:: Ear FAQ ::

Do I need to turn my earrings several times a day?

No. The practice of turning rings is left over from times when people used straw or string as temporary jewelry during healing. With such porous pieces, turning was necessary to keep the body from trying to heal into the jewelry. With any commercially produced body jewelry, however, this is not a threat. All acceptable jewelry for fresh piercings should be of non-reactive, non-porous material with a mirror finish. Your skin will not grow into such smooth metal or glass jewelry. So turning it is not necessary.

In fact, turning your rings during the day is potentially hazardous to your healing. If you are using dirty hands to turn a dirty ring through your piercing, you are putting all those germs right inside your piercing. You could easily end up with an infection this way. And forcing those dried crusties through the piercing increases the risk, as it can tear the fresh tissue inside, and then infect it with bacteria clinging to the dried fluids.

Bottom line: Never Never Never turn your jewelry through the piercing UNLESS you have just washed your hands, your piercing and the jewelry with antibacterial soap, and have washed all those crusties off the ring. If you are not cleaning your piercing, keep your hands off of it!

How soon can I change my jewelry?

Once the piercing is healed. For lobes, 6 - 8 weeks; for cartilage, 6 - 12 months, minimum.

How soon can I leave the piercing empty?

This depends on the person. Even though lobes often stay open, they will close when they are still fresh. Most piercings will close if left empty during the first year for lobes, two years for cartilage.

How long until I can start stretching?

Again, wait until your piercings are healed. Then take it slow--no more than one size a month.

Why can't I clean my piercings with alcohol or peroxide?

While both these chemicals may be great at killing germs on hard surfaces or on skinned knees, they can also kill skin cells. This may not be a problem if you are using them once or twice on a cut, but if you are using them several times a day for weeks or months, you will end up killing the cells you are trying to grow, and sabotaging your own healing. They are meant for first aid, not healing piercings.

What is this red bump on my cartilage piercing? Is it an infection?

Usually not. If you are getting greenish or smelly discharge out of it, you may have an infection. But if you get clear, white or slightly yellow discharge, or if the piercing appears otherwise normal, chances are you have an irritation.

Cartilage piercings are extremely sensitive to abuse. They do not like to be slept on, hit with the telephone, played with, yanked by hair, smashed by helmets, or otherwise subjected to pressure. If you do any of these things, you will probably get a red or purple (or skin colored) lump right on the piercing. This is a type of scar tissue which your body builds up to protect skin cells from tearing. As long as whatever caused the irritation continues, the scar tissue will not go away. But if you catch it soon enough, getting rid of the cause of the problem will usually make it clear up. (If you are sleeping on that side, stop doing it, etc.) If it doesn't go away, or if you aren't sure what is going on, feel free to stop in so one of our piercers can take a look at it.

You can also get this scar tissue by getting your cartilage pierced with a piercing gun, or by wearing ear studs or very thin or tight jewelry in the piercing. If your jewelry is a problem, change it! If you got pierced with a gun, the scarring may be permanent.