[ManchesterUnited7_]

hi i am a male ( not gay ) and am getting my ear pierced soon and have found a earring i really like however i heard you have to wait 6 weeks before you can put your own one in ?

is this true ?

[Naarim]

Ask when you get your ears pierced... 6 weeks does sound like a long time though. Oh and thanks for clarifying your sexuality.

[MutantGecko]

id wait a few days at least, but it should be fine to change at around 1 week as long as its not infected (this said, it will hurt and be tricky to get through at first, but it is possible)

you could just pierce it with the earring, two of my lobe piercings were just pushed through by a friend in high school.

[ManchesterUnited7_]

thanks both i will ask them and see what they recommend .. i thought 6 weeks was a long time though when someone told me

[fallenangel]

(Original post by ManchesterUnited7_)
thanks both i will ask them and see what they recommend .. i thought 6 weeks was a long time though when someone told me

"The reason why you cannot change your earring for 6 weeks is because the starter earring is thicker metal so that during the six weeks our skin will re-heal around this thicker earring and when we take our earring out after six weeks our pierced hole will be big enough (width) to accommodate any earring. Other wise if you change your earring before the six weeks is up the hole will shrink to the size of the earring you have put in and when you take that earring out to change it, it will shrink further causing pain to put another earring in as you may have to use force.

By thickness, referring to the piece of metal which is running through to earlobe, not the stud. I also recommend Silver or Gold earrings. Not because they look better, because they are better quality and your skin won't have an allergic reaction when exposed to these metals."

[ALazyThracian]

Why did you have to put (Not gay)?

4-6 weeks.

[ManchesterUnited7_]

(Original post by fallenangel)
"The reason why you cannot change your earring for 6 weeks is because the starter earring is thicker metal so that during the six weeks our skin will re-heal around this thicker earring and when we take our earring out after six weeks our pierced hole will be big enough (width) to accommodate any earring. Other wise if you change your earring before the six weeks is up the hole will shrink to the size of the earring you have put in and when you take that earring out to change it, it will shrink further causing pain to put another earring in as you may have to use force.

By thickness, referring to the piece of metal which is running through to earlobe, not the stud. I also recommend Silver or Gold earrings. Not because they look better, because they are better quality and your skin won't have an allergic reaction when exposed to these metals."

wow haha thanks for the info ... it all makes sense now

[ManchesterUnited7_]

(Original post by ALazyThracian)
Why did you have to put (Not gay)?

4-6 weeks.

some think only gays have their ear pierced .. ikr :L

[fallenangel]

(Original post by ManchesterUnited7_)
wow haha thanks for the info ... it all makes sense now

No worries

[Bubbles*de*Milo]

I've probably pierced ~500 ears.

You're meant to leave it in for 6 weeks. It's the healing period. Deal with it.

[ManchesterUnited7_]

(Original post by Bubbles*de*Milo)
I've probably pierced ~500 ears.

You're meant to leave it in for 6 weeks. It's the healing period. Deal with it.

damn thanks for info

[ALazyThracian]

(Original post by ManchesterUnited7_)
some think only gays have their ear pierced .. ikr :L

Even if you was or wasn't gay that would be irrelevant plus i think society has moved on by judging peoples sexuality by ear piercings.

Anyway, wait about 4-5 weeks to be safe.

[TheHyacinthGirl]

I wouldn't. If you really have to at least wait a couple of weeks and sterilise the new earring before you try.

[ABCDemily]

Any new jewellery placed within a lobe piercing should be fully autoclaved before use, lobe jewellery should optimally be left in for 3 months minimally to allow the fistula to stabilise and prepare for jewellery changes.

For the love of all things holy and safe, DO NOT go to somewhere that pierces with a gun:

-Guns aren't autoclaveable, meaning aerolized blood which may contain Hep C, HIV Virus etc IS STILL ON THE GUN
-Guns rip a hole through the flesh, which leads to traumatic crush injury of the healing tissue, lengthening the healing period.[
-Gun studs aren't adequately long enough to accommodate the swelling of the healing tissue.
-They aren't cleaned or sterilised in a medically recognised way. How would you like it if your surgeon cleaned his clamps with an alcohol swab before performing a procedure?

Seriously, read this, written by the governing body of body piercers: http://www.safepiercing.org/piercing/faq/#guns

Visit a professional and get it done with a needle. They will be able to advise you best on how to treat your piercing and jewellery changes.

I'm a professional piercer, trust me on this one. You only get one set of earlobes, don't screw about with them.

For more info, check my blog here: www.awfulmodifications.tumblr.com

[samyboo]

I've had 14 piercings in the last year and I've found that you can change them from pretty much after the swellings gone down but it's better to leave the bar/studs in for a couple of months. Saying that, I got one a year ago and it's still healing and swells quite a lot... all my lobe ones have healed fine in a couple of days and they've been done with guns (:

[ABCDemily]

(Original post by samyboo)
I've had 14 piercings in the last year and I've found that you can change them from pretty much after the swellings gone down but it's better to leave the bar/studs in for a couple of months. Saying that, I got one a year ago and it's still healing and swells quite a lot... all my lobe ones have healed fine in a couple of days and they've been done with guns (:

Unless you're Wolverine, that's physically impossible.

[samyboo]

Meaning the swelling had gone down and the pain went...

[ABCDemily]

Just because there's a lack of swelling and pain doesn't make it healed.

When referring to a piercing, healed is defined as: Totally free of any pain, swelling, lymph, blood, with a fistula stable enough to accommodate multiple jewellery changes with no discomfort or pain and having had none of these for at least a month.

Yours had 2/5. Not healed. Especially when classifying even a simple lobe piercing as healed, it still needs to have all of those checked off and a month of no incidents.

I've pierced more people than I care to recall as well as having over 30 piercings myself. Guns are NEVER okay.

[samyboo]

..... I was just saying my piercings have been fine from guns. Incidentely, all the one I've had done with needles have been the ones that have been problematic..

[ABCDemily]

I'd rather not run the risk of getting aerolised blood and other body fluids into mine or my customer's ears, but that's just me.

Lobes are easy healers. They have a high blood supply and are soft and supple-they respond to change well, which is why some experience no problems with piercing guns.

Cartilage and navel piercings, for example, have a much lower blood supply, meaning less lymph and tissue fluid, meaning healing is far slower, and can also cause complications such as swelling, cartilage distortion and hypertrophic scarring.

If you're concerned about a piercing, read the guides I've written, here and here.

A lot of the time, problematic piercings are caused by incorrect jewellery, poor aftercare and bad materials. Make sure your piercings all have titanium in them, are made of the jewellery that's anatomically correct for the position of the piercing, and that you know how to clean a piercing (ie, no twisting, no 'ear solution', no fiddling, no touching, clean only with salt water etc). A lot of the time, complications are caused by owner-error or ignorance, however some extraneous variables can be included, ie a hard knock or a rip causing hypertrophic scarring or hypergranulation tissue.