Earlobe Piercing Care Tips
Earlobe piercing is one of the most misunderstood and disregarded of all of the piercings. This is largely due to decades of misinformation by the notorious “they who shall remain unnamed” at the mall… This is so unfortunate as it has resulted in a culture of thinking that ear piercing is not important or that it is not risky. Totally opposite of the reality that it most definitely IS a purposeful wound that needs to heal around the implanted jewelry for a period of at least 3 to 4 months without interruption. Not quite what the common perspective is, but 100% that of this studio. Proper wound healing IS the most important part of all body piercing.
At Kutters Edge, we always recommend minimal care to any piercing. Again, this is the exact opposite of what most people have come to expect. But the difference is both in the use of higher quality starter jewelry and a “leave it the heck alone” care approach. Most wounds heal much better when the skin is allowed to do what it is designed to do. However, leaving a piercing alone during the healing period doesn’t mean totally ignoring it. Even a seemingly simple earlobe piercing needs to be protected from damage and checked carefully.
Here are some tips to take the guesswork out of it for you:
Rinse thoroughly with warm running water. This IS enough “cleaning” for a piercing, since the skin is designed to heal and clean itself. The rinsing will be more than sufficient to remove the slight amount of discharge that will naturally be expelled out of the piercing openings.
Pay attention to the position of the jewelry. With post-style earrings, the backs we use at Kutters Edge are the locking type. This means that they don’t easily come off. However, if the back unseats from the small notch on the post, it can move forward and tighten. This can cause the head of the earring to begin to pull into the front surface (leading cause of the slitted look and sag of an older, healed earlobe piercing!) So pay close attention to how the gem-head sits, as well as to where the earring back is sitting.
Please NEVER twist the ear to look at the back! This is our natural instinct (because we CAN, lol) but it also causes the piercing channel to twist and warp, damaging it and increasing risk of infection. Most infections we see are caused by the combination of twisting and earring back tightening, so keep an eye on things but without hands.
Have someone else take a look if the piercing is your own. We are notoriously bad at seeing things on the side of our own heads! Your helper can use a small flashlight or the light on a cellphone as they position behind you to look at the back. Again, DO NOT twist the ear in any way.
If the earring back gets tightened, loosen it carefully after washing your hands. Seems obvious, but needs to be said!
If there is any redness or pain in the area, start a regimen of hot water compresses right away and contact the studio. We always recommend 3x a day for 3 full days, then reduce to 1x a day for a week. Then let the piercing rest. You will likely see an increase in discharge following these compresses, but this is a good thing. Normal coloration for this discharge is anywhere from cream to yellow, and simply means that white blood cells in the area are taking care of business.
Contact the studio if things don’t seem to be improving after 2-3 full days of doing hot compresses. Pictures are always a helpful tool for us to determine the status of healing, too.
HELP! MY EARRING CAME OUT!!! Don’t panic. Find the jewelry. Wash your hands. Clean the jewelry well with rubbing alcohol. Soften the earlobe with a hot water compress, then carefully ease the earring into the piercing channel. Support the lobe from behind by making a “V” of your first 2 fingers. Use a combination of a gentle push and a wiggling motion to ease the post back in. Contact the studio if any difficulty arises rather than to force the earring into the ear.
These are the techniques we utilize here at Kutters Edge. Hope this is a helpful reference. Contact us if you need help beyond these basic tips. Happy Healing!!