Friday February 8th, 2008 @ 1:40 PM
Filed under: Ear
I’ve had this helix piercing for about 9 years. It was done with a piercing gun in a mall when I was 13. Cut me some slack, I didn’t know any better. Unfortunately, because it was done with a gun, I can’t wear real quality jewelry since the piercing is at such a small gauge. Most of the time, it’s okay, or only minorly irritated, but every now and then it really hurts like hell, my whole ear turns red, and it produces a good amount of crud. When this happens, I usually leave the jewelry out for a couple of days, wait for it to calm down, put the jewelry back in, and go on my way. My question, basically, is what should I do? I’m sure the jewelry I have in it (small silver hoop purchased at Target) isn’t helping, but do I have other options, what with the age, size, and crappiness of the piercing? And is there something I could be doing to prevent it from getting all inflamed? Thanks for your help.
I don’t think your assessment of not being able to wear quality jewelry in your piercing is quite right. It might be that you have to stretch the piercing very slightly to accommodate a better-quality piece of jewelry, but even that can likely be avoided. High-quality, implant-grade stainless steel, titanium, niobium or solid gold jewelry is available (in a ring/hopp) down to 20ga, which is the same size as a standard earring.
It is very likely that the quality (or lack of) of the jewelry you are currently wearing is what is causing your flare-ups. It’s also possible that the way the jewelry is made is causing the problem.
Either way, I would suggest getting a better piece of jewelry for the piercing. If you can tell me where you live, I (or someone else) might be able to suggest a good studio to visit to get some different jewelry.
+1 / 1 votes 
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | Comments
Thursday January 24th, 2008 @ 12:29 PM
Filed under: Ear
Ive had my industrial since september of last year,
and ive cleaned it regulary, and its sore?
I have the enlarged bar in for swelling just in case.
I havent made it to the shop to get it changed.
What should i do?
It’s certainly not unheard of for an industrial to still be sore after 4 months. It’s possible that the angles of the piercings are off slightly, making it hard for your body to hell…and therefore still sore. It’s possible that if the bar you are wearing has too much extra room, that is resulting in excess pressure on the piercing…and therefore the soreness. It’s possible that you are simply sleeping on the piercing too frequently or bumping it too much.
It’s also possible that everything is just fine, and your body is simply taking longer to heal the piercing.
If you feel the jewelry is longer than it needs to be, I would start with going back to your piercer to get a shorter bar. While you’re there, have him/her take a look at the piercing to see if they can spot any obvious issues.
Good luck!
+1 / 1 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | Comments
Thursday January 24th, 2008 @ 12:21 PM
Filed under: Ear
Greetings. I plan to have an inner conch to conch orbital done. I’d like a placement close to the one in the attached picture, however I’d like a larger gauge, 0 or at least 2. Now I wonder, what’s the best way to do this particular piercing?
On one hand, considering pressure to ear cartilage and such, I’d guess it’d be best to punch the holes and heal them separately, and insert the ring after healing.
On the other hand, I’m also worrying about unwanted pressure from the inserted ring if the piercings are healed “straight” like a tunnel. I’m thinking that perhaps it would be better to insert the ring immediately and deal with the prolonged healing period, thus shaping the piercings according to the ring jewelry.
I’m at a loss here, and I’d be very grateful for your advice.
Regards,
mxy
PS. Image credit: Christiane, Pinpoint Piercing, Oslo.
Before we get into the best method for doing this, I think it’s important to consider the possibility that your ear may not be of the appropriate size and/or shape to accomplish an orbital in the position you want and at the size you want. I would be a bit concerned about there being enough room to accommodate the placement of the lower hole at the size you mentioned. I can’t see your ear, so obviously I’m just “spitballing” here, but it’s something to keep in mind.
If I were doing the piercing, I wouldn’t be willing to start the piercing off with a 2ga or 0ga CBR or circular barbell. I personally feel it’s likely a recipe for disaster…or at the very least, a whole bunch of excess scar tissue formation. If your piercer is willing to do it that way to begin with, you should insist on a titanium piece of jewelry, instead of stainless steel, due to the decreased weight.
If the piercings are placed and performed at the appropriate angles and take into consideration the size of the jewelry you will wear when it’s all healed, there shouldn’t be any problems doing the piercings separately and changing the jewelry at some point down the road.
Good luck!
0 / 0 votes 
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 2 Comments
Wednesday January 16th, 2008 @ 7:07 PM
Filed under: Ear
I stretched my ears up to a 4G this evening. I used a taper, and the taper went into both ears beautifully - no burning, pain, blood, etc. I was able to slide in the jewelry on my left ear with no problems (I have SS single flared eyelets), however I just can’t get it to follow the taper on my right ear.
Any advice, or should I just get a piercer to stick it in there for me?
It’s possible that the jewelry you are trying to insert is slightly larger than the taper. As with all things manufactured, there are are tolerances and variations. Add to that the fact that for many people, one ear stretches better than the other…you could find one side is hard to get in. Eyelets don’t have much surface area to rest against the taper, so they can, in general, be tricky to put in after a stretch…so perhaps the angle you’re working from is simply not good for that side of your head.
You could try leaving the taper in your ear for a longer period of time before trying to insert the jewelry. Perhaps take a really warm shower to help loosen the tissue. Or, a piercer should be able to help you pretty easily.
Good luck.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 1 Comment
Monday January 14th, 2008 @ 10:13 PM
Filed under: Ear
I have 2 rooks and 3 helix piercings that are all at least 7 months old. Also, none of them are healed and still have crusties and are still a little painful. I do salt soaks and they only seem to help temporarily. Question: is 7 months too soon for me to expect them to be healed? Or is there some factor I’m not aware of slowing the healing time?
Thanks!
Did you obtain them all at the same time? Or did you obtain them all on off-set periods of time? Are they all on the same ear or are they on both ears?
7 months can still be too soon, especially with the amount of cartilage work you’ve obtained. I would look more towards the year marker for them to be healed, perhaps even longer.
If they are on both ears what you have to remember is the amount of stuff that comes in contact with your ears, ie: telephones, headsets (mp3 players,etc), pillows, hair (for those with hair),etc. All these things contain contaminates that can prolong the healing time, plus pressure/bumps/bangs being applied to cartilage work tends to really irritate them.
This is why I tend to do no more than 3 piercings on a client in one sitting and before doing any others make sure they are healing very well before attempting anymore work. Also when its involving ear cart work, I try to talk them into getting it on one side. As well as stress the concept of reducing the amount of impact that ear takes, ie: to only use a phone on the non-pierced ear,etc.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 2 Comments
Monday January 14th, 2008 @ 9:10 PM
Filed under: Ear
allright,well this isnt a problem for me right now but i just wondered if it was normal.
a few months ago i gauged my ears from a regular ear peircing (16-14 i think) to a size 10.
a few days after that i took the gauges out to clean them and the holes started bleeding quite a lot. i had blood all over my fingers.i put the gauges in and waited about a week,took them out to clean and they were fine.i still have them in and there are no problems.
can anyone tell me if it was normal for them to bleed so much?
Proper stretching protocol is highly recommended, please refer back to past QOD questions/answers:
http://www.askbme.com/2007/12/13/bleeding-days-after-stretch/
http://www.askbme.com/2007/10/12/waiting-time/
To just put things simply, stretching from 16ga or 14ga to 10ga is NOT recommended, you should only be stretching one jewelry size at a time. As the larger the size difference the higher the chance of ripping/tearing the fistula(piercing pathway) which can lead to infections, blow outs and many other problems.
+1 / 1 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 4 Comments
Sunday January 13th, 2008 @ 3:05 PM
Filed under: Ear
I’m interested in getting an inner conch piercing. I was wondering if it could be pierced with a bioplast labret stud, or if there’s anything else you could recommend. I’ve had problems with cheap materials for my two helixes, and I don’t want a big oldeal with my conch.
I’ve had a problem healing my helixes too, one’s a year old and the other I got in August. The older one’s got the dreaded bump and the other’s been a bit pussy (it might be lymph, I’m not sure) but otherwise it’s not red or painful. H2Ocean doesn’t seem to do much for them. What can I do to help them?
I personally have not worked with Bioplast much, but I don’t see any reason you couldn’t have your conch pierced with it. Regardless of material, I would suggest a barbell/labret stud, as opposed to a ring. A ring will experience much more pressure and irritation, increasing the chances of healing problems.
As for the helixes…without being able to see them, it’s a bit hard to say. If you are wearing captive bead rings or circular barbells, I would strongly suggest changing over to straight barbells. Just as with the conch, the barbell will have much less movement and irritation, which is a common problem when healing cartilage piercings. You may also want to try actually soaking your piercings (about 5 minutes, twice per day) in a solutions of warm water and sea salt. H2Ocean works well for some people, and not as well for others. Also, some people’s bodies simply need a little more TLC than a quick squirt of anything can provide.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 3 Comments
Tuesday January 8th, 2008 @ 2:24 PM
Filed under: Ear
Seriously, am I stuck buying (other than a handful of crap) 150-400 dollar 1 1/2″ plugs. No one I’ve seen apparently makes just ‘regular’ organics. Sometimes all I want is a damn piece of tree that’s round in my ear. A little help here? (Or am I going to have to buy a lathe and start chopping?)
Here’s the first thing you want to do…take a deep breath. Put down the lathe and step away from the stretched lobes.
Secondly…you have to accept the fact that big plugs tend to cost more. Unless you are willing to make them yourself, you’re going to have to pay for someone else’s investment in large, more-expensive stock and the extra labor that (presumably) goes into making larger plugs.
Thirdly…you could try something as close and easy as BMESHOP. In less than 2 minutes I found these:
At $42 for a pair, they are much less than the figures you were throwing around.
Or how about these
$38 pair.
I know those aren’t wood, but they do fall into the organic/natural materials.
You may also want to check out Omerica Organic or Esoteric Body
Both of those companies do large-gauge wood work in a wide range of styles, materials and prices.
And I’m sure other people will be along in no time to suggest their favorite companies.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 4 Comments
Saturday January 5th, 2008 @ 2:21 PM
Filed under: Ear
I had my cartilage pierced several years ago, maybe a decade, with a gun… I had to take it out a few years ago and ever since I’ve really wanted to get it pierced again. This time though I was thinking of getting it dermal punched, to remove the original hole, and I’ve heard that on some level it’s better to get cartilage dermal punched as opposed to piercing with a needle or otherwise. I don’t want to get too big only 12 or 10 gauge.
I have inquired at a few local shops and have been told that typically they would pierce at such a small gauge. Is it possible or even recommended to get a dermal punch that small?
It’s absolutely possible to get dermal punches as small as 1.5mm (which is about 14ga), and I’m a long-time advocate of punching over piercing, it heals so much more quickly and easily! You might have to cast your net a bit wider, but I’m sure you can find a good piercer to help you out with what you want if you keep looking. 
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | 3 Comments
Thursday December 13th, 2007 @ 7:33 PM
Filed under: Ear
Two days ago, I stretched my lobes from 12g to 10g, using an acrylic taper. I wore the taper in my ears for a day and a half, and took them out last night to clean my ears and check on them. When I took them out, they started to bleed a bit, so I cleaned them off, oiled them up, and replaced the tapers (they didn’t bleed when I stretched them, just stung a little bit. This afternoon, I got stainless steel plugs to replace the tapers, and when I took the tapers out again, they bled a little again.
Is this normal? Could it be because of the acrylic material of the plugs I’d worn for 2 days?
Just for reference, I’d had my ears at 12g for about 3 weeks before I stretched up, and the 10’s slid in pretty easily, with just a little pressure needed to get them in.
Sounds like it can be a result of two things:
1) Stretched too fast and tore some fistula tissue
2) Irritation from the acrylic tapers.
Know that waiting 3 weeks before stretching is not always the best option. If there was pressure, even the slightest, you forced the jewelry through.
You’re best option right now would be to do leave the steel plugs in and do sea salt soaks daily, essentially treat your stretched lobes like they are fresh piercings. From there wait roughly 6 months to a year before stretching to the next size.
Patience is a virtue that is strongly required when stretching ear lobes…The more you force your lobes to larger sizes, the more problems you risk putting yourself into…
+1 / 1 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 1 Comment
