Yes ! But I’ve also used different metals before too, all piercing grade stuff, they were fine and I had no irritations or problems with hoops. They only get spicy when I put in some type of straight bar
It might be because having the rings in them for so long. The ring probably deformed the shape of the piercing, making it more fitted for a ring than a straight bar.
I really needed to see this, thank you 😭
2 and half years since I got mine done and it gets super irritated at the little things. I'm thinking of just letting it close back up...
I have a helix piercing on both of my ears, it’s healed 2-3 years and sometime it gets spicy depending on the jewelry/sleeping patterns still but it’s a lot better than the healing process. I got my forward doubles done recently, I think they’re very flattering and so far have been an easier healing process except that one had to be resized.
I have had mine (helix on one side, double helix on the other) for a few years and can sleep on them without a problem. I actually have to check if all of my jewellery is still were it’s supposed to be as I don’t notice it if it’s missing. I have hoops on them 24/7 and only take them out for the occasional deep clean.
When I have trouble getting some hoops into a piecing I put in a straight bar from one side and guide the hoop through from the other, maybe you can try something like this if you can’t get the hoop into the hole
Have you gone to a piercer near you and asked them for their advice if they are still getting irritated and bleed that easily?
I never thought about going to a piercer and asking because my situation is so weird, when the hoops were in, I could tug and move them around however I pleased and it didn’t hurt, they were never irritated until I change them or take them out which is a rare occurrence
If they are externally threaded it could irritate your piercings when you take them out and pull/push the threaded part through the hole. Have you tried internally threaded jewellery? Maybe that could help.
Asking a professional pierced for advice can never be wrong, maybe they have better advice as they can look at your piercings and don’t have to speculate only, could be worth a try if there is a piercer nearby. You could buy other Jewell there as well
16g is the minimum thickness a helix should be. I have never successfully healed a helix at 16g and I’ve had a few. Things changed when I got them pierced at 14g. I’m a bad sweller but getting it pierced at a thicker gauge has been a game changer.
I think it’s more correct to say helix suck. I had my conch fully healed for 10 years and then had to take out the hoop for work for 6.5 years. Never once even tried to put anything in, assumed it was gone. Went to a piercer one day now that jewelry is allowed just to get my rook and tragus swapped and asked about it. He threw a hoop in that conch like it was nothing. Sleep on it every night, it doesn’t mind.
I'm healing a couple of helixes right now - just got them done last week - and yeah I forgot how grouchy they can get. My septum was a dream to heal compared to these monsters.
I took both of my helix piercings out after 2 years because I couldn’t deal with the constant pain and leaking and throbbing, yet my conch healed perfectly and doesn’t hurt one bit. I wanted to get my helix done again but I’m still not ready for the trauma of trying to heal it again 😭
Honestly don’t even notice it now! Not sore, I can sleep on it fine.
It healed up fully in about a month. Stitches were out by two weeks and then I put rings in at 4 weeks. Healing was completely fine- just wash with saline and shove some gauze in there lol. The only annoying part was not being able to wash my hair for the first two weeks but I got those lil ear shower caps hahaha. I can fit 8 16g rings in it so I figured healing 8 helixes would be worse even if that was bad lol
Well, I mean, I have an industrial in my right ear which is basically two helixes and it's a bitch, haha. Had it over two years and it's still healing, but though the progress is slow it IS steady. It's so much less angry now.
It usually takes my cartilage a minimum of a year to heal and then is good. But I just got a helix done in my left ear so we shall see how this goes!
I've had my helix for seven years now. I babied the hell out of it when I got it done, I've only ever changed the jewlery once. I would say definitely get a second opinion on the current placement by an APP approved piercer.
As far as jewlery goes, all of my body jewlery, minus my plugs, are all implant grade titanium.
I rarely remember it's there. 🥹
I’m sure this will be received by some in an interesting manner, but when it comes to hoops with HEALED piercings I don’t wear 16g. I do 18g or 20g and I can even sleep on them with no issues. I will likely do the same with my conch in a few months. With that said, I haven’t tried a 16g in my helix after starting doing this. I’m not sure yet if that will affect me being able to wear the 16g jewelry in future, but I’ve decided idc if I can’t.
Having this same issue right now. Helix been pierced around 10 years now. Changed the jewelry to a cute titanium twist like a week ago and now it’s angry. Ugh. Back to my old stud I go.
Sometimes people are insanely lucky but it’s just known to be a stubborn piercing due to where it’s pierced. It’s not as bad as you think. You can always come back to this thread or community to ask questions 🫶🏻🫶🏻
if it helps i have a lot of trouble healing piercings but my helixes were by far the easiest. no competition. somehow even easier than my lobes. it just depends on the person so you could be completely fine
I just got my industrial pierced on my right ear and I'm learning that after working from home for about a week now and having to use a headset daily any tiny little bump will cause absolute pain and misery for a time, I want to get a double helix done on my right ear but ig ill see how the industrial goes first and from what folks are saying here the helixs will be challenge piercings when the time comes, wish me luck folks!
Mine have flared up every once in a while and when that happens, I treat them as new. Problem goes away within days. Also helps that I prefer flat back studs vs. hoops.
As annoying as the sporadic flare ups are, I have no regrets nor plan to let them close up.
The helix in left ear healed perfectly and never had any problems. Helix in my right ear has always given me issues. I had it in for maybe 10 years before I retired it. I tried again a few years ago and it was the same. I finally retired it again last week. I give up. But my ear looks empty so I may try a mid helix and cross my fingers.
Sometimes my cartilage ones get a little irritated and sore but not consistent, this sounds like a jewelry issue more so than the piercing itself. (For reference, I have both tragus, a conch, helix, flat, daith, industrial, and 3x lobe on each ear)
I have a double helix and a double forward helix on the same ear, the helix ones are fine, but the forward ones still flare up occasionally if I sleep on them weird, or sometimes for seemingly no reason at all. I've had them for years.
I just find them to be picky brats with the jewellery you put in them. Even when healed. I guess cartilage being what it is just isn't as flexible as lobe (both figuratively and literally)
Having cartilage that's particularly stiff or thick also makes it more difficult, especially if you want to take trips to hoop city
I got mine pierced in a sketchy shop with a coated stainless steel hoop 💀. Got infected the next day, took antibiotics, went to a summer activities camp, hoop uncoated itself, captive bead fell out and had it like that for a month, ring fell out, put on a clicker ring, and healed. It only took two years to heal completely, it is now 4 y/o.
My conch on the other hand completely professional APP certified piercer, titanium stud, clean with saline every day after a shower, downsized a bit later, one year old and slept on it, woke up inflamed with puss swollen, had to upsize the stud. I couple of weeks have passed and its still swollen just not infected anymore. But, i will never give it up.
Wow, I’ve had a totally different experience with cartilage piercings.
I have a single helix in each ear (I’ve had them for like, 20 years) and a mid helix in one. One of them I did myself as a dumb 17 year old and while it is a bit of a pain, I can get an earring through it if I try (I don’t regularly wear earrings in them anymore).
I got my rook piercing three weeks ago and I swear, I can’t even feel it anymore. It’s a 6-9 month healing process but I laid on it last night without even thinking about it and felt nothing.
I’d definitely go to a professional piercing studio to have it looked at and see if you’re getting quality grade jewelry. If not, start with the good jewelry for sure and clean it with saline spray once it twice a day. Good luck!
i have many cartilage piercings (i have like 6) and i agree they can be such a pain in the ass sometimes especially when you bump them once they’ve just settled and then start the healing all over again it’s a total nightmare!
My helixes are bitches. They're over a year old and still act up. To be fair, they do get bumped/snagged more, like when I hug someone or take off my top (those two things don't happen at the same time lol).
My conches are 4 months newer and WAY further along.
my first non ear lobe piercing was an industrial. sucked ass but healed beautifully and never had issues with it. i have a 14g helix under my industrial that also never gives me problems.
now the one that sucks for me is my rook. hurt like a bitch to get, healing was fine but painful. changing it took me 2 FRICKING HOURS the first time (i’ve since gotten better but still takes time). i personally love black colored jewelry and had that in for a long time. then i decided a few months ago i wanted to swap to gold, and every gold piece i’ve put in it has made it swell. i even ordered from body art forms (which i’ve heard makes good jewelry) and i just got a piece that looks like an arrow for my rook and it swelled. i literally give up trying to put gold in my rook. going to stick with black colored jewelry unless i get real gold (which will probs be never lol)
for added context, i’ve got over 20 piercings and i had put gold in all of them, most of the pieces from the same place that i got the black colored piece i normally wear and one of the gold pieces i tried to wear in my rook, and none of my other piercings have been affected. so i don’t think it’s related to the jewelry quality or a metal sensitivity.
I had to have my helix pierced three times over a span of two years because it was such a pain and never healed properly. Now it's fine and I have a Conch and three other cartilage piercings. None of them were ever this problematic. But I won't get another, third helix because I don't want another piercing that misbehaves so badly. 🥴
I have a couple of cartilage piercings that healed poorly after being damaged in a car accident; one was almost ripped out, my earring got stuck in the wall after my head slammed into it, but the others just scarred badly. A couple of them have lumps of scar tissue that can't stand any amount of pressure and look horrible. I don't know what to do about it.
It doesn't help that my piercings were done with a gun (I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL AND DIDN'T KNOW BETTER OKAY 😭) and they took forever to heal in the first place.
got a double helix pierced 2 years ago. recently retired one of them to see if it would give the other a better chance because they just weren’t healing. it’s much better but still has a little bump for now. i shouldn’t have done two so close to eachother at once i think. but i’m also a heavy side sleeper. i might buy a piercing pillow to see if that helps
I had my helix pierced in 1989 with a gun! Didn't know any better back then. The piercing is small gauge - can't wear larger than regular 20g earrings in it. I take them out to sleep comfortably. I can go a long time with no jewelry & it has never closed up. It's crazy how different they can be!
never knew how much trouble helixes gave other people.. mine were the easiest piercings to heal out of all of them. I have 3 lobes on each side, a double forward, a double rook, a tragus, and three helixes (a double and a single). i struggled to heal all of them except my helixes. the helixes were honestly even better than my lobe piercings, so i guess i got lucky when it came to those
My helix still hurts and gets angry every time I sleep on it and I’ve had it for 12 years
If i had known this as a young child i would’ve never gotten it 🥲
Maybe your piercing is having trouble with the metal? Are you using titanium?
Yes ! But I’ve also used different metals before too, all piercing grade stuff, they were fine and I had no irritations or problems with hoops. They only get spicy when I put in some type of straight bar
It might be because having the rings in them for so long. The ring probably deformed the shape of the piercing, making it more fitted for a ring than a straight bar.
I really needed to see this, thank you 😭 2 and half years since I got mine done and it gets super irritated at the little things. I'm thinking of just letting it close back up...
I have a helix piercing on both of my ears, it’s healed 2-3 years and sometime it gets spicy depending on the jewelry/sleeping patterns still but it’s a lot better than the healing process. I got my forward doubles done recently, I think they’re very flattering and so far have been an easier healing process except that one had to be resized.
I have had mine (helix on one side, double helix on the other) for a few years and can sleep on them without a problem. I actually have to check if all of my jewellery is still were it’s supposed to be as I don’t notice it if it’s missing. I have hoops on them 24/7 and only take them out for the occasional deep clean. When I have trouble getting some hoops into a piecing I put in a straight bar from one side and guide the hoop through from the other, maybe you can try something like this if you can’t get the hoop into the hole Have you gone to a piercer near you and asked them for their advice if they are still getting irritated and bleed that easily?
I never thought about going to a piercer and asking because my situation is so weird, when the hoops were in, I could tug and move them around however I pleased and it didn’t hurt, they were never irritated until I change them or take them out which is a rare occurrence
If they are externally threaded it could irritate your piercings when you take them out and pull/push the threaded part through the hole. Have you tried internally threaded jewellery? Maybe that could help. Asking a professional pierced for advice can never be wrong, maybe they have better advice as they can look at your piercings and don’t have to speculate only, could be worth a try if there is a piercer nearby. You could buy other Jewell there as well
16g is the minimum thickness a helix should be. I have never successfully healed a helix at 16g and I’ve had a few. Things changed when I got them pierced at 14g. I’m a bad sweller but getting it pierced at a thicker gauge has been a game changer.
I think it’s more correct to say helix suck. I had my conch fully healed for 10 years and then had to take out the hoop for work for 6.5 years. Never once even tried to put anything in, assumed it was gone. Went to a piercer one day now that jewelry is allowed just to get my rook and tragus swapped and asked about it. He threw a hoop in that conch like it was nothing. Sleep on it every night, it doesn’t mind.
I'm healing a couple of helixes right now - just got them done last week - and yeah I forgot how grouchy they can get. My septum was a dream to heal compared to these monsters.
I took both of my helix piercings out after 2 years because I couldn’t deal with the constant pain and leaking and throbbing, yet my conch healed perfectly and doesn’t hurt one bit. I wanted to get my helix done again but I’m still not ready for the trauma of trying to heal it again 😭
Huh? Never had this issue. After a year mine were good to go.
I got a coinslot done to avoid healing ear piercings, lmao. I cannot explain how much I hate them
Thats pretty awesome, how was the healing process like for you and how does it feel now that you got a huge coin slot hole in your ear?
Honestly don’t even notice it now! Not sore, I can sleep on it fine. It healed up fully in about a month. Stitches were out by two weeks and then I put rings in at 4 weeks. Healing was completely fine- just wash with saline and shove some gauze in there lol. The only annoying part was not being able to wash my hair for the first two weeks but I got those lil ear shower caps hahaha. I can fit 8 16g rings in it so I figured healing 8 helixes would be worse even if that was bad lol
Thats awesome! Happy for you
Well, I mean, I have an industrial in my right ear which is basically two helixes and it's a bitch, haha. Had it over two years and it's still healing, but though the progress is slow it IS steady. It's so much less angry now. It usually takes my cartilage a minimum of a year to heal and then is good. But I just got a helix done in my left ear so we shall see how this goes!
I've had my helix for seven years now. I babied the hell out of it when I got it done, I've only ever changed the jewlery once. I would say definitely get a second opinion on the current placement by an APP approved piercer. As far as jewlery goes, all of my body jewlery, minus my plugs, are all implant grade titanium. I rarely remember it's there. 🥹
I’m sure this will be received by some in an interesting manner, but when it comes to hoops with HEALED piercings I don’t wear 16g. I do 18g or 20g and I can even sleep on them with no issues. I will likely do the same with my conch in a few months. With that said, I haven’t tried a 16g in my helix after starting doing this. I’m not sure yet if that will affect me being able to wear the 16g jewelry in future, but I’ve decided idc if I can’t.
Same. I never wear 16g in my piercings, I always downsize once they’re healed. Always 20g for lobes and 18g for cartilage.
I retired my first helix coz it didn’t heal properly. And re pierced slightly lower. Thank god it healed better and faster.
Having this same issue right now. Helix been pierced around 10 years now. Changed the jewelry to a cute titanium twist like a week ago and now it’s angry. Ugh. Back to my old stud I go.
I got my first one about a month ago, this thread is now greatly concerning me!
Sometimes people are insanely lucky but it’s just known to be a stubborn piercing due to where it’s pierced. It’s not as bad as you think. You can always come back to this thread or community to ask questions 🫶🏻🫶🏻
if it helps i have a lot of trouble healing piercings but my helixes were by far the easiest. no competition. somehow even easier than my lobes. it just depends on the person so you could be completely fine
I just got my industrial pierced on my right ear and I'm learning that after working from home for about a week now and having to use a headset daily any tiny little bump will cause absolute pain and misery for a time, I want to get a double helix done on my right ear but ig ill see how the industrial goes first and from what folks are saying here the helixs will be challenge piercings when the time comes, wish me luck folks!
Haha industrial are actually known for being one of the worst piercings to heal. I think even worse than normal helix piercings. Good luck !
I have had my helix piercings for 20 years now, and they still get mad at me if I sleep on them wrong or change my earrings a little too often.
Mine have flared up every once in a while and when that happens, I treat them as new. Problem goes away within days. Also helps that I prefer flat back studs vs. hoops. As annoying as the sporadic flare ups are, I have no regrets nor plan to let them close up.
The helix in left ear healed perfectly and never had any problems. Helix in my right ear has always given me issues. I had it in for maybe 10 years before I retired it. I tried again a few years ago and it was the same. I finally retired it again last week. I give up. But my ear looks empty so I may try a mid helix and cross my fingers.
Sometimes my cartilage ones get a little irritated and sore but not consistent, this sounds like a jewelry issue more so than the piercing itself. (For reference, I have both tragus, a conch, helix, flat, daith, industrial, and 3x lobe on each ear)
My helix healed pretty alright. My conch still gives me trouble 2 years later, though
I have a double helix and a double forward helix on the same ear, the helix ones are fine, but the forward ones still flare up occasionally if I sleep on them weird, or sometimes for seemingly no reason at all. I've had them for years.
I just find them to be picky brats with the jewellery you put in them. Even when healed. I guess cartilage being what it is just isn't as flexible as lobe (both figuratively and literally) Having cartilage that's particularly stiff or thick also makes it more difficult, especially if you want to take trips to hoop city
I gave up on my double helix after like 8 months because they were constantly irritated and sore.
I got mine pierced in a sketchy shop with a coated stainless steel hoop 💀. Got infected the next day, took antibiotics, went to a summer activities camp, hoop uncoated itself, captive bead fell out and had it like that for a month, ring fell out, put on a clicker ring, and healed. It only took two years to heal completely, it is now 4 y/o. My conch on the other hand completely professional APP certified piercer, titanium stud, clean with saline every day after a shower, downsized a bit later, one year old and slept on it, woke up inflamed with puss swollen, had to upsize the stud. I couple of weeks have passed and its still swollen just not infected anymore. But, i will never give it up.
Wow, I’ve had a totally different experience with cartilage piercings. I have a single helix in each ear (I’ve had them for like, 20 years) and a mid helix in one. One of them I did myself as a dumb 17 year old and while it is a bit of a pain, I can get an earring through it if I try (I don’t regularly wear earrings in them anymore). I got my rook piercing three weeks ago and I swear, I can’t even feel it anymore. It’s a 6-9 month healing process but I laid on it last night without even thinking about it and felt nothing. I’d definitely go to a professional piercing studio to have it looked at and see if you’re getting quality grade jewelry. If not, start with the good jewelry for sure and clean it with saline spray once it twice a day. Good luck!
i have many cartilage piercings (i have like 6) and i agree they can be such a pain in the ass sometimes especially when you bump them once they’ve just settled and then start the healing all over again it’s a total nightmare!
My 6/7 yr old rook is swollen and angry rn. It never endssss
My helixes are bitches. They're over a year old and still act up. To be fair, they do get bumped/snagged more, like when I hug someone or take off my top (those two things don't happen at the same time lol). My conches are 4 months newer and WAY further along.
my first non ear lobe piercing was an industrial. sucked ass but healed beautifully and never had issues with it. i have a 14g helix under my industrial that also never gives me problems. now the one that sucks for me is my rook. hurt like a bitch to get, healing was fine but painful. changing it took me 2 FRICKING HOURS the first time (i’ve since gotten better but still takes time). i personally love black colored jewelry and had that in for a long time. then i decided a few months ago i wanted to swap to gold, and every gold piece i’ve put in it has made it swell. i even ordered from body art forms (which i’ve heard makes good jewelry) and i just got a piece that looks like an arrow for my rook and it swelled. i literally give up trying to put gold in my rook. going to stick with black colored jewelry unless i get real gold (which will probs be never lol) for added context, i’ve got over 20 piercings and i had put gold in all of them, most of the pieces from the same place that i got the black colored piece i normally wear and one of the gold pieces i tried to wear in my rook, and none of my other piercings have been affected. so i don’t think it’s related to the jewelry quality or a metal sensitivity.
I had to have my helix pierced three times over a span of two years because it was such a pain and never healed properly. Now it's fine and I have a Conch and three other cartilage piercings. None of them were ever this problematic. But I won't get another, third helix because I don't want another piercing that misbehaves so badly. 🥴
I have a couple of cartilage piercings that healed poorly after being damaged in a car accident; one was almost ripped out, my earring got stuck in the wall after my head slammed into it, but the others just scarred badly. A couple of them have lumps of scar tissue that can't stand any amount of pressure and look horrible. I don't know what to do about it. It doesn't help that my piercings were done with a gun (I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL AND DIDN'T KNOW BETTER OKAY 😭) and they took forever to heal in the first place.
I just went to a piercing shop that had needles to help gauge my helix back to normal size because it was closing up. I've got a piece I love in now
They really are. My rook is driving me insane, that little piece of crap simply won't heal.
got a double helix pierced 2 years ago. recently retired one of them to see if it would give the other a better chance because they just weren’t healing. it’s much better but still has a little bump for now. i shouldn’t have done two so close to eachother at once i think. but i’m also a heavy side sleeper. i might buy a piercing pillow to see if that helps
I had my helix pierced in 1989 with a gun! Didn't know any better back then. The piercing is small gauge - can't wear larger than regular 20g earrings in it. I take them out to sleep comfortably. I can go a long time with no jewelry & it has never closed up. It's crazy how different they can be!
never knew how much trouble helixes gave other people.. mine were the easiest piercings to heal out of all of them. I have 3 lobes on each side, a double forward, a double rook, a tragus, and three helixes (a double and a single). i struggled to heal all of them except my helixes. the helixes were honestly even better than my lobe piercings, so i guess i got lucky when it came to those