The Student Room Group

Ear piercings not healed after 13 weeks!

I got my ears pierced at claires and followed all the aftercare and cleaned them twice a day and twisted them etc. I took them out at 6 weeks but they didn't look completely healed but now its been 13 weeks and they still aren't. It is my second ear lobe piercing and my other ones healed up fine despite being done at a hairdressers that didn't really do it properly (didn't even wash thier hands properly!!!!). Is it possible they are infected??? They don't really look like it though? Should i go to a doctor or go back to claires??? Is there anyway of making them heal quicker?? Also im pretty sure im not allergic to the metal as they were fine for the first few weeks! thanks for any help! :smile:

Scroll to see replies

What do you mean that they haven't healed properly? Are they sore/blistered?
Reply 2
Yeah what do you mean exactly and you really should of gone to a professional studio! lol
Firstly, you're a dumbass for going to Claire's for a piercing. Sorry, I had to get that out, couldn't hold onto it any longer.

Moving on... 6 weeks is only a very very rough estimate. It doesn't guarantee anything, and at 6 weeks I'd be extremely shocked if your piercing had fully healed in that time. 6 weeks is a ridiculous estimate given by people who work at Claire's accessories, who don't know any better.

Piercing guns are ******** and should not be used for any piercing at all. There is risk of transmitting infections like HIV and Hepatitis from these piercing guns, so DON'T GET PIERCED WITH A GUN. The "jewellery" supplied with these guns are NOT SUITABLE for a fresh piercing, as they are too blunt, too short and a lower grade metal (gold contains a lot of nickel, which irritates a hell of a lot of people).

I advise you to find yourself a decent piercing studio - they usually come attached to Tattoo parlours, so it's not hard to find them. Ask them to change the jewellery into something more suitable, for example a titanium BCR or barbell and just to check everything's in order. In future, always always have piercings done with a sterile needle by a professional piercer - not some shop assistant in claire's-****ing-accessories.
Reply 4
Hah. Mine didn't heal (i.e. they didn't stop getting infected/closing up every time I took them out) for a good year and a half, despite having them done in a professional studio and following the recommended aftercare. I think, sometimes, it's just down to bad luck :s-smilie:
emilyyy
Hah. Mine didn't heal (i.e. they didn't stop getting infected/closing up every time I took them out) for a good year and a half, despite having them done in a professional studio and following the recommended aftercare. I think, sometimes, it's just down to bad luck :s-smilie:
Everyone's different, that's the point. Most piercings take 6 months or more to be fully healed so that they don't close up after a few minutes - and that's if they heal without any irritation/bother.

(I think it's extremely short sighted to think that a hole in your body will be fully healed in 6 weeks.)
Ilora-Danon
Firstly, you're a dumbass for going to Claire's for a piercing. Sorry, I had to get that out, couldn't hold onto it any longer.

Moving on... 6 weeks is only a very very rough estimate. It doesn't guarantee anything, and at 6 weeks I'd be extremely shocked if your piercing had fully healed in that time. 6 weeks is a ridiculous estimate given by people who work at Claire's accessories, who don't know any better.

Piercing guns are ******** and should not be used for any piercing at all. There is risk of transmitting infections like HIV and Hepatitis from these piercing guns, so DON'T GET PIERCED WITH A GUN. The "jewellery" supplied with these guns are NOT SUITABLE for a fresh piercing, as they are too blunt, too short and a lower grade metal (gold contains a lot of nickel, which irritates a hell of a lot of people).

I advise you to find yourself a decent piercing studio - they usually come attached to Tattoo parlours, so it's not hard to find them. Ask them to change the jewellery into something more suitable, for example a titanium BCR or barbell and just to check everything's in order. In future, always always have piercings done with a sterile needle by a professional piercer - not some shop assistant in claire's-****ing-accessories.


thanks ilora, now everyone on TSR who had their ears peirced with a gun are going to be worrying!! :rolleyes:

OP. Mine got infected, about a month in, but I had mine done at a beauty salon kinda place, and they were really good cos they took a look at my ears and gave me extra ear wash solution :smile:
You could be allergic to whatever your studs are made of.
Reply 8
jenny28
I got my ears pierced at claires and followed all the aftercare and cleaned them twice a day and twisted them etc. I took them out at 6 weeks but they didn't look completely healed but now its been 13 weeks and they still aren't. It is my second ear lobe piercing and my other ones healed up fine despite being done at a hairdressers that didn't really do it properly (didn't even wash thier hands properly!!!!). Is it possible they are infected??? They don't really look like it though? Should i go to a doctor or go back to claires??? Is there anyway of making them heal quicker?? Also im pretty sure im not allergic to the metal as they were fine for the first few weeks! thanks for any help! :smile:


I got both my ear piercings from Claires and they healed fine, but it did take longer then 6 weeks. Also i didnt use that stuff that they give you clean them with. I used TCP, it stings but works.
rainbowbex
thanks ilora, now everyone on TSR who had their ears peirced with a gun are going to be worrying!! :rolleyes:

OP. Mine got infected, about a month in, but I had mine done at a beauty salon kinda place, and they were really good cos they took a look at my ears and gave me extra ear wash solution :smile:


Well it's true. Guns are dangerous and the more people that know not to get a piercing done with a gun the better.
Reply 10
mine didnt heal properly either...and they were 2nd ear piercings put some neosporin ointment.. or any other such ointment..they'll dry up and heal in a day make sure you keep some earings in though or the holes will close and apply the oitment 2/3 times a day
Reply 11
Piercing with a gun is worse, as they don't always line the gun up correctly, and they can go wonky (I should know, my first set of holes went wonky, and now I have scar tissue in front of my newer pierced holes)

Six weeks is an estimate. It can take up to six months, and I was told NOT to twist mine, just to check the backs and make sure they weren't getting mankified. If the holes stay open, I'd suggest changing them for titanium or silver, as you're less likely to be allergic to either, then see how it goes. If they still look funny, I'd go to a pro piercer and see what they say a few weeks after.
rainbowbex
thanks ilora, now everyone on TSR who had their ears peirced with a gun are going to be worrying!! :rolleyes:
So, you'd rather bury your head in the sand and think 'oh it'll never happen to me', would you? Honestly, some people these days. :rolleyes:
Ilora-Danon
So, you'd rather bury your head in the sand and think 'oh it'll never happen to me', would you? Honestly, some people these days. :rolleyes:



Nope, I already had mine done, year ago with a gun...

and nope, I'm not the "oh it'll never happen to me" type I'm the "OMG I HAD MY EARS PEIRCED WITH A GUN I'M GONNA GET AIDS AND DIE" type. J/k.. I was just point out you'll get people read that and think that.

EDIT: Just Googled it. Thats actually very interesting I didn't know that, thanks for the heads up.
1-never ever get your ears pierced with a gun, it's like a death penalty for you piercing in most cases (there are exceptions, though, but they are rare, most people with gunned piercings will have problems sooner or later)

2-don't twist the earrings, that hurts the freshly forming skin. You should touch it as little as possible and clean it max once a day.

My advice for you now would be to take the jewelry out, let the holes heal for a few months, massage the scar tissue with emu oil or some other oil for the scar tissue to soften, then get them re-pierced by a proper piercer at a real piercing studio with a needle and stainless steel or titanium jewelry.

Edit: clean them while they are healing, you don't want anything getting trapped in the hole.
Mangaartist
My advice for you now would be to take the jewelry out, let the holes heal for a few months, massage the scar tissue with emu oil or some other oil for the scar tissue to soften, then get them re-pierced by a proper piercer at a real piercing studio with a needle and stainless steel or titanium jewelry.
While agree with your other points, I have to say I disgree with your advice about taking them out.

If there's no sign of infection, then there's no point letting them close up with the intention of having them re-pierced later on.
Having them re-pierced at a later stage will only add to the scar tissue, so unless there's a real problem (which, there doesn't seem to be) then she'd be better off changing the jewellery and keep them open with the correct jewellery and letting them heal fully.
Ilora-Danon
While agree with your other points, I have to say I disgree with your advice about taking them out.

If there's no sign of infection, then there's no point letting them close up with the intention of having them re-pierced later on.
Having them re-pierced at a later stage will only add to the scar tissue, so unless there's a real problem (which, there doesn't seem to be) then she'd be better off changing the jewellery and keep them open with the correct jewellery and letting them heal fully.


True, I somehow got the impression that they were possibly infected and/or really swollen but re-reading the post it does seem like they are just irritated. Thanks for pointing that out.
Reply 17
thanks everyone, i thought claires would be better than the place i got the first ones done, also my friends had always been fine going there! I will try some of your suggestions and hope it gets better over the next couple of weeks!
I find any of my holes other than the first (got 4 holes) can flare up at any given time and I've had all of them done over a long period of time (maybe about 5 years). I've been wearing exactly the same earrings in the same holes for 3 months now and they've actually not been flaring up at all. The guy who did mine decently said it can help if you wear earrings with the same thickness in certain holes otherwise they will get irritated.
Im having the same problem i had my first piercings done at Claire's they healed fine but these ones keep bleeding and i have to keep them in at school even thought we aren't allowed to wear earrings because i don't want them to close up. My friend told me clean them with the solution if you still have it and if they have scabbed dont twist them and try to keep your hair from going under the back of the earrings. A scab on your is just like any other one if you don't pick it or knick it off it will heal so just leave your ears and if your going to clean them use the solution or salt water. Also everyone commenting talking about going some where else to get them done hardly helps when they have already been done also claites have to sterilise the gun and the earrings before piercings also people saying a needle is better there is the same amount of chance the needles can pass on any diseases or infections as the gun can.

Quick Reply

Latest