Thread: Just Got Ears Pierced - When do I Remove the Studs?

OK, don't judge! I just got my ears pierced for the first time, about two weeks ago. The love of bling finally triumphed over my low threshold for pain, and now I have two holes in my head.

My question is how do I know when it's time to take these ugly baby-studs out of my ears for the first time? Conventional wisdom seems to say 4-6 weeks, but the girl who pierced my ears said I could take them out as soon as 2 weeks.

What's the verdict? How do I know when I'm healed? And when can I start wearing bad-ass dangles?

Talk to me like I'm a fourth grader - because that's when most gals get their ears pierced, after all.

hmm they should've told u but when i got my second holes pierced along with my cartilage i waited 2 months..with thorough cleaning.
and ha, i got my ears pierced when i was like..2? lol that's how we bosnians roll. haha apparently i was screaming in pain like any other toddler would lol but when i was 14 i got 3 more and even watched them do it..i'm a big girl now ..l;,

Not two weeks! Mine are double pierced and 4-6 weeks worked both times! I was 13 when I got my first piercings, and even at that tender age, 3-4 weeks was the minimum. And even if you do take them out, you can't leave them open for very long until at least six months after piercing. Then you can go probably 12 hours without any earrings at all.

I don't know what they told you about cleaning them but back then they told me to use alcohol and both times they got slightly infected. So when I got my navel pierced, the guy told me to use antibacterial soap, because he said alcohol actually increases infection. The antibacterial soap worked like a charm and I had no problems at all.

Don't forget to rotate the earrings though. You could probably change them in about 4 weeks but put something else in them right away. Just as long as you have something in there.

Have fun with them! I have way too many earrings!

also to add, when i got my other 3 done, they gave me the stuff to clean it with..antibacterial stuff. never hurt me or gave me an infection and i replaced the earrings after 2 months and almost 6 years later i don't have any issues with it :)
i would suggest 2 months to be on the safe side..but maybe i'm playing it TOO safe? LOL

I was going to say the same thing, I had my ears pierced when I was 2 days old. How would I know? But I do think 2 weeks seems like too little time. Also, keep in mind the kind of metal you use in your ears. I'd stick to gold or white gold because it's the one that causes less problems. Alcohol will irritate any piercing (I did get my belly button pierced a few years ago).

Good luck.

I think the convention is 6-8 weeks. I know I'm a fast healer, but I generally don't risk it.

Definitely follow the safety/healing instructors. If your piercer didn't give you any, look at BMEzine for tips. Don't over wash or under wash. Both are bad.

Do you have any metal allergies? You'll want to think about that when you buy your next set of jewelry.

Good to know about the alcohol. I've been hearing such mixed things about it!

And yeah, two weeks seems awfully short. I'm impatient, but not exactly willing to risk a grody infection.

oooh yes good point mayliz, gold or white gold is better. i believe i had white gold to avoid any possible allergic reactions. JUST to be safe

It is generally suggested to retain the studs in new piercings for 6 weeks, rotating at least twice a day and cleaning twice a day. I would suggest in the first 3 months after removing the first studs, that you replace whatever pretty dangle you wear that day/night with either simple studs or gold keepers to sleep in.

I have had my ears pierced since I was 12 first holes, 14 2nd holes and a 3rd single hole in one ear because i kept losing one earring..g.: when I was 20 (40 years ago) No modern gun thing for me, it was the needle all the way, and I have never had a problem. I never go without earrings and when I am around home or not going anywhere special I just wear gold keepers in graduating sizes. For my blingy earring it is silver all the way. I love silver and bling.

When I wear danglies I wear them in the front holes and either wear a stud in the others or blingy huggies.

If you didn't have cartalidge pierced it should heal in no time.

The hole in my cartalidge took so long to heal. The ones in the flesh took about a month, I think.

I'm also a member of the club of ladies who got their ears peirced as a baby and I don't remember that. Got my second holes at 13, third holes at 15 and fourth hole at 17. Gosh, that sounds kinda trashy. I promise I am not riddled with holes.

Tea tree oil works wonders for cleaning. Just make sure to use a small amount because it is very potent.

Originally Posted by andalee-oriental

If you didn't have cartalidge pierced it should heal in no time.

The hole in my cartalidge took so long to heal. The ones in the flesh took about a month, I think.

I'm also a member of the club of ladies who got their ears peirced as a baby and I don't remember that. Got my second holes at 13, third holes at 15 and fourth hole at 17. Gosh, that sounds kinda trashy. I promise I am not riddled with holes.

Tea tree oil works wonders for cleaning. Just make sure to use a small amount because it is very potent.

it's not trashy! lol my parents nearly flipped out when i asked to get 3 more done (second holes and cartilage) when i was 14. sheesh, you'd think i was asking to work at Rachel's or something

Tea tree! That's an awesome idea. Great natural antiseptic. Why didn't I think of that? ..l;,

I have "attached" earlobes, meaning the bottoms of my ears end at my jawline. These types of ears take longer to heal because they are closer to the cartilege part. And like Andalee, my second piercings took a long time to heal and they hurt longer than the first set.

My navel was a breeze, except I did have to keep something in it for at least a year. One time I lost the top "post" and I took the navel ring out for a couple of hours. Would you believe it started to close up a little bit? And I had had it pierced already four months!

6-8 weeks, but unless the studs the piercer used are 14k gold posts or surgical steel, don't leave them in longer than that.

When my older dd had her ears pierced, I decided to leave her piercing studs in a little longer, because her birthday was coming up, and I wanted to give her new earrings then. I thought her ears had been pierced with gold posts, but, apparently, they were just gold-plated. I'd asked if they were gold and had been told they were, but nobody had said they were only plated. The plating wears off after about 8 weeks. Her ears, which had been healing very nicely for the first while, reacted to the base metal underneath and got very infected. (There had been no indication of metal allergies prior to that, either.) We had to let her ears grow in and have them repierced (her choice), at a different place that did use solid gold a few months later.

So, I'd say leave them in for 6 weeks, to be on the safe side, but don't leave them longer than 8 unless you're sure the posts are solid gold or surgical steel.

I just got a 3rd piercing done on my ears at the end of April. I am still wearing my studs currently because my ears take a really long time to heal. For my second ones I remember it took about 6 months to where I could actually take the earrings out and get new ones in comfortably.

What everyone else said - at least 6-8wks.

Satina (my pet name for you :),
You have some great feedback here. One thing I would suggest you keep in mind is that the tissue in your ears will require getting used to each "weight class" of jewelry you choose to wear. So dont go big and heavy immediately - that may tear the newly healed skin and give you some unnecessary complications such as infections or pain.

I had my ears done at 17 and they took about 8 weeks to heal. I had the second set of holes shot when I was about 18-19 in the cartlage of the ear and those took a lot longer to heal (partially because when they shoot through it - it often cracks).

My now-retired navel piercing took 6 months to heal.

Keep in mind that each person is different...and if you are whimpy and dont rotate and clean well the healing process is longer.

Conventional wisdom says cartilage takes about a year to heal.

YOu can take your earrings out after about two weeks to facilitate cleaning, but the studs should be replaced immediately.

I also got mine pierced with a needle. The woman who did them insisted on sterling silver earrings. That seemed to work better for me than gold.

{{{HUGS}}}

Originally Posted by SatinWorship19

OK, don't judge! I just got my ears pierced for the first time, about two weeks ago. The love of bling finally triumphed over my low threshold for pain, and now I have two holes in my head.

i thought i was the only one without my ears pierced! and now i probably am the only one... when i was a kid my mum told me everyday that if i was that fat and wore earrings, people will stop in the street and call me fat pig with earrings so i never fancy wearing earrings!

My mom had mine pierced when I was 3; she made me lie and say I was 5 bc that was the legal age in PA at the time. I remember her coaching me as we walked to The Piercing Pagoda in the mall and then the lady asking me how old I was and I said 5 (bc I'm a good girl like that) and then I remember SCREAMING. I have a low pain threshold as well. ..l;, Oddly, then I wasn't allowed to have multiple holes until I was 18 at which time I promptly had 4 more made (1 in the right lobe, 2 in the left lobe and 1 in the left cartilage). I took them all out too early and had a wretched time with infections. I slathered my ears with Neosporin and rotated it into the holes (despite the tube stating it isn’t for puncture wounds) and it was wonderful, plus it had a mild painkiller I found soothing. When I had my belly pierced, I was advised to use tea tree oil but found it too harsh and a mite painful so used peroxide, which also worked wonderfully (I am certain there will be people who discourage this mightily!). My nose ring, I used the saline solution given to me and had no problems.

In a ridiculously roundabout way, I am saying: leave them alone (meaning in) for as long as you can stand it, rotating them a couple of times a day with whatever antiseptic you prefer. And hear, hear to DaVid's advice of being careful with the weight of the next pair of earrings.

Originally Posted by wingaki

i thought i was the only one without my ears pierced! and now i probably am the only one... when i was a kid my mum told me everyday that if i was that fat and wore earrings, people will stop in the street and call me fat pig with earrings so i never fancy wearing earrings!

Maybe I'm missing the context but I think this is a terrible thing for your mum to say!!

Originally Posted by wingaki

i thought i was the only one without my ears pierced! and now i probably am the only one... when i was a kid my mum told me everyday that if i was that fat and wore earrings, people will stop in the street and call me fat pig with earrings so i never fancy wearing earrings!

That's awful. And you're small like me. You are, by no means, fat.

I still think there's nothing more rebellious than not having anything pierced ..l;,

Even if you have solid gold, pay close attention if they start to swell at all. My mother found out the hard way that you *can* be allergic to gold in your ears even if you can wear other gold jewelry. After numerous more and more expensive gold earrings she finally gave in and tried steel - no more swelling.

On time - I am with everyone else. No less than 4 weeks, preferably 6-8, when dealing with a flesh-only earlobe piercing. Cartilage is a completely different set of times LOL

Did they use a hollow needle or a gun? Hollow needle piercings tend to heal faster than gun piercings with less scar tissue on most people, but in most cases it isn't a significant amount.

The studs you have in now are very thick compared to most earrings. Once you remove them, you may not be able to get them back in if they are out for a few days. Once healed, if you want to wear just standard sized earrings, it will be fine to wear any earring most of the time, but don't go more than a few days without wearing something for about 6 months-a year. They will still try to heal closed for a while.

Have fun!

Originally Posted by maranajla

Maybe I'm missing the context but I think this is a terrible thing for your mum to say!!

thank you xx

that was her way to avoid me from piercing my ears too young i think. but as a pisces i take everything by heart so up to now i still don't have any desire for earrings

mum never mentioned anything about a tattoo so i went and got one and she got very very upset! luckily (for me) my brother told her that he was getting a divorce that same day so she forgave me.

Sea salt in warm water also works nicely for healing & soothing piercings. I've used it while guaging my ears and on my older daughter's ears.

I had mine done about 18 months ago, titanium studs. The leaflet I got from the piercer said 6 weeks and I wasn't going to take any risks because I am chicken, and I left them in for eight weeks. He also said *not* to twist them, as the healing bits would get all ripped up and risk infection. I kept them clean with an antiseptic spray several times a day, taking care that the spray got under the butterflies and inside the holes. They've been absolutely fine ever since.

Originally Posted by SatinWorship19

That's awful. And you're small like me. You are, by no means, fat.

I still think there's nothing more rebellious than not having anything pierced ..l;,

i am not small! i look normal when i go to the states or europe, but here all girls are tiny. my nick names were 'fat girl' and 'moon face' 'big hill granny' for long time.

but it's not as bad as it sounds. chinese people especially my parents' generation use bad words to call their love ones. e.g. a husband may calls his wife 'yellow face granny'. wife calls husband 'awful old man'. mum calls her children 'dead girl/boy'. friends call each other awful names too! it's all endearing but of course depends on the tone of voice. it is believed that we must be humble and if we let the world know our love ones are nice (instead of like the awful things we call them) the sky would take them away.

Originally Posted by wingaki

i thought i was the only one without my ears pierced! and now i probably am the only one... when i was a kid my mum told me everyday that if i was that fat and wore earrings, people will stop in the street and call me fat pig with earrings so i never fancy wearing earrings!

Don't worry, there are two of us! I don't have my ears pierced either.

I took my piercing studs out at 6 weeks - and really wish I hadn't! As a result, I always recommend at least 8! Then only replace them with other studs for another few weeks before you try light dangles.

Originally Posted by SatinWorship19

Tea tree! That's an awesome idea. Great natural antiseptic. Why didn't I think of that? ..l;,

Tea tree oil is great, but not recommended for piercings:
How to Recognize the Risks of Ear Piercing | eHow.com

~~Kimahri
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