-use bottle from the piercer I went to, so I know that it wasn’t anything I did.
Hi,
ive had my ear lobe pierced 4 days ago now, and it seems to be a little bit swollen but i feel no pain at all. Does this mean anything at all? And also i have dry skin around my piercing how could i get rid of it?
Hi iv had my ear pierced up the top part last wednesday and now its saturday so it’s been 1 week and 3 days i kep twisting it so it wont stick and it really hurts and i really dont wanna tell my mum iv got it done iv been staying at my dads because its the summer holidays he dont care but my mum will kill me and how do i hide it and and i clean it once a day please please please give me i deas for both questions
cheers xx
hi i have had my Helix pierced for about 2 1/2 months, i changed it 6 weeks after i had it done was all fine my pircer changer it for me. But recently i have discover a blister looking lump around the back of my piercing. There is no pain only apart from is senstive to sleep on.
Im not sure what to do wheter to take out my earing or keep it in. any help will me much appreciated ?
I’ve had those annoying little blister-like lumps around my piercings before and one of the girls I work with, she’s had them both of the times she had her tragus pierced.
When I had mine, I just ignored them (as ugly as they were) and carried on cleaning them – about a year later, as I was planning on getting more piercings done, I noticed that they’d gone.
If you’re worried about them, talk to your piercer. Definitely don’t put any chemicals on the lump unless the piercer says you should. Good luck getting rid of it!
Hi umm i got my cartilage pierced 3 days ago it was fine until yesterday night it got puffy and red, today its a lil better but its still a lil puffy and th back of my ear is a lil red idk what to do im freaking out this is how my ear looks now
http://s256.photobucket.com/albums/hh163/14qoti/?action=view¤t=2009-08-1809-14-41046.jpg
copy this 2 the top n thats how my ear looks like
the ear that i didnt get pierced looks like this
http://s256.photobucket.com/albums/hh163/14qoti/?action=view¤t=2009-08-1809-14-51259.jpg
i pierced my earlobe yesterday and then after 3 hours , i tried to change to the earstick , bcos i dont wan my mum to know , then , i cant squeeze the stick in , and i saw blood on my fingers , and the area where i pierced is getting abit red , what should i do?
reply back to me by my email
I had my helix pierced several months back (April 09) and two weeks ago decided to change the original ring that it was pierced with in exchange for one of the hanging cuff rings. My ear was completely healed when I got it put in (by a professional) but it seems to be reacting again and has a yellow and sometimes slightly greenish crust forming around it and the skin where the earring hangs is crusting (or maybe just chafing). Is this normal? Should I be moving the ring up an down? (cause it sticks to my ear from the fluid).
Try cleaning the piercing as though it’s a new one and try not to move the jewellery about (you’re basically re-opening a scab every time you move the jewellery to stop it from “sticking” – so it won’t heal up).
Give it a couple of days and if you don’t see any improvement, go to a piercer and have them check it out.
Thank you very much for the advice, it seems to be getting a lot better.
hey…. i have just recently pierced my ear. for the first 4 days it was okay. However, at the 5th day, it started to swell and it kinda hurts but there is no discharge. Did i get an infection? Well, i also clean my ear with antiseptic cream twice a day.
Ive had the top of my ear pierced for about 3 years now, and I have always worn a hoop instead of a stud. I recently lost my hoop in the shower (GRR) and is now back to using my stud. I’ve noticed that I have a blister from the back of the studd and it is red and inflamed. I dont know what to do, I haven’t had any trouble with it until now… Do i pop it? or do I just leave it? I know about the salt water method. thanks
Go back to the peircer and have them check it out – I’ve never had that problem myself but I strongly suggest NOT popping it!
I’ve had my tragus pierced for 1year & 4 months now, my bars fallen & I can’t get a replacement for another 5 days, how long do you think it will take for the piercing to start closing up, I don’t want anything bad to happen I love my tragus piercing!!
hey i got my helix piercing 5 days ago, all went fine no swelling or redness etc, iv been cleaning it twice a day like i was told, thing is it started to bleed wen i clean it and last couple of nights iv woke up with it bleeding quite a bit, is this normal? it does stop eventually but jus wondering if its cos its a new piercing?
I’ve had that with a couple of mine and I think it’s had something to do with me rolling over onto it and playing with it in my sleep. Give it a few more days and start putting a vitamin E oil onto it before you go to bed – if you’re still worried about it after that, go back to the piercer and have them take a look.
cool yer probly just that, hasnt bled since my last message tho lol so i guess its gettin better but yer will try the vit E oil too. thanks a lot
hai i want to get my lip pierced but mai dad wont take me to get it professianly done.
I was going to do it my self, should I?
Definitely do NOT self-pierce your lip. It should be done by a professional if you value your teeth and gums – if not done properly and placed in the right area, the back of the jewellery will rub against your teeth and gums, causing the gums to recede and your teeth to have nasty scratches on them.
Keep talking to your dad about it and do lots of research on what can happen as a result of the lip piercing and impress him with your knowledge and he might change his mind.
hey i want to pierce my ear lobes by myself, and i was wondering if you had any advice?
If you’re definitely set on doing it, you’ll need to purchase a home piercing kit, which you can find on sites like eBay for cheap.
Keep everything clean and sterile and make sure to learn about jewellery gauges because if the correct jewellery size is used, it will go a long way to helping your piercing heal more quickly.
hi i had my helix pierced about a week ago now it is still sore and little swollen i have no discharge just fluid that forms a sort of scab i use salt water washes do you think it is ok or is it infected
It sounds like the piercing is fine and healing well – everything you described sounds normal and is exactly how all of my ear piercings have healed.
The swelling and scab-forming stuff will go away in the next couple of weeks but it might still feel uncomfortable to put pressure on for a little while longer. It normally takes between 2-4 months to heal completely.
hi
i real want the top of ear pierced but i dont know how long it would take untill i could tae it out and put a new jewel in and becuase of school aswell
please help i would be very grateful if someone could help m,e
manythankyouhhss
The top of the ear piercing is called a “helix piercing” and they usually take between 2 and 4 months to heal fully. It is generally not recommended that the jewellery be changed before the piercing is fully healed – definitely wait until two months is up at least but you should try and wait for as long as you can before attempting to change the jewellery yourself.
Is Sodium peroxide good to use for loob piercing?
i think i’ve had mine for about 19 days now
and i have been using rubbing alcohol(the green kind)
then i stopped and started using surgical spirit…
now i come on here and i see that you say it is not good to use at all :/…and i thought it was great
so i am a bit confused…
Sodium peroxide?
Rubbing alcohol(Green kind)
Or Surgical spirit?
:S
I have had piercings heal myself whilst using surgical spirits before but did notice at the time that the skin around the area seemed to be rather dry and took some time to fully heal.
Surgical spirit is alcohol based and the reason why alcohol-based products are bad for a new piercing is because it can cause the skin around the open wound to become dry and can prolong the healing time.
Sea salt (sodium chloride) solution is preferred due to the lack of added chemicals and allows the “gunk” to come out of the piercing without causing it to become dry and painful.
Also, sodium peroxide isn’t something you want to be using on any part of your body, due to it being known as “hazardous”. :/
Hi!
i had both of my lobes pierced around 4 weeks ago and i’ve been cleaning them twice a day with a sea salt solution.
One of the studs is fine and doesn’t hurt at all. But when I have a little wiggle of the other, it feels a little more tender, but not exactly painful as such.
Also, i checked around the piercing a little so i could see the wound and it seemed a little bit moist around the hole.
Is this normal, and is the small amount of clear fluid i see just scab fluid?
This sounds pretty normal – even fully healed piercings have funny little moments of slight tenderness and might have a bit of wet gunk around the hole.
Just continue to clean it, making sure you have washed your hands thoroughly beforehand. Always wipe away the excess fluid (with a cotton bud / q-tip or a folded up piece of kitchen paper). Make sure the water’s still quite hot, as this can help any nasty gunk around the piercing to become loose and come away.
Also, as hard as it might be, try not to touch it unless you’re cleaning it or your hands have just been washed.
hi i had my cartilage pierced 3 days ago, and it was fine for like the first day or so. I noticed that on the second day it started to become really red and puffy. Today, i can barely twist the earring but im scared to take it out… what should i do?
Don’t take it out and stop twisting the earring – by twisting it, all you’re doing is opening up any scabs that have formed, which means that the piercing will take longer to heal.
ALWAYS thoroughly wash your hands with soap and very warm water before touching the jewelry and piercing, even when you’re cleaning it.
When cleaning it, make a mixture of sea salt (or rock salt but not table salt) and boiling water. Use 1/4 tea spoon of sea salt and mix in with 300ml / 30cl / 1/2 pint of boiling water and wait for it to cool down a bit. When it’s cooled down enough so you can have it against your skin without scalding you, use a clean q-tip / cotton bud and gently wipe around the piercing. Once done, use a dry q-tip / cotton bud to take the excess water away.
Do this at least twice a day.
Don’t pick at the piercing or any scabs which might form and don’t try and squeeze out any gunk that might be coming out of the piercing.
When washing and styling your hair, try not to get any products on the piercing – I used to clean my piercings again after styling, just to make sure the products don’t stick around the piercing and make things worse.
Your piercing doesn’t sound infected, just a bit angry. If you leave it alone and keep it clean, it should settle down in a few days. If there’s no change in how it feels or looks (or if things DO get worse), then go back to your piercer.
Heyy, I got both my lobes pierced the other day…and the piercer told me to keep turning them. Should I stop??
Did you get them pierced by a reputable piercer or was it done in one of those accessory shops or in a mall?
A reputable piercer wouldn’t recommend turning the piercing – by turning it, you’re preventing the wound from healing nice and quickly.
I would say to stop turning it because you’re not helping it to heal. The jewelry will not become “stuck” or in anyway damage the piercing if you DON’T turn it.
Do you think I should re-pierce my ear?
Twelve years ago, my left ear was pierced. It was our anniversary. My wife and I bought a pair of diamond studs– one for her and one for me. My hole is, basically, in the center of my earlobe. While the stud looks OK, sometimes I’ll wear a hoop, but my wife says that doesn’t look right because she thinks that the hole is too high. She says it should be about 3/4 down the earlobe. What is the proper placement? If I re-pierce it, what will happen to the old hole? Will it just close up? Will it leave a scar?
First off, I can’t (and won’t) tell you to pierce or re-pierce something because it’s your body and it’s up to you what you do with it.
Having a piercing done in the center of the earlobe is what many piercers and piercees strive for. But as with any placement of any piercing, as long as you’re happy with it and it’s not in danger of migrating out and you feel comfortable with it – that’s all that matters.
The old hole, if you decide to get a new one, will “close over” and heal up. You won’t have a huge unsightly scar but there will be a small dimple where the original piercing once was.
My daughter had her ears pierced about 7 months ago, but we are still having problems with their healing. Just when it seems they are coming right, it begins to bleed again and it seems like the holes are still “raw”. She wears stainless steele hoops and we have cleaned them as was told. Also she has developed bumps at the back of her ears lobes where the earring is. Sometimes they have popped and bled. Any advice as to how to get these ears completely healed?
First off, get the hoops changed from stainless steel to titanium. The sooner, the better.
Secondly, make sure that the piercings are cleaned with a saline solution (1/4 teaspoon of sea salt and 1/2 pint (300ml) of boiling water) and nothing else – if the piercer says to use an alcohol-based cleanser, ignore them.
The piercings should heal up within a week, if not, please DO come back!
hi, i was thinking of getting my ear lobes pierced this coming weekend, but i was wondering if you can go in the sea with newly pierced ears, we are going on holiday in the last week of august, so it would be about 3 weeks after i get my ears pierced.. also i am really scared about going to get them done, can you tell me how bad it hurts on a scale of 1 to 10 please, honestly.
thankyou so much, emily ***
Hey, I got my ears pierced today and they’re wonky!! Should I wait 6 weeks then take them out and get them redone? Only one is wonky but it’s really annoying me, especially after how much I paid. Any help would be great.
hey, im 14 and i had my helix pierced on the 4th of August.. everything is fine with it and its not even sore or anything.. its my birthday on the 22nd of sep and i want a new piece of jewelery for it… when is the right time to change it from now? please help me
xx
the beginning of Oct. will probably be the best time to change them
Hi, I had my cartilage pierced at end of july time. It doesn’t hurt from applying small pressure to it, but I’ve had it knocked a couple times and my hairs tangled in it sometimes. But in the middle of august I noticed i had small lumps on the front and back right next to the bar, the one of the front burst a few weeks back, it wasn’t painful and it healed over fine. But it was knocked again a few days later and I have another lump the exact same they’re very small, and don’t cause any pain or discomfort. Do you have any advice on how to get rid of them?
Please email back your reply.
Hi
I’ve had my cartilages pierced for 2 1/2 months and I changed it 2 weeks ago. Ever since I changed them, they seem to scab. The hoop gets stuck and I can’t move it.
I don’t know what to do about it… Please help me?
Hi, I’ve had my ear lobes peirced For a few months now. They still do not seem to be healing. They’re really crusty and very painful. I’m not so sure if it’s infected. I’ve been using hydrogen peroxide to clean it. It that bad? I think it’s been getting worse since I started using it. It’s much more painful. I’ve been taking out the earrings and dabbing it with neosporin and putting them back in. Do you have any advice for me? I would really like them to be healed already. Thank you.
I’ve got a bit of situation.. I recently got my ears pierced only 4 days ago, I’m starting wrestling in 2 days. What do I do? My wrestling practices are 3 hours long, and my ear is in good health no infections or anything. so again, what do I do??
I just got a helix piercing today, I’ve been told to use the sea salt method but instead of using a Q-tip I was told to soak kitchen roll in it and completely soak the area, then dry it. Is this ok or should I just dab at it with a q-tip? Also, I was told to start moving the piercing after ten days- should I leave it longer before twisting? Thanks
I just got my 2nd lobe piercings done last saterday. it is now day 5 and while usually they aren’t red, my left lobe looks slightly glossy once i clean it, and is sore to touch. There is no puss but they often are slightly tender and itchy! I’ve been using the solution I got at the pagoda (got my first piercings done there no problem) but now I’m not sure if the left one is infected? I clean them usually 2-3x a day (depending on if i touch them accidentally) Please help!!
hi, your article was very useful thank you!
i had the top of my ear pierced last night and it really really hurt. i was told by many people that it wasn’t painful at all, but mine really hurt and started to bleed. it still hurts quite a lot at the moment and i was wondering if this was normal?.. i tried cleaning it earlier today and i found it extremely painful to even move my ear, is there something wrong?
please get back to me thank you!
Hello,
Two questions regarding the piercing i had done a 8 days ago;
First is my tragus, I currently have a ring (which i really dislike, but chose it due to being better at healing) Providing healing continues to go well, what is the soonest i could get this changed to a bar by a professional?
Second is my nose piercing; It was done with a gun – which i learnt afterwards was bad, anyway the earring was to long and pressed on my septum so i took it out to heal 12 hours after i had it done! Healing has gone very well. How long do you reckon i should wait before getting it done again (correctly this time!)
Thank you in advance for your response!
my second hole earring fell out before it was done healing and now theres a huge lump on the back of the hole and it kills most of the time how do i get this ugly lump gone (and yes i am guilty of twisting it and getting it done at clairs but i didnt know)
Hi, Ive had my 12 year old daughters ears pierced 2 years ago. They’re not on same level as one ear hole is downwards and the other ear hole is in the middle. One ear hole isn’t healing as I wanted to re-pierce it when the old hole would close. She has stop wearing earrings more then a year an a half Can you give me any suggestions or any good advise on how to close the ear hole?
please. thanks