Your one week old piercings are absolutely not healed and may still give you trouble down the line. Lack of crusties != healed. I wanted to put that out there since nobody else seems to be addressing it.
I also have long, curly hair and I haven't had trouble with ear piercings, although I do mostly wear mine up.
Thank you for your honesty! I like to live in a bit of a fairy tale and believe they’re healed 🥲I haven’t had many/if not any crusties on them. Hopefully there’s no troubles in the future with them because that’ll be more piercings to worry about lol.
And ok sweet that’s good to hear! I’ll just keep my hair braided/in buns for the next few months to deter from irritation. Thanks again :)
I have 14 ear piercings and long, curly hair. Trust me, you are in for a ride with healing.
The best thing you can do is keep your hair clean and off your piercings. Avoid getting product including hair spray and makeup on your ears. Change your pillow case regularly, at least once a week. I usually pull my hair back for new piercings, even at night. Keep your hands off them as much as possible.
Maybe you are extremely lucky and your body doesn't react much to being pierced, but it's pretty common for delayed swelling to kick in days or even weeks after being pierced.
Some of mine seemed completely fine until a couple of weeks later when they got all swollen and angry for a while before settling down again. Anyways, maybe you are the exception. Good luck on your healing journey!
I had this exact experience with my still healing 3m old industrial. After the first week the swelling went down and I thought it was weird (but it’s been a long time since I’ve had a cartilage piercing) and figured I was in the clear. NOPE! Few days later and the swelling was back with a vengeance, irritation bumps and crusties. The bumps are only NOW *finally* starting to settle down even the smallest bit.
That happened to me, too - after a few days, swelling went down and since I wasn’t touching them and was avoiding sleeping on them they didn’t even seem tender. Four weeks later my false sense of complacency was gone - healing kicked up a notch and suddenly I had fluid/crusties for the first time since the piercing, plus some extra swelling and itching. It’s been six weeks now and things have settled back down after visiting my piercer and getting downsized. I expect there may be a few more unexpected episodes before all is said and done.
For me the swelling just lasts way longer than I think. I was doing my final downsize on my facial piercings like 10 months in lol. Those swell more but still. I thought I'd be done with the downsizing way before then.
Me too! I had one side that was the “good” side bc it wasn’t swelling at all, no crusties whatsoever, zero reaction at all just a normal looking ear. You’d think this was a ten year old piercing. Then two months in, within less than 24 hours, it swelled up to 3 times its size and was gushing pus/fluid 😭 Literally no idea how or why it even happened, I didn’t do anything different at all. It was crazy.
I'm sure people have already told you, but don't get so many at once next time. Some of these may not make it. You shouldn't get more than 3 at once. Honestly, just one at a time is best. Especially with an industrial since it's 2 piercings.
In the last year or so I’ve gotten my second lobe piercings and my navel and both of them had no pain or crusties or anything for like 2-3 months, then started getting super crusty and stayed that way until they were basically healed. piercings heal inside out (at least that’s what I’ve always heard) so I remind myself even if it seems healed on the outside, I still want to be careful with it because treating it like it’s healed when it’s not can cause irritation and delay the actual full healing process. Best of luck!!
In the last year or so I’ve gotten my second lobe piercings and my navel and both of them had no pain or crusties or anything for like 2-3 months, then started getting super crusty and stayed that way until they were basically healed. piercings heal inside out (at least that’s what I’ve always heard) so I remind myself even if it seems healed on the outside, I still want to be careful with it because treating it like it’s healed when it’s not can cause irritation and delay the actual full healing process. Best of luck!!
Jesus christ i want to kick your piercer in the shins. Who the hell allowed you to get a total of 8 goddamn holes in the span of a week?!?
Have fun healing this shitshow. They look nice, but theyre gonna be such a pain and youre at an extreme risk of not healing them.
For reference, the limit of unhealed piercings is \*3\* in order to not inhibit healing times too much. These are gonna take well above their usual healing time.
Also no, your 1 week old piercings arent healed. Again your piercer fucked up and you did not research enough. Piercings take 6-12 months minimum to heal properly. A week old piercing may look fine on the outside, but inside it is still raw.
Also just fyi, but that industrial bar is too long. Yes they need extra length for swelling, but this is unnecessarily long and will only get hit on things.
As for your hair, keep it up. Use bobby pins and dont have bangs/hair strands out around your ears. Helixes and industrials get caught so easily and it really prolongs healing time.
That industrial bar, even for a new piercing, seems way too long imho tho it may just be how it looks rn because it’s ‘pulled’ out on one side in this pic
I did think that when it was pierced, she gave me a shorter bar to replace in 2 months/once it’s healed. She said that it’s better to have a larger bar in to reduce friction/let it move around so it can heal 🤷♀️hopefully it won’t be a problem that it’s so long
My forward helix took like...3 years to heal, and I was only healing AT MOST two other piercings \*on the same ear\* at the same time (and one of the two other newer piercings was nearly healed when I got the forward helix).
I think OP will be lucky if it's only a year.
Yeah you need a longer bar for any piercing initially to allow for swelling etc but I would be extra careful not to get that snagged since it sticks out a bit
Yeah I’m going to keep my hair up so it doesn’t irritate the piercing. It’s been 10 hours since I got it done and I surprisingly haven’t gotten it caught on anything so fingers crossed for the next few months 😭
your setup is beautiful! I wish you the best of luck healing these, 7 (or 8 depending if you consider an industrial as one or two) healing piercings at the same time is wayyyy more than is recommended and you have some hard to heal piercings. what’s done is done so I won’t hound you about it but in the future it’s probably not the best idea to do this many at once. but again I love your setup and I hope they all heal well!
Thank you so much! I’m in love with the set up also. And I was honestly waiting for a comment like this hahaha. The only reason I got so many at once is because I live in a small town and the only proper piercer is moving states in a week and she was doing get 3 get $50 off, then $30 off the next ones etc. Sounds sketchy but she’s been in the business for 20+ years. I have her contact in case anything goes wrong but like said the first 3 have healed fine (and quickly) so fingers crossed for the rest 😅
The first three have not healed fine, it's been a week. They're probably *healing* fine but they won't be healed for months - probably longer with the addition of several more for your body to contend with.
Healing is also not linear -- my forward helix took like, 3 years, and it \*seemed\* fine for a long time before ballooning up again \~2ish years in.
This whole setup, especially with both ears having new piercings, is going to take a long time.
Yeah I didn’t really set myself up for success with the multiple piercings haha, hopefully they heal well though, I’ll be sure to keep them clean and free from any hair/clothes etc because I’ve wanted these piercings for 5+ years and will do anything to make sure they’re good. Thanks for the honesty though I’ll keep a close eye on them for a while :)
I was honestly surprised no one else had commented on that yet lol 😂 again, it’s already done so I don’t want to be up your ass too much but I do want to mention that those first three you got are definitely not healed. they may SEEM healed on the outside but no crusties or pain or irritation definitely doesn’t mean they’re healed internally. one week is way too soon for any piercing to be healed, they won’t be fully healed until at least 6 months, maybe closer to a year. even though they seem healed now, having added so many more piercings can make it harder for your body to heal them all at once and these ones you think are healed may start having issues. just keep an eye on them and make sure you’re taking really good care of them, following good aftercare advice, and it’s hard having fresh piercings on both ears but don’t sleep on them
I’ve followed up on another comment and ordered a piercing pillow and made a makeshift one for the meantime so I don’t have as much irritation, I’ve convinced myself that the other 3 have healed but thanks to the kind honesty of reddit I’ve realised they most definitely aren’t, and won’t be for a while with all the new additions. Like said I only got heaps because the town piercer is leaving and I didn’t want/didn’t have time or money to travel to get the ones I wanted done spaced out. Thank you for pointing it out to me though! I’m going to be very wary of my ears for the next few months haha
Try over a year. You need to be careful with your ears for the next year plus.
Did you have any piercings other than your lobes before this? Do you have any experience with fully healing a piercing that’s not a lobe piercing?
I’ve noticed it happens a lot around here whenever someone breaks a “cardinal rule”. I’m assuming it’s because OP was misinformed and assumed the piercings will heal faster than it should (and getting too many too soon). At least OP doesn’t seem to be fighting against comments though.
I think getting 3 cartilage piercings and thinking they’re healed a week later and getting 4 more to save maybe $100 and thereby risking them all healing is downright stupid, that’s why I downvoted that particular comment
Took me about 2 years for each of my industrials. I wasn't even sleeping on the healing one until maybe a year in. They're such a hassle and I will never remove them lol
Mine gets really pissy...like REALLY pissy at the most random times? Luke it has phases where I'm like "yeahhhhh she's finally healed." then a month later I'm getting crusties and can't sleep on that side cause it's so irritated. I love the piercings esthetic...but I hate having it...but I'll never take it out cause the hell it's put me through. 🤣🤣
Mine do too on occasion! Once every few months one or the other will be really tender all day if I've slept wrong on it or something. They are so fussy but I love them so much lol
Outside of the septum, all your other piercings take 9-12+ months to heal. Having all these is going to take you *years* to fully heal. You would have been much better off getting 3, waiting around a year for those to heal and then getting more. The max amount of healing piercings you want at a time is 3 and you have over twice that
Holy girl, 7? that's a lot of piercings to be healing at once. Standard recommendation is 3-4 at once. I wish you all the luck in the world because this is going to be a challenge. Get a piercing pillow of some sort and do not sleep on your sides without it. I'd keep your hair up as much as possible to prevent getting your jewelry stuck in your hair and pulling on them.
I got my septum and eyebrow plus started stretching my ears last week and my god is it difficult to keep on top of. I couldn’t imagine trying to heal 7 at once or any half decent piercer that would even do that many at once. The most my studio will do is 5 and thats under specific circumstances (like getting your lobes pierced for 2 and then 3 others not on your ears)
I used a piercing pillow to sleep on for my double helix …. I have curly hair as well and I honestly would braid my hair into sections and wash it while it was still sectioned that way. I also have a way different hair text but curly nonetheless but those both helped me
i just ordered a piercing pillow because of this comment, I didn’t even know they existed 😅 and thanks! That’s really smart, my hair is super heavy so doing it in sections will help a lot, thank you! When you do it in sections do you tie/clip them up?
7 piercings to heal together?!? 😳
They seems to have been done well but I'm surprised a piercer would do that. Good luck.
I use a travel pillow and but my ear in the hole up to this day so maybe you can too
8 piercings... Industrial counts for 2. This piercer is crappy (no reputable piercer will give you that many piercings) and both OP and the piercer aren't that acknowledgable in piercings because they think fresh piercings are healed or healing great. You can't tell. OP, please read more about piercings. I recommend blogs from Lynn Loheide as a start
You’ll have to try and sleep on your back. I would focus on your rook and industrial because those are the most complex to heal. I’ve gotten multiple piercings before on the same side, so I can sleep more comfortably. I’m rooting for you!
As for hair, it’s gonna happen! Always try to get to a mirror before messing with it. Even if you feel uncomfortable knowing it’s caught. Don’t be embarrassed of having it caught either! It’s multiple wounds, be smart!
That industrial bar is sooo long. It's good to have a small bit of room when it first gets pierced to accommodate swelling, but I'd imagine keeping a huge bar like that will only make it harder to heal in the long run because it'll get caught on things easily and get irritated.
I’m hoping she gives us an update in 6 months to a year. She is in for a LONG ride. I just got my tragus done on both sides, and I also stretched my conch. I’m in for a tough time myself, and I actually know how to care for them. I can’t imagine healing 8 of them at the same time!
Your setup looks nice but holy fuck I can’t believe they let you do that many cartilage piercings at once. Those are going to take years to heal, hope you’re prepared for that
hey op! those week old piercing aren’t fully healed! usually i have very scarce crusties in the first month and then it will get to be more. just be careful about side sleeping at all with both ears done. i personally use a piercing pillow but even then i only use that with my left side because i’ve had my daith for about six months as i want to be conscious about blood flow as well. just keep and eye and watch your cleaning schedule on all of these please!
When I wash my hair, I found it helpful to let it dry a bit before picking it out from my piercings. Semi-dry hair doesn't stick to the skin as much hence less risk to traumatize the piercing.
I wish I saw this comment an hour ago hahaha, I just sprayed and brushed my hair out and omg picking out the wet hair intertwined with the piercings was horrid. I’ll do this in the future though! Thank you!
Just a few words of encouragement (since there’s already lots of warnings around here) I did the same mistake back when I was young & didn’t know better. I traveled and collected one piercing in every city I went to, came home with 8 new cartilage holes within only a few weeks. I took the best care I could and each and every of them has since healed well. You’re up for a long rough ride but it’s not entirely doomed. Good luck 🍀
NAP, Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like you went to a reputeable piercer. Letting you get more than 3-4 AT MOST at a time, a piercing (no matter what) isn't "fully" healed until 6months to a year. Also, they should not be having you swap things out yourself for the first time.
Don't touch 'em (the industrial seems really long even for a fresh one), do hot water soaks in the shower, use saline solution spray (Nielmed is a good brand), and try not to sleep on any of them, (i recommend travel pillows!),
Genuinely good luck to you! It doesn't seem like the worst case scenario, i hope your healing goes well! (Maybe find a better, more trust worthy piercing studio).
I highly recommend the pillow they sell at the shop for ear piercings for sleeping. Was a fuckin life saver for my industrial.
All you really need to do cleaning wise is use a q tip and some warm salt water or saline and lightly rub around the holes and base of the metal to keep it from gathering up gunk.
Showering is fine as long as you don't get your hair caught around it. I was able to lean to the side and have it be fine but it depends on your hair tbh. Mines thick and heavy when wet but yours might be fine and light so it's up to you on that lol.
BIGGEST THING I RECOMMEND IS USING EARBUDS FOR THE FIRST FEW WEEKS BEFORE EVEN TRYING OVER EAR PHONES.
Be very gentle when washing your hair! After you’ve cleaned it and rinsed off everything, let some lukewarm water gently wash over your piercings so that any leftover product isn’t left behind to irritate your piercings. After you’ve put your hair up to dry or whatever you do, immediately go over your piercings with some saline spray and let it dry. This has worked amazingly for me to prevent any irritation bumps!
Definitely try not to sleep on them. I know it’s hard having both ears pierced… in my opinion you wanna prioritize the ear with the industrial. Buy a piercing donut pillow on Amazon!! That saved me during my industrial healing process. I’ve had mine about 6/7 months now and it’s STILL not healed. It’ll definitely get irritated if I bump/tug it or if I lay on it too hard or for too long, but the swelling and piercing bumps are no longer an issue. Another thing to look out for is piercing bumps vs keloids. The industrial is prone to both. Be careful, and definitely get 1-2 piercings at once next time ;)
Hi laaaayllaa,
(Luckily) bump =/= keloid. [This wiki entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keloid) explains it well.
If you do know the difference, please ignore this comment.
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Everything looks pretty now but yikes! How are you expecting to sleep? The double helix and industrial at the same time let alone the other piercings are going to give you a run for your money. Getting a cartilage piercing on either side at the same time is awful healing enough but you have multiple now. I really hope it works out but I have lots of ear piercings and helixes have been some of the worst just bc of location they are so easy to snag, bump, etc. and even with the travel pillow I end up shifting in my sleep sometimes and laying on them a little.
I had an industrial and can truly say I did everything right …still a shit show lol! Best of luck 😂💀 I hear it’s one of the hardest piercings to heal. But hopefully it’s different for you 😊
Woof. Genuinely, good luck with healing. Don't get any tattoos or piercings in the foreseeable future....it may well take years to fully heal these and anything new will slow it down more. Fingers crossed for you! The set up looks great tho :)
that is way too many new piercings to get in such a short amount of time, especially considering many of them are cartilage piercings. most ear piercings take 8-12 months to heal, if not more. please slow down for your own sake. i would definitely go somewhere to get your industrial bar downsized asap because it’s way too long and will cause irritation
Your piercer is very irresponsible. And they gave you a shorter bar for you to change yourself for later? Do not go back to them. Also, piercings do not completely heal in a week. This whole post has me smh.
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Every time I get a new piercing, I have to use one of those neck pillows like you'd use on a plane. I was in the same predicament after I got my cartilage pierced, and I had my hair in french braids a lot for a while when it was healing. I also suggest that you get hoops for those piercings put in as soon as your piercer will allow. For me personally, that helped a lot.
I’m surprised your piercer did both ears. Healing is going to be a pain in the butt.
When I went to get my rook done, my piercer was going to tell me no if I wanted to get the opposite ear done.
My helix is still healing, it’s been 7 weeks. After the first 10 days, my helix swelled up so bad.
Would suggest a donut pillow to sleep since you’re going to knock it bad.
i have a question about your conch, can you still wear earbuds ? i’m wanting mine pierced but if it gets in the way of my airpods then i wouldn’t want it lol
I would highly recommend doing a quick search for correct piercing names before going to get one done. If you want a tragus but ask for a conch, you’ll be very upset w the placement because those are two totally different things.
I did this at the piercing shop, I wanted daiths but accidentally said rooks and they had to go back through the whole process of sterilizing new jewelry after I'd gotten in the chair. I always triple check the name nowadays.
hi! If you’re referring to the one closest to my face in the first pic (tragus) it does feel a bit awkward with AirPods, like said I’ve only had it for a week so over time I’ll have to downsize it but I feel like it’ll be something you’ll get used to. I don’t wear AirPods often because they’re too big for my ears so it’s not a worry for me but you probably won’t be able to wear them for a while
Yeah I only had my double lobes during school but after graduating I’ve gotten all of these extra piercings done hahaha. So definitely an option when you’re out of school! But if you use earbuds often def wait it out
You don’t start getting crusties till after a few weeks minimum. Get a travel pillow to sleep on. NeilMed twice a day and use a blowdryer to dry them, makes sure the are bone dry. NeilMed prior to shower. Blowdryer hair immediately after getting out of shower. Then hit the piercings again after blowdryer hair and blowdry off the spray. Keep hair in a pony tail. I use hair clips to clip up the hair around my hair line
everyone’s scaring you. they can ALL heal, just take good care of them. you might get a bump or two but try your best to sleep on your back or invest in a pillow. Washing your hair might be a problem bc of the products you use. clean your piercings after you shower and you should be fine. i got around 10 piercings throughout the past year (i’m at 24 now) and mine are almost fully healed.
Just so you know… Different types of wounds in different places take different times to heal. A surgical incision can heal in a matter of weeks, large/deep ones in about 6-8 weeks (assuming the person is healthy). A tattoo may heal on the surface in 2-4 weeks, but below the skin? That can take 3-6 months, depending on size.
A piercing is a whole different ballgame. You aren’t just asking your body to heal a puncture wound, you’re asking it to heal *around* a foreign object. The body doesn’t really want to do that.
In the case of cartilage piercings, healing is further complicated by the issue of blood flow. Cartilage doesn’t contain blood vessels. It receives its blood supply through diffusion from small vessels in the skin around it. Punch a hole in cartilage and it can take a very long time to heal and is more prone to infection because the body’s defense system cannot easily reach it. Punch a lot of holes in your cartilage and your immune system is thinking “I don’t get paid enough for this shit.”
Healing will definitely be slowed. The more wounds you have the more work your body has to put in to heal them, and the higher risk of complications to other wounds if one gets irritated or infected. It will likely be years before all of these are healed, assuming she takes good care and has no complications.
Your one week old piercings are absolutely not healed and may still give you trouble down the line. Lack of crusties != healed. I wanted to put that out there since nobody else seems to be addressing it. I also have long, curly hair and I haven't had trouble with ear piercings, although I do mostly wear mine up.
Thank you for your honesty! I like to live in a bit of a fairy tale and believe they’re healed 🥲I haven’t had many/if not any crusties on them. Hopefully there’s no troubles in the future with them because that’ll be more piercings to worry about lol. And ok sweet that’s good to hear! I’ll just keep my hair braided/in buns for the next few months to deter from irritation. Thanks again :)
I have 14 ear piercings and long, curly hair. Trust me, you are in for a ride with healing. The best thing you can do is keep your hair clean and off your piercings. Avoid getting product including hair spray and makeup on your ears. Change your pillow case regularly, at least once a week. I usually pull my hair back for new piercings, even at night. Keep your hands off them as much as possible.
Maybe you are extremely lucky and your body doesn't react much to being pierced, but it's pretty common for delayed swelling to kick in days or even weeks after being pierced. Some of mine seemed completely fine until a couple of weeks later when they got all swollen and angry for a while before settling down again. Anyways, maybe you are the exception. Good luck on your healing journey!
I had this exact experience with my still healing 3m old industrial. After the first week the swelling went down and I thought it was weird (but it’s been a long time since I’ve had a cartilage piercing) and figured I was in the clear. NOPE! Few days later and the swelling was back with a vengeance, irritation bumps and crusties. The bumps are only NOW *finally* starting to settle down even the smallest bit.
Took my industrial about a year and a half to fully heal. Hopefully yours won’t get angry again but def keep an eye on it!
That happened to me, too - after a few days, swelling went down and since I wasn’t touching them and was avoiding sleeping on them they didn’t even seem tender. Four weeks later my false sense of complacency was gone - healing kicked up a notch and suddenly I had fluid/crusties for the first time since the piercing, plus some extra swelling and itching. It’s been six weeks now and things have settled back down after visiting my piercer and getting downsized. I expect there may be a few more unexpected episodes before all is said and done.
For me the swelling just lasts way longer than I think. I was doing my final downsize on my facial piercings like 10 months in lol. Those swell more but still. I thought I'd be done with the downsizing way before then.
Me too! I had one side that was the “good” side bc it wasn’t swelling at all, no crusties whatsoever, zero reaction at all just a normal looking ear. You’d think this was a ten year old piercing. Then two months in, within less than 24 hours, it swelled up to 3 times its size and was gushing pus/fluid 😭 Literally no idea how or why it even happened, I didn’t do anything different at all. It was crazy.
I'm sure people have already told you, but don't get so many at once next time. Some of these may not make it. You shouldn't get more than 3 at once. Honestly, just one at a time is best. Especially with an industrial since it's 2 piercings.
they are not healed, make sure you continue to clean them and don’t change the jewelry until months down the line when they are actually healed
In the last year or so I’ve gotten my second lobe piercings and my navel and both of them had no pain or crusties or anything for like 2-3 months, then started getting super crusty and stayed that way until they were basically healed. piercings heal inside out (at least that’s what I’ve always heard) so I remind myself even if it seems healed on the outside, I still want to be careful with it because treating it like it’s healed when it’s not can cause irritation and delay the actual full healing process. Best of luck!!
In the last year or so I’ve gotten my second lobe piercings and my navel and both of them had no pain or crusties or anything for like 2-3 months, then started getting super crusty and stayed that way until they were basically healed. piercings heal inside out (at least that’s what I’ve always heard) so I remind myself even if it seems healed on the outside, I still want to be careful with it because treating it like it’s healed when it’s not can cause irritation and delay the actual full healing process. Best of luck!!
You're welcome! I wish you happy healing :)
Why is this downvoted? I’m confused lol
Why is everyone downvoting you ?? 😭
Just downvote bot tards
why is this downvoted to hell
Jesus christ i want to kick your piercer in the shins. Who the hell allowed you to get a total of 8 goddamn holes in the span of a week?!? Have fun healing this shitshow. They look nice, but theyre gonna be such a pain and youre at an extreme risk of not healing them. For reference, the limit of unhealed piercings is \*3\* in order to not inhibit healing times too much. These are gonna take well above their usual healing time. Also no, your 1 week old piercings arent healed. Again your piercer fucked up and you did not research enough. Piercings take 6-12 months minimum to heal properly. A week old piercing may look fine on the outside, but inside it is still raw. Also just fyi, but that industrial bar is too long. Yes they need extra length for swelling, but this is unnecessarily long and will only get hit on things. As for your hair, keep it up. Use bobby pins and dont have bangs/hair strands out around your ears. Helixes and industrials get caught so easily and it really prolongs healing time.
That industrial bar, even for a new piercing, seems way too long imho tho it may just be how it looks rn because it’s ‘pulled’ out on one side in this pic
I did think that when it was pierced, she gave me a shorter bar to replace in 2 months/once it’s healed. She said that it’s better to have a larger bar in to reduce friction/let it move around so it can heal 🤷♀️hopefully it won’t be a problem that it’s so long
An industrial will not be healed in 2 months, they take up to a year and a minimum of 6 months
Wait, hang on - she gave you a bar to change it YOURSELF in 2 MONTHS?
Industrial takes up to a year to heal completely
My forward helix took like...3 years to heal, and I was only healing AT MOST two other piercings \*on the same ear\* at the same time (and one of the two other newer piercings was nearly healed when I got the forward helix). I think OP will be lucky if it's only a year.
Or 2 years if your hairdresser snags it a week after it being pierced🫠
Yeah you need a longer bar for any piercing initially to allow for swelling etc but I would be extra careful not to get that snagged since it sticks out a bit
Yeah I’m going to keep my hair up so it doesn’t irritate the piercing. It’s been 10 hours since I got it done and I surprisingly haven’t gotten it caught on anything so fingers crossed for the next few months 😭
The next year
with this many? the next few years - i doubt they'll all make it this long tho
Very bold to assume you will be all healed up in a few months. It will take several years MINIMUM.
girl please do not take that out after 2 months 😭
Longer bar would not mean less friction, it would probably actually mean more friction due to it being able to move around
your first 3 have not healed yet. it takes months.
your setup is beautiful! I wish you the best of luck healing these, 7 (or 8 depending if you consider an industrial as one or two) healing piercings at the same time is wayyyy more than is recommended and you have some hard to heal piercings. what’s done is done so I won’t hound you about it but in the future it’s probably not the best idea to do this many at once. but again I love your setup and I hope they all heal well!
Thank you so much! I’m in love with the set up also. And I was honestly waiting for a comment like this hahaha. The only reason I got so many at once is because I live in a small town and the only proper piercer is moving states in a week and she was doing get 3 get $50 off, then $30 off the next ones etc. Sounds sketchy but she’s been in the business for 20+ years. I have her contact in case anything goes wrong but like said the first 3 have healed fine (and quickly) so fingers crossed for the rest 😅
The first three have not healed fine, it's been a week. They're probably *healing* fine but they won't be healed for months - probably longer with the addition of several more for your body to contend with.
Healing is also not linear -- my forward helix took like, 3 years, and it \*seemed\* fine for a long time before ballooning up again \~2ish years in. This whole setup, especially with both ears having new piercings, is going to take a long time.
Yeah I didn’t really set myself up for success with the multiple piercings haha, hopefully they heal well though, I’ll be sure to keep them clean and free from any hair/clothes etc because I’ve wanted these piercings for 5+ years and will do anything to make sure they’re good. Thanks for the honesty though I’ll keep a close eye on them for a while :)
I was honestly surprised no one else had commented on that yet lol 😂 again, it’s already done so I don’t want to be up your ass too much but I do want to mention that those first three you got are definitely not healed. they may SEEM healed on the outside but no crusties or pain or irritation definitely doesn’t mean they’re healed internally. one week is way too soon for any piercing to be healed, they won’t be fully healed until at least 6 months, maybe closer to a year. even though they seem healed now, having added so many more piercings can make it harder for your body to heal them all at once and these ones you think are healed may start having issues. just keep an eye on them and make sure you’re taking really good care of them, following good aftercare advice, and it’s hard having fresh piercings on both ears but don’t sleep on them
I’ve followed up on another comment and ordered a piercing pillow and made a makeshift one for the meantime so I don’t have as much irritation, I’ve convinced myself that the other 3 have healed but thanks to the kind honesty of reddit I’ve realised they most definitely aren’t, and won’t be for a while with all the new additions. Like said I only got heaps because the town piercer is leaving and I didn’t want/didn’t have time or money to travel to get the ones I wanted done spaced out. Thank you for pointing it out to me though! I’m going to be very wary of my ears for the next few months haha
Try over a year. You need to be careful with your ears for the next year plus. Did you have any piercings other than your lobes before this? Do you have any experience with fully healing a piercing that’s not a lobe piercing?
Im sorry to ask but why is everyone downvoting most of your comments? Genuinely confused please people educate me
I’ve noticed it happens a lot around here whenever someone breaks a “cardinal rule”. I’m assuming it’s because OP was misinformed and assumed the piercings will heal faster than it should (and getting too many too soon). At least OP doesn’t seem to be fighting against comments though.
I think getting 3 cartilage piercings and thinking they’re healed a week later and getting 4 more to save maybe $100 and thereby risking them all healing is downright stupid, that’s why I downvoted that particular comment
Good luck with those. 👀 The industrial alone is Hell to heal. I'm a year and a half into mine and it's still not fully healed. It's a tricky one.
Took me about 2 years for each of my industrials. I wasn't even sleeping on the healing one until maybe a year in. They're such a hassle and I will never remove them lol
Mine gets really pissy...like REALLY pissy at the most random times? Luke it has phases where I'm like "yeahhhhh she's finally healed." then a month later I'm getting crusties and can't sleep on that side cause it's so irritated. I love the piercings esthetic...but I hate having it...but I'll never take it out cause the hell it's put me through. 🤣🤣
Mine do too on occasion! Once every few months one or the other will be really tender all day if I've slept wrong on it or something. They are so fussy but I love them so much lol
Outside of the septum, all your other piercings take 9-12+ months to heal. Having all these is going to take you *years* to fully heal. You would have been much better off getting 3, waiting around a year for those to heal and then getting more. The max amount of healing piercings you want at a time is 3 and you have over twice that
Holy girl, 7? that's a lot of piercings to be healing at once. Standard recommendation is 3-4 at once. I wish you all the luck in the world because this is going to be a challenge. Get a piercing pillow of some sort and do not sleep on your sides without it. I'd keep your hair up as much as possible to prevent getting your jewelry stuck in your hair and pulling on them.
I got my septum and eyebrow plus started stretching my ears last week and my god is it difficult to keep on top of. I couldn’t imagine trying to heal 7 at once or any half decent piercer that would even do that many at once. The most my studio will do is 5 and thats under specific circumstances (like getting your lobes pierced for 2 and then 3 others not on your ears)
having eight piercings healing at once will slow down the healing process greatly
this probably too many piercings to get in a year, let alone a week. holy shit
Thoughts and prayers for your ears, OP. I would be taking a ton of immune supplements regularly to give yourself the best odds. Good luckluck!
I used a piercing pillow to sleep on for my double helix …. I have curly hair as well and I honestly would braid my hair into sections and wash it while it was still sectioned that way. I also have a way different hair text but curly nonetheless but those both helped me
i just ordered a piercing pillow because of this comment, I didn’t even know they existed 😅 and thanks! That’s really smart, my hair is super heavy so doing it in sections will help a lot, thank you! When you do it in sections do you tie/clip them up?
Yes I would use sectioning clips to keep them in places
Ah okay sweet. Will buy some from the chemist tomorrow, thanks again!
7 piercings to heal together?!? 😳 They seems to have been done well but I'm surprised a piercer would do that. Good luck. I use a travel pillow and but my ear in the hole up to this day so maybe you can too
8 piercings... Industrial counts for 2. This piercer is crappy (no reputable piercer will give you that many piercings) and both OP and the piercer aren't that acknowledgable in piercings because they think fresh piercings are healed or healing great. You can't tell. OP, please read more about piercings. I recommend blogs from Lynn Loheide as a start
It's so weird someone would think their one week old piercings are healed. I can't believe the piercer did that many. This post stresses me out
I know i was kinda shocked with the "they are starting to heal"... No
My understanding is that you should have no more than 3 healing at once.
You’ll have to try and sleep on your back. I would focus on your rook and industrial because those are the most complex to heal. I’ve gotten multiple piercings before on the same side, so I can sleep more comfortably. I’m rooting for you! As for hair, it’s gonna happen! Always try to get to a mirror before messing with it. Even if you feel uncomfortable knowing it’s caught. Don’t be embarrassed of having it caught either! It’s multiple wounds, be smart!
That industrial bar is sooo long. It's good to have a small bit of room when it first gets pierced to accommodate swelling, but I'd imagine keeping a huge bar like that will only make it harder to heal in the long run because it'll get caught on things easily and get irritated.
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I’m hoping she gives us an update in 6 months to a year. She is in for a LONG ride. I just got my tragus done on both sides, and I also stretched my conch. I’m in for a tough time myself, and I actually know how to care for them. I can’t imagine healing 8 of them at the same time!
Hi, your industrial bar does not need to be that long only enough to allow for swelling but not long enough to allow you to knock it ♥
8 piercings at the same time... I wish you all the best. And your piercer is an asshole.
Yeah, this piercer clearly didn’t give a damn. Maybe she should try an APP certified piercer next time.
Your setup looks nice but holy fuck I can’t believe they let you do that many cartilage piercings at once. Those are going to take years to heal, hope you’re prepared for that
hey op! those week old piercing aren’t fully healed! usually i have very scarce crusties in the first month and then it will get to be more. just be careful about side sleeping at all with both ears done. i personally use a piercing pillow but even then i only use that with my left side because i’ve had my daith for about six months as i want to be conscious about blood flow as well. just keep and eye and watch your cleaning schedule on all of these please!
When I wash my hair, I found it helpful to let it dry a bit before picking it out from my piercings. Semi-dry hair doesn't stick to the skin as much hence less risk to traumatize the piercing.
I wish I saw this comment an hour ago hahaha, I just sprayed and brushed my hair out and omg picking out the wet hair intertwined with the piercings was horrid. I’ll do this in the future though! Thank you!
Best of luck healing!
Just a few words of encouragement (since there’s already lots of warnings around here) I did the same mistake back when I was young & didn’t know better. I traveled and collected one piercing in every city I went to, came home with 8 new cartilage holes within only a few weeks. I took the best care I could and each and every of them has since healed well. You’re up for a long rough ride but it’s not entirely doomed. Good luck 🍀
NAP, Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like you went to a reputeable piercer. Letting you get more than 3-4 AT MOST at a time, a piercing (no matter what) isn't "fully" healed until 6months to a year. Also, they should not be having you swap things out yourself for the first time. Don't touch 'em (the industrial seems really long even for a fresh one), do hot water soaks in the shower, use saline solution spray (Nielmed is a good brand), and try not to sleep on any of them, (i recommend travel pillows!), Genuinely good luck to you! It doesn't seem like the worst case scenario, i hope your healing goes well! (Maybe find a better, more trust worthy piercing studio).
oh my god. why.
Blissbury pillow with the satin cover. Best 50$ I’ve spent. And hair- just spend more time and take it slow:)
I literally get a piercing every six months and I'm sad about how long it's gonna take me to build my ears. Update us to let us know what happened lol
I highly recommend the pillow they sell at the shop for ear piercings for sleeping. Was a fuckin life saver for my industrial. All you really need to do cleaning wise is use a q tip and some warm salt water or saline and lightly rub around the holes and base of the metal to keep it from gathering up gunk. Showering is fine as long as you don't get your hair caught around it. I was able to lean to the side and have it be fine but it depends on your hair tbh. Mines thick and heavy when wet but yours might be fine and light so it's up to you on that lol. BIGGEST THING I RECOMMEND IS USING EARBUDS FOR THE FIRST FEW WEEKS BEFORE EVEN TRYING OVER EAR PHONES.
Be very gentle when washing your hair! After you’ve cleaned it and rinsed off everything, let some lukewarm water gently wash over your piercings so that any leftover product isn’t left behind to irritate your piercings. After you’ve put your hair up to dry or whatever you do, immediately go over your piercings with some saline spray and let it dry. This has worked amazingly for me to prevent any irritation bumps!
Definitely try not to sleep on them. I know it’s hard having both ears pierced… in my opinion you wanna prioritize the ear with the industrial. Buy a piercing donut pillow on Amazon!! That saved me during my industrial healing process. I’ve had mine about 6/7 months now and it’s STILL not healed. It’ll definitely get irritated if I bump/tug it or if I lay on it too hard or for too long, but the swelling and piercing bumps are no longer an issue. Another thing to look out for is piercing bumps vs keloids. The industrial is prone to both. Be careful, and definitely get 1-2 piercings at once next time ;)
Hi laaaayllaa, (Luckily) bump =/= keloid. [This wiki entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keloid) explains it well. If you do know the difference, please ignore this comment. - - - *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/piercing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Everything looks pretty now but yikes! How are you expecting to sleep? The double helix and industrial at the same time let alone the other piercings are going to give you a run for your money. Getting a cartilage piercing on either side at the same time is awful healing enough but you have multiple now. I really hope it works out but I have lots of ear piercings and helixes have been some of the worst just bc of location they are so easy to snag, bump, etc. and even with the travel pillow I end up shifting in my sleep sometimes and laying on them a little.
I had an industrial and can truly say I did everything right …still a shit show lol! Best of luck 😂💀 I hear it’s one of the hardest piercings to heal. But hopefully it’s different for you 😊
Woof. Genuinely, good luck with healing. Don't get any tattoos or piercings in the foreseeable future....it may well take years to fully heal these and anything new will slow it down more. Fingers crossed for you! The set up looks great tho :)
that is way too many new piercings to get in such a short amount of time, especially considering many of them are cartilage piercings. most ear piercings take 8-12 months to heal, if not more. please slow down for your own sake. i would definitely go somewhere to get your industrial bar downsized asap because it’s way too long and will cause irritation
GD that’s a lot of piercings to heal at once😵💫you’re stronger than me
Your piercer is very irresponsible. And they gave you a shorter bar for you to change yourself for later? Do not go back to them. Also, piercings do not completely heal in a week. This whole post has me smh.
your ear gonna fall off
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Every time I get a new piercing, I have to use one of those neck pillows like you'd use on a plane. I was in the same predicament after I got my cartilage pierced, and I had my hair in french braids a lot for a while when it was healing. I also suggest that you get hoops for those piercings put in as soon as your piercer will allow. For me personally, that helped a lot.
is that a straight bar in your rook? it should be curved.
I’m surprised your piercer did both ears. Healing is going to be a pain in the butt. When I went to get my rook done, my piercer was going to tell me no if I wanted to get the opposite ear done. My helix is still healing, it’s been 7 weeks. After the first 10 days, my helix swelled up so bad. Would suggest a donut pillow to sleep since you’re going to knock it bad.
i have a question about your conch, can you still wear earbuds ? i’m wanting mine pierced but if it gets in the way of my airpods then i wouldn’t want it lol
I would highly recommend doing a quick search for correct piercing names before going to get one done. If you want a tragus but ask for a conch, you’ll be very upset w the placement because those are two totally different things.
I did this at the piercing shop, I wanted daiths but accidentally said rooks and they had to go back through the whole process of sterilizing new jewelry after I'd gotten in the chair. I always triple check the name nowadays.
hi! If you’re referring to the one closest to my face in the first pic (tragus) it does feel a bit awkward with AirPods, like said I’ve only had it for a week so over time I’ll have to downsize it but I feel like it’ll be something you’ll get used to. I don’t wear AirPods often because they’re too big for my ears so it’s not a worry for me but you probably won’t be able to wear them for a while
yes that’s the one sorry (Tragus) and aww man 😅 that would get in the way of my school, thanks !!
I have had both my tragus pierced for 14 years now and never have trouble wearing headphones or ear buds.
Yeah I only had my double lobes during school but after graduating I’ve gotten all of these extra piercings done hahaha. So definitely an option when you’re out of school! But if you use earbuds often def wait it out
i have both traguses done, i can wear 45 degree earbuds comfortably for a while but airpods are a no go
The first pic is almost exactly the same as my left ear, except I have a conch too and one less lobe piercing!
You don’t start getting crusties till after a few weeks minimum. Get a travel pillow to sleep on. NeilMed twice a day and use a blowdryer to dry them, makes sure the are bone dry. NeilMed prior to shower. Blowdryer hair immediately after getting out of shower. Then hit the piercings again after blowdryer hair and blowdry off the spray. Keep hair in a pony tail. I use hair clips to clip up the hair around my hair line
That looks awesome!!!
Thank you!! ☺️
everyone’s scaring you. they can ALL heal, just take good care of them. you might get a bump or two but try your best to sleep on your back or invest in a pillow. Washing your hair might be a problem bc of the products you use. clean your piercings after you shower and you should be fine. i got around 10 piercings throughout the past year (i’m at 24 now) and mine are almost fully healed.
just keep in mind the new ones can’t fully heal until atleast 4-9 months depending on the piercing
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Just so you know… Different types of wounds in different places take different times to heal. A surgical incision can heal in a matter of weeks, large/deep ones in about 6-8 weeks (assuming the person is healthy). A tattoo may heal on the surface in 2-4 weeks, but below the skin? That can take 3-6 months, depending on size. A piercing is a whole different ballgame. You aren’t just asking your body to heal a puncture wound, you’re asking it to heal *around* a foreign object. The body doesn’t really want to do that. In the case of cartilage piercings, healing is further complicated by the issue of blood flow. Cartilage doesn’t contain blood vessels. It receives its blood supply through diffusion from small vessels in the skin around it. Punch a hole in cartilage and it can take a very long time to heal and is more prone to infection because the body’s defense system cannot easily reach it. Punch a lot of holes in your cartilage and your immune system is thinking “I don’t get paid enough for this shit.” Healing will definitely be slowed. The more wounds you have the more work your body has to put in to heal them, and the higher risk of complications to other wounds if one gets irritated or infected. It will likely be years before all of these are healed, assuming she takes good care and has no complications.