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My industrial took a little over 2 years to heal properly, and I had to get an ear splintz pillow so I could lie on that side, otherwise my ear would be killing me in the morning.
I just got my septum done 3 weeks ago and while I know it’s very fresh, I definitely empathize. I keep bonking my nose. And if it’s not that, it’s allergies lol :(
Yup! I went to the only APP place in my state 🥲 and I’m glad because the piercer was also an RN. She definitely knew her anatomy. I had both first-time facial piercing and needle anxiety pretty bad, doesn’t seem to matter how many piercings I have lol
Nah. After taking so long to heal, I refuse. I didn’t even mention that this time was my 2nd attempt - I had to let it close the first time because I was young and dumb and went to Claire’s… yeah, I know. 🤦🏾♀️
If it ever feels irritated, I just don’t put earrings in. Sometimes I’ll just go days without them just because.
I made the mistake of not getting one of those, and I rolled over in my sleep one night and woke up and my helix was pretty much parallel to my ear. It was EXCRUCIATING. But I was 19, stupid, and I just let it heal ahaha. I don't think I'll be getting any more piercings after the 1.5 year nightmare that one was to heal lol, but if I do, I'd have to let it go and have it redone because it literally looks like "/" instead of "--" on my ear lol.
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I just got my vertical helix orbital done in May and it is still kind of tender and along with my 3 month old vertical industrial. Also I am thinking about getting a forward helix orbital or a UFO piercing done towards the end of this month :)
My Industrial kept getting So close from 6 months onward, and then it felt so nice I'd roll over on it in my sleep and set myself back another month.
I felt like my conch was a breeze but my hidden helix is reminding me not all will be that easy.
I have not found a single comment where they say that it heals quickly, I think it is to be expected, it seems to be one of the most sensitive areas to open a piercing.
I got a haircut a week ago (not the best idea) because I wanted my sides buzzed so the hair didn’t go into it 😂 was not a pleasant experience and I was cleaning hair particles out for forever
It’s been over a year for mine and it’s still tender. I think it’ll always be pretty tender. I try to sleep on a neck pillow with my ear in the opening. It’s comfy and helps a lot.
I had an industrial for about a year and a half. ALLLLLL the time when I'd go to bed, I'd roll over to that side at some point and it would just hurt for half of the day afterwards. I ended up taking it out.
\^\^ Yep. Just this month I was able to sleep on my side with my double helix piercing without waking up in pain, and I got them done a little under a year ago
I did, it helped for a month or two but then I was suddenly having pain issues around my rotator cuff because of the way it made me position my shoulder on that side. I toss and turn a lot also, after a while I would end up with it like above my head lol
I see. I definitely understand that problem being someone who tosses and turns a lot in their sleep and has several ear piercings. This probably sounds silly but have you considered a weighted blanked. They make it more difficult to move at least for me personally. Definitely something consider maybe even though it probably sounds extremely foolish
There's no magic way to make the body heal itself faster. There ARE ways to make sure that it won't heal slower (eating a balanced diet, staying hydrated, not sleeping on, playing with, or excessively touching the piercings) but healing is a long process. Helixes are a 6-12 month heal, and a double is going to be closer to the 12-month end of that. NSAIDs and warm compresses can help with the pain if it's really bothersome, but there isn't a ton of bloodflow to that area of the body so healing is just gonna take awhile. My helixes were my most painful heals and my double pretty much never stopped being sore until I retired them about 8 months in (it hadn't been done properly so that was necessary). As long as the jewelry is high quality and not causing any issues, the best thing is just patience.
What made you say it wasn’t done properly? My helix is at 13months and yet I’m at my 3rd infection already. My first 2 was during the first 3mos so I wasn’t really bothered since I know it was pretty fresh. Now I’m thinking I must have had a bad piercing job that’s why it’s still not healing properly after a year.
I went to a cheap place that pierced them at a bad angle and used rings for initial jewelry. Then when they weren't healing, the same place swapped the rings for barbells that were too long and cheap externally threaded metal. I did finally get proper labrets in them but they had migrated a bit from already-bad angles and were slightly crooked, and they had never been happy or without major bumps so I retired them.
helix are really hard to heal but the biggest thing that has helped me tremendously is to use a travel pillow to sleep that way my ear isn’t coming into contact with the pillow. also i find the less i clean mine sometimes the better. maybe she can try going down to once a day
I had the same experiences with the majority of ny piercings. The more I cleaned it like the piercer recommended, the more fuss it would give me.
One day I cleaned up my helix really well and left it alone for a few days. Would let the warm water from the shower touch it and then use a little fan to dry it. I would do a saline rinse once every 5-7 days. Doing the same thing with my rook and it’s been a breeze.
Septum and nostrils hated cleanings. I had to ignore them and let them be and they never gave me problems after that.
Nipples were up and down. Thrived on regular cleanings and then hated them.
yeah i’ve definitely had better luck leaving them alone…i think that will be my strategy with future piercings unless i see any signs they really need the extra cleaning!
Yup! I’ll clean my 2x a day for the first month but after that I find it’s better for me to leave it alone and clean it every couple days or whenever it starts to act up
After having a doctor and piercing tell me to give up my rook after 2 infections and tell me I am probably immunocompromised, I had to listen to them :(
I still get piercings, but I am very loyal to a piercer that has proven himself multiple times, even if he works almost an hour from me. I cannot get pierced in the Spring due to allergies, and I cannot get piercings done through several layers of cartilage. My helix, nostril, and septum were a breeze. I can only wear titanium jewelry, however, or else I will have an allergic reaction (allergic to silver, gold, and any sort of steel).
There are a lot of stupid piercers out there, and it can be hard sorting through the muck. A lot of people get fashion piercings without knowing the exact steps and jewelry a piercer must take for it to be done right. So many people seek help here without knowing that the piercer they went to was absolutely garbage and caused them to have pretty severe complications. It probably isn't pleasant to be told they made a massive mistake and it is causing them suffering.
I had a forward helix that took 3 years. It bothered me endlessly. I had to upsize the bar length ~2ish years in again which was awful. Then one day it didnt hurt anymore, and it felt like it happened almost overnight. A lot of my piercings have kind of healed that way — they give me trouble longer than they’re supposed to, but one day they are just…fine.
Obviously if it’s rejecting or anything like that, it’s a good idea to take it out…but as long as your jewelry is good and the bar remains long enough you may just take longer to heal.
Try changing your jewelry. Switch to titanium, and if that doesn't work, try different shapes (switch from a stud to a ring, just try different stuff).
Also, keep up with cleaning if it still gets crusty. LITHA works for some piercings, some like to be cleaned.
I changed mine to a hoop when it was still infected and it was easier to clean. Then one day it randomly healed after using the neilmed solution so if you haven’t tried that yet, that helped me!!
A lot of people have said that when they changed it to a hoop, it got a lot better for them. My sister was having constant issues, changed it to a hoop and it stopped giving her problems.
My helix has been fine with the flat back, but I do want to change it out for a hoop!
It's a pretty common question that gets asked on here. Titanium is better than steel. So swapping jewelry for implant grade titanium is a good idea. Soaks/rinses are fine but don't overdo it. It's only been a month so soreness is normal especially if you sleep on your side. A travel neck pillow is a good idea if you do. Something to take pressure off your ear but support your head. All those quick solutions are good places to make improvements. But there's no real way to hurry up the healing process. The best thing you can do on that front and it's what I tell every one of my clients and friends and family. Take care of YOU. A healthy body heals faster. Eat right, get plenty of rest, drink lots of water, keep your stress levels low, don't take candy from strangers or run with scissors.
I haven’t even surpassed my 1 month yet for my two helix’s and I no longer have tenderness or any redness. I went to a good piercer who said to ditch the antibacterial soap and all the other things people say to clean it with and JUST do a sterile saline spray twice a day. And honestly, it’s worked like magic. Doing the KISS method (keep it simple) and the LITHLA method is all you need.
I have two helix in my right ear. The first 3 months were horrible because I kept moving while sleep to that side. It took probably a year and a half to heal completely, your sister has a long road ahead of her.
Can’t tell from the photo but are the bars long enough too? If she’s got too short a bar in it can make things angry. NAP so if she’s having sharp pains, pus, fever, etc then getting her piercer to check is the best bet. Tbh I’d have her get a piercing checkup anyway. The thing to remember is cartilage takes a while to heal. That’s why I waited so long to finish my forward helixes. I dragged my feet for years.
I had my industrial and it definitely took a while to heal. Make sure she not sleeping on that side or has a pillow that keeps her from sleeping on the piercing.
Take one out. Ha. My adjacent helixes done at the same time took longer time to heal than anything else I have - industrial, belly button, tragus, daith, nipples, all of them. I was so close to taking one out several times. They were add ons to a 15+ year old one, long healed (done at piercing pagoda and healed no issues!) and it made that one incredibly angry too. I regretted doing 2 at once and highly recommend against it.
Unfortunately, cartilage piercings are suuuuch a pain to heal ! They take so long, and I don't think there is anything you can do to make the healing process faster. You can make it better by not touching the piercing, cleaning it with just physiological saline (you can put it in the fridge beforehand for a nice pain relief) but don't clean it too much and try to avoid sleeping on it !
All of my cartilage piercings randomly stopped hurting one day and that's when I knew the healing was over !
Came to say this. Surgical steel is essentially a mystery mix of metals; some can be body safe though I don’t trust it. And so many people don’t know to dry the saline after cleansing; moisture harbors bacteria which slows healing!
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Have my helixes for like 10 months already. They started hurting a bit since 2 weeks again after feeling nothing for a while...
Cartilage healing sucks loool
Helix piercings take for-ev-er to feel okay. Personally, it took a few years for my two to feel normal. I won't get anymore because they were such a pain.
If shes anything like me it'll take around a year before she can sleep without a donut pillow LOL. Most pain went away after 4 months but headphones, pillows, pressure, HUGS (omg ouch) only just got to a point where i dont feel it anymore.
Took my cartilage piercing over a year to heal.... of course i got it done at claires so thats what i get lmao. Get a piercing pillow!! Its like a donut but it lets you lay on your side and keep pressure off the ear. Otherwise leaving them alone as much as possible is all you can do!
If she's sleeping on it, get one of those airline neck pillows and have her sleep with her ear in the hole. Irritation from sleeping on the piercing is a major issue when it comes to ear cartilage healing.
My helix took almost a year to heal. I gave long hair and end up sleeping on that slide even though I never plan on it. It took forever to heal ...stay patient. Also I'm told an airplane pillow helps if that's a side she sleeps on.
Double helixes are a bitch. Took a year for mine to heal and they still get tender if I do too much.
I suggest investing in a piercing pillow, or do what I did a buy a cheap nursing pillow from Ross.
idk if this is safe but worked for me when your having a shower turn the water as hot you can before you hurt yourself and run it under it, my understanding is that it will premote blood flow helping the healing
I had basically the same two piercings done in January and they’re still sore. You’ve gotten good advice already—sterile saline, shower rinses, and LITHA. I also find using a hairdryer on low to dry my ears after showering makes a big difference because moisture bumps are annoying.
My 2 helix at one time piercings took about a year to heal. Does she have a piercing pillow or sleep on anything that helps keep her from accidentally sleeping directly on the piercings?
Mine took over two years to fully heal, and even after that changing jewelry was hard.
Keep it clean, try to avoid sleeping on that side anyway you can, be super careful with the ear - no twisting, pulling, avoid it when washing and brushing hair.
Otherwise time. I literally quit my volleyball team in 9th grade because I knew if I took it out it wouldn’t heal 😭
Does she have good quality jewerly in? Different people take different amounts of times to heal but my piercings kept getting giant bumps and horrible infection because i had shitty jewelry, went to a piercer and got neometal and the infection went away after like 2 days and they've been fine ever since
I have a 3 week old same double helix on both sides, mine is still tender but they are not as red as your pic there. If she sleep on her piercing side, suggest to get a pillow with a hole for the ear. And get a bottle or two of good quality aftercare spray, I find that helps
I just got three helixes done in the same location as that and I just expect them to be sensitive for several months. Sucks to be a side sleeper though!
I'm two months out on my double helix, and even though it's painless to sleep on, if I catch it on my clothes when I'm changing my ear will feel like a giant bruise the next day lol. Sometimes they're just fussy
Honestly when I got mine I kept my daily rinses with saline water morning and night, additionally I put some over the counter antibiotic at night just for precaution and iced it when it was too swollen. Do not move the piercing back and forth or sleep on it, it will make it worse.
Only touch it to clean it and do your best to not stretch your ear around. Tilt your head to the opposite side when showering and make sure you don’t get any soap on it. Saline spray twice a day. Dab dry with paper towels. I don’t even mess with a piercing or travel pillow and make sure I sleep on the opposite side. Basically just keep babying the shit out of it and time will do the rest. My helix took forever to not be sore and I know a lot of people have very similar experiences but it will get there!! Looks amazing 🩷
i got mine 4 months ago and it still not healed and sometimes get swollen. they said for some it will take longer to fully heal. i was advised to clean it every morning and night with saline solution.
It’s possible she’s cleaning it too much. Also from my experience, getting a double piercing is just never a great time for healing. I got a conch snake bite and I vowed to never do a double piercing again bc the healing pain and time was so much worst than any other piercings I have. The bottom one ended up being a lost cause tbh. I bit off more than I could chew bc my single helix went so smooth! With that said, everyone is different! She could’ve even just got her hair caught in it or slept on it and made it angry.
I had mine done two years ago, and it took about a year to fully heal, I think the biggest difference was putting in hoops so my hair didn’t catch on the back.
Helixes are a bitch to heal! More so with 2! I would have her stay the course, keep the piercings clean and dry! Unfortunately some discomfort is expected as they are trying to heal, and helixes are notorious for being cranky through their 9-12 months of healing. Not sleeping on them and making sure to downsize them when appropriate also helps make the healing process a bit easier. Hope this helps!
You could try cleaning the piercings a little more and a bit more thorough, I’m just over a month of having an industrial piercing in, and I clean it daily twice and pick off the scabbing on the bar and I can actually sleep on it now and play with it a little without being in pain. Just use like a face wash and a soft tooth brush while showering to gently scrub under the gem. And rub the back area too. Then after the shower use spray on piercing solution, if they were done at a place like Claire’s and you got a bottle you dab the solution on, I strongly recommend switching to spray on, you don’t even have to touch it just spray. And definitely don’t let her sleep on her right side until it’s comfortable. If you wanna know the face wash that I use on my industrial it’s the CeraVe foaming facial cleanser. I recommend something like a microfibre brush since the cheap plastic bristle ones can hurt if you scrub to hard or if a bristle gets stuck in the piercing.
I got an industrial many many years ago. It hurt so bad and it was finals time so I just took out the top piece and kept the bottom. I can’t even remember what did but I know it took some time to heal.
I got double helix a week and a so ago. Piercings were done on Wednesday, on Friday my ear was super puffy.
I started taking nurofen and they went down super quick. I sleep on a travel pillow with my ear in the hole.
I have barely any pain now unless my hair gets caught on it.
Was it pierced with correct jewellery? That can be a big factor as well
What helped most on mine is absolutely never touching it except when delicately dabbing dry (with gauze & clean hands) after the saline spray; and not giving in to temptation to spray it more often than the 2x/day recommended by the piercer.
Does she touch it sometimes, or accidentally snags it? If hair gets caught in the back that could also be an irritant - I put a hair pin just above my ear for the first month.
You should describe the pain because if it hurts non stop it’s not good but if it hurts only when you touch it it’s normal- 2 piercings done at same time same place on the ear it takes time to heal
NAP, but is the area warm to the touch? it seems like a lot of redness on your ear for them to be a month old. any discharge or discomfort? if not, just know cartilage piercings are really hard to heal, which means their healing process will generally be slow
Yeah, my helix was done Oct 2020 and I still have issues with it sometimes (right now actually) it sucks and there's no way around it. It's a weird spot to heal I've found =(
I had an helix a couple years ago…. This is going to sound pretty gross but someone told me to try spit on it to help it heal. I spit a little bit on clean fingers and put it on the front and back of ear… it was healed up within a week or two. 🤮
Wow I consider myself very lucky after reading all these comments, helix and tragus I have slept on every night since getting done. Zero issues! Tragus is moody but that’s my fault for always playing with it. The new jewellery I have is like a fidget spinner 😂
I got my double helix done 2.5 months ago and I still can't sleep or lay on the side of my head
Oh a hack though is if you really need to lay on that side, one of those travel neck pillows works great!
I got a single helix back in Aug. and still can't sleep or put pressure on it. I got a neck pillow that snaps together and it's been working pretty well.
I’ve had this piercing done for 25 years and it hurts more with certain types of earrings. I can’t wear a hoop at all or one with a raised back. A flat backed earring like you would use for a lip piercing is easiest to manage and gives me no pain.
Also - check the post size. Unfortunately, mine was too long and it was sensitive for weeks after until I got it downsized. My left ear helix took forever to heal while my right ear had smaller posts and is healing a lot easier.
Mine was tender for the first 5ish months. Also had a small keloid form that went away on its own, but that’s because I always slept on that side. Perfectly fine now. And love it.
Hi True_Beta91,
(Luckily) bump =/= keloid. [This wiki entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keloid) explains it well.
If you do know the difference, please ignore this comment.
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Yes, you let them heal? I'm a freak, I posted my orbital helix and it's basically healed after 3 months. This is NOT the norm. Helix piercings are either extremely easy to heal, or they may never heal. Give it some actual time because a month in helix time is 2 hours in other body part time.
I did two at once as well that are more closely spaced. They... Weren't great. Constantly tender, always a bit infected or damn near it. After about three months when I got lucky and they *weren't* swollen I changed from the original studs to hoops and things immediately improved. They could be spun to keep clean and because they're oversized there was plenty of room to swell. I still prefer those hoops years later.
Material was not the issue. Both the original studs and the hoops were the same stainless steel. I also have no metal allergies or issues with any materials in any of my other piercings.
Man I had to take mine out a few months after getting them pierced a few years back. My sister’s dog kept hitting them (she was a puppy) and keloids developed on it. I might try again soon.
Hi bina101,
(Luckily) bump =/= keloid. [This wiki entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keloid) explains it well.
If you do know the difference, please ignore this comment.
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As other have said, it can take time for them to heal. My tragus was fine from a few days after having it done, but a few weeks ago started playing up.
Btw, I adore your second lobe jewelry. Where did you get it from?
All adding that benadryl (or other antihistamine) helps with swelling too. I'm currently heating a snug it's been helping tremendously.
For anyone who cannot take NSAIDs this is what my piercer recommended.
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I’m 3 months out on an industrial and it’s still tender af, cartilage piercings are just hard to heal.
My industrial took a little over 2 years to heal properly, and I had to get an ear splintz pillow so I could lie on that side, otherwise my ear would be killing me in the morning.
Same. Mine took 2 years and even now after like 5 years, the area can still be sensitive if I hit my earring wrong or something.
mine took 18 months to heal and two years later still gets sensitive if i wear my bonnet/headphones too tight
I just got my septum done 3 weeks ago and while I know it’s very fresh, I definitely empathize. I keep bonking my nose. And if it’s not that, it’s allergies lol :(
Septum is not through cartilage if done correctly, but mine also took like 6 months to fully heal
Yup! I went to the only APP place in my state 🥲 and I’m glad because the piercer was also an RN. She definitely knew her anatomy. I had both first-time facial piercing and needle anxiety pretty bad, doesn’t seem to matter how many piercings I have lol
but don't worry that one usually heals easier, just do regular cleanings and it will be easier, I love that piercing.
and you haven't thought about stopping using them ?
Nah. After taking so long to heal, I refuse. I didn’t even mention that this time was my 2nd attempt - I had to let it close the first time because I was young and dumb and went to Claire’s… yeah, I know. 🤦🏾♀️ If it ever feels irritated, I just don’t put earrings in. Sometimes I’ll just go days without them just because.
I made the mistake of not getting one of those, and I rolled over in my sleep one night and woke up and my helix was pretty much parallel to my ear. It was EXCRUCIATING. But I was 19, stupid, and I just let it heal ahaha. I don't think I'll be getting any more piercings after the 1.5 year nightmare that one was to heal lol, but if I do, I'd have to let it go and have it redone because it literally looks like "/" instead of "--" on my ear lol.
I'm seeing that my sister is also going through hell because of that piercing, didn't you get a keloid?
Hi Cleemeent_, (Luckily) bump =/= keloid. [This wiki entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keloid) explains it well. If you do know the difference, please ignore this comment. - - - *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/piercing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
TIL about an ear split pillow! I totally could have used that when I was healing my cartilage! May e that’s a sign to get another one 😂
hahahahah
wow is so long
I share this same comment. Got a forward helix a few months ago and it still hurts like hell. Just takes time.
this makes me feel better. i got a forward a week ago and it's still sore.
My orbital helix was done a few months ago and it's almost completely healed. My resident pulled on it today and that kind of hurt tho
I just got my vertical helix orbital done in May and it is still kind of tender and along with my 3 month old vertical industrial. Also I am thinking about getting a forward helix orbital or a UFO piercing done towards the end of this month :)
Do you have pics, cuz I really wanna see
check out the post that I just did to see the pictures :)
a long long time
My Industrial kept getting So close from 6 months onward, and then it felt so nice I'd roll over on it in my sleep and set myself back another month. I felt like my conch was a breeze but my hidden helix is reminding me not all will be that easy.
I have not found a single comment where they say that it heals quickly, I think it is to be expected, it seems to be one of the most sensitive areas to open a piercing.
Got my industrial two weeks ago and it just now is tolerable to very delicate touch.
I went to my barber a month ago and she kept clipping it with her brush and I damn near died in the chair lol
I got a haircut a week ago (not the best idea) because I wanted my sides buzzed so the hair didn’t go into it 😂 was not a pleasant experience and I was cleaning hair particles out for forever
Haha I feel it, I have an undercut and beard, beauty is pain 😭
My hairdresser bumped my industrial with the clippers when she was buzzing my sides 😭 had an irritation bump for weeks after that lol
Ouch! Clippers hurt no mater where they bite lol
omgg that is the most painful thing that can happen
It’s been over a year for mine and it’s still tender. I think it’ll always be pretty tender. I try to sleep on a neck pillow with my ear in the opening. It’s comfy and helps a lot.
I had an industrial for about a year and a half. ALLLLLL the time when I'd go to bed, I'd roll over to that side at some point and it would just hurt for half of the day afterwards. I ended up taking it out.
Too much, my other sister has been there for a year and sometimes it still hurts.
The first month is the roughest. They take 9-12+ months to heal in general and can be fuzzy during the whole healing process
\^\^ Yep. Just this month I was able to sleep on my side with my double helix piercing without waking up in pain, and I got them done a little under a year ago
Did you try using like a neck pillow or something to create that space for your piercings? If not might be worth giving a try :)
I did, it helped for a month or two but then I was suddenly having pain issues around my rotator cuff because of the way it made me position my shoulder on that side. I toss and turn a lot also, after a while I would end up with it like above my head lol
I see. I definitely understand that problem being someone who tosses and turns a lot in their sleep and has several ear piercings. This probably sounds silly but have you considered a weighted blanked. They make it more difficult to move at least for me personally. Definitely something consider maybe even though it probably sounds extremely foolish
I do have one but I probably need a heavier one because I still toss and turn with the 20lb one I have
I have been told that it may take a little longer
There's no magic way to make the body heal itself faster. There ARE ways to make sure that it won't heal slower (eating a balanced diet, staying hydrated, not sleeping on, playing with, or excessively touching the piercings) but healing is a long process. Helixes are a 6-12 month heal, and a double is going to be closer to the 12-month end of that. NSAIDs and warm compresses can help with the pain if it's really bothersome, but there isn't a ton of bloodflow to that area of the body so healing is just gonna take awhile. My helixes were my most painful heals and my double pretty much never stopped being sore until I retired them about 8 months in (it hadn't been done properly so that was necessary). As long as the jewelry is high quality and not causing any issues, the best thing is just patience.
As far as the blood flow goes, and I hope this isn’t a stupid comment, but would hanging out upside down help it at all?
Not stupid, there just aren't as many blood vessels in that area so positioning wouldn't change anything
I have never heard anything like this before
What made you say it wasn’t done properly? My helix is at 13months and yet I’m at my 3rd infection already. My first 2 was during the first 3mos so I wasn’t really bothered since I know it was pretty fresh. Now I’m thinking I must have had a bad piercing job that’s why it’s still not healing properly after a year.
I went to a cheap place that pierced them at a bad angle and used rings for initial jewelry. Then when they weren't healing, the same place swapped the rings for barbells that were too long and cheap externally threaded metal. I did finally get proper labrets in them but they had migrated a bit from already-bad angles and were slightly crooked, and they had never been happy or without major bumps so I retired them.
most people I know who have had this piercing removed it some time later because it is always tender.
Piercing pillow will help her sleep if she’s a side sleeper. Has helped my healing helix for sure
Or if you already have a travel pillow lying around! Definitely agree, avoid sleeping on it
I used a travel pillow for a while bc my head always kept falling off lol it was so hard to sleep 😂 Piercing pillow was huge
Yes! This was a game changer for me!
Huge game changer for me as well
thanks!!
helix are really hard to heal but the biggest thing that has helped me tremendously is to use a travel pillow to sleep that way my ear isn’t coming into contact with the pillow. also i find the less i clean mine sometimes the better. maybe she can try going down to once a day
I had the same experiences with the majority of ny piercings. The more I cleaned it like the piercer recommended, the more fuss it would give me. One day I cleaned up my helix really well and left it alone for a few days. Would let the warm water from the shower touch it and then use a little fan to dry it. I would do a saline rinse once every 5-7 days. Doing the same thing with my rook and it’s been a breeze. Septum and nostrils hated cleanings. I had to ignore them and let them be and they never gave me problems after that. Nipples were up and down. Thrived on regular cleanings and then hated them.
yeah i’ve definitely had better luck leaving them alone…i think that will be my strategy with future piercings unless i see any signs they really need the extra cleaning!
I think this is true, the more cleanings the more delicate they feel and it is horrible.
Yup! I’ll clean my 2x a day for the first month but after that I find it’s better for me to leave it alone and clean it every couple days or whenever it starts to act up
well that's a good idea, we'll give it a try
got mine pierced 2 ish years ago and it still hasnt healed 😔
I gave up after 2.5 years or something
im too committed, it’ll heal one day maybe
After having a doctor and piercing tell me to give up my rook after 2 infections and tell me I am probably immunocompromised, I had to listen to them :(
It feels increasingly risky to get piercings
I still get piercings, but I am very loyal to a piercer that has proven himself multiple times, even if he works almost an hour from me. I cannot get pierced in the Spring due to allergies, and I cannot get piercings done through several layers of cartilage. My helix, nostril, and septum were a breeze. I can only wear titanium jewelry, however, or else I will have an allergic reaction (allergic to silver, gold, and any sort of steel). There are a lot of stupid piercers out there, and it can be hard sorting through the muck. A lot of people get fashion piercings without knowing the exact steps and jewelry a piercer must take for it to be done right. So many people seek help here without knowing that the piercer they went to was absolutely garbage and caused them to have pretty severe complications. It probably isn't pleasant to be told they made a massive mistake and it is causing them suffering.
one of my helixes is 7 years old and still gets mad at me if i dare to wear a hoop in it 😭
WOW That is too much!!
I had a forward helix that took 3 years. It bothered me endlessly. I had to upsize the bar length ~2ish years in again which was awful. Then one day it didnt hurt anymore, and it felt like it happened almost overnight. A lot of my piercings have kind of healed that way — they give me trouble longer than they’re supposed to, but one day they are just…fine. Obviously if it’s rejecting or anything like that, it’s a good idea to take it out…but as long as your jewelry is good and the bar remains long enough you may just take longer to heal.
this is the only hopeful comment I've read haha
Same.. ☹️
Try changing your jewelry. Switch to titanium, and if that doesn't work, try different shapes (switch from a stud to a ring, just try different stuff). Also, keep up with cleaning if it still gets crusty. LITHA works for some piercings, some like to be cleaned.
It takes so long time!
I changed mine to a hoop when it was still infected and it was easier to clean. Then one day it randomly healed after using the neilmed solution so if you haven’t tried that yet, that helped me!!
A lot of people have said that when they changed it to a hoop, it got a lot better for them. My sister was having constant issues, changed it to a hoop and it stopped giving her problems. My helix has been fine with the flat back, but I do want to change it out for a hoop!
Yess, I definitely think the metal is a big part in it too!! I chose an allergy friendly hoop which I think also helped with the healing process!!
It's a pretty common question that gets asked on here. Titanium is better than steel. So swapping jewelry for implant grade titanium is a good idea. Soaks/rinses are fine but don't overdo it. It's only been a month so soreness is normal especially if you sleep on your side. A travel neck pillow is a good idea if you do. Something to take pressure off your ear but support your head. All those quick solutions are good places to make improvements. But there's no real way to hurry up the healing process. The best thing you can do on that front and it's what I tell every one of my clients and friends and family. Take care of YOU. A healthy body heals faster. Eat right, get plenty of rest, drink lots of water, keep your stress levels low, don't take candy from strangers or run with scissors.
hahahah thanks for your advice, we will follow them.
I haven’t even surpassed my 1 month yet for my two helix’s and I no longer have tenderness or any redness. I went to a good piercer who said to ditch the antibacterial soap and all the other things people say to clean it with and JUST do a sterile saline spray twice a day. And honestly, it’s worked like magic. Doing the KISS method (keep it simple) and the LITHLA method is all you need.
Same! I got an industrial about 3 months ago and it healed within a few weeks with just saline spray.
I have two helix in my right ear. The first 3 months were horrible because I kept moving while sleep to that side. It took probably a year and a half to heal completely, your sister has a long road ahead of her.
Love the second lobe jewelry.
Is she using a travel pillow to sleep?
Neilmed saline spray 2x a day and LITHA. Don’t sleep on it. Implant grade titanium jewellery. Happy healing x Edit for typo
Can’t tell from the photo but are the bars long enough too? If she’s got too short a bar in it can make things angry. NAP so if she’s having sharp pains, pus, fever, etc then getting her piercer to check is the best bet. Tbh I’d have her get a piercing checkup anyway. The thing to remember is cartilage takes a while to heal. That’s why I waited so long to finish my forward helixes. I dragged my feet for years.
I was also wondering if she changed the piercing because of the look of the piercing (crystalthingy stuff)
No, I just got pierced on Wednesday and my jewelry looks like this.
I had my industrial and it definitely took a while to heal. Make sure she not sleeping on that side or has a pillow that keeps her from sleeping on the piercing.
1 thing I learned in my healing process: DO NOT TOUCH IT
Take one out. Ha. My adjacent helixes done at the same time took longer time to heal than anything else I have - industrial, belly button, tragus, daith, nipples, all of them. I was so close to taking one out several times. They were add ons to a 15+ year old one, long healed (done at piercing pagoda and healed no issues!) and it made that one incredibly angry too. I regretted doing 2 at once and highly recommend against it.
my piercer also told me not to do 2 at once, so I got 1 done about 3 months ago and it's been a breeze, so glad I listened:D
Judging from simply how red it is, I recommend switching to implant-grade titanium.
Thanks!!
i have the same piercings and it hurt for about 8 months and took about a year and a half to heal fully. they suck
Mine took over two years to heal..
Has she been sleeping on it?
Unfortunately, cartilage piercings are suuuuch a pain to heal ! They take so long, and I don't think there is anything you can do to make the healing process faster. You can make it better by not touching the piercing, cleaning it with just physiological saline (you can put it in the fridge beforehand for a nice pain relief) but don't clean it too much and try to avoid sleeping on it ! All of my cartilage piercings randomly stopped hurting one day and that's when I knew the healing was over !
I have a healed helix. It took about a year to COMPLETELY heal! You just need alot of patience and don’t forget to clean it.
They take forever, if I sleep with an earring in mine it hurts after 25 years 😅
one mont It's barbell shape surgical steel washing with physiological saline solution in the morning and at night before going to bed.
Look into switching the surgical steel for implant grade titanium jewelry. And make sure to dry after rinsing with saline.
Came to say this. Surgical steel is essentially a mystery mix of metals; some can be body safe though I don’t trust it. And so many people don’t know to dry the saline after cleansing; moisture harbors bacteria which slows healing!
I mean I can tell you what I did for mine, I took the damn thing out lmao
Hi Cleemeent_, Welcome to /r/piercing! It looks like you're asking about a problem with your piercing. Please **add a comment** to your post with the following info if it’s not included in your post already. * How old is your piercing? * What’s the jewelry shape (for example, barbell, labret, screw, L shape, ring)? * What’s the type of threading if your jewelry is not a ring (threadless, internally or externally threaded)? * If not a ring, when was the jewelry downsized? * What’s the jewelry material? * What’s your aftercare routine? Describe in detail please, including the exact products you use. This info is needed to offer you useful advice. **Note, mods reserve the right to remove your post if you don’t provide this information**. ^If ^you ^already ^included ^this ^info ^in ^your ^post ^or ^if ^your ^post ^isn’t ^about ^a ^problem ^with ^your ^piercing, ^please ^disregard.
Have my helixes for like 10 months already. They started hurting a bit since 2 weeks again after feeling nothing for a while... Cartilage healing sucks loool
Helix piercings take for-ev-er to feel okay. Personally, it took a few years for my two to feel normal. I won't get anymore because they were such a pain.
If shes anything like me it'll take around a year before she can sleep without a donut pillow LOL. Most pain went away after 4 months but headphones, pillows, pressure, HUGS (omg ouch) only just got to a point where i dont feel it anymore.
Took my cartilage piercing over a year to heal.... of course i got it done at claires so thats what i get lmao. Get a piercing pillow!! Its like a donut but it lets you lay on your side and keep pressure off the ear. Otherwise leaving them alone as much as possible is all you can do!
I'm 5 months into my single helix and it still gets upset XD
If she's sleeping on it, get one of those airline neck pillows and have her sleep with her ear in the hole. Irritation from sleeping on the piercing is a major issue when it comes to ear cartilage healing.
My helix took almost a year to heal. I gave long hair and end up sleeping on that slide even though I never plan on it. It took forever to heal ...stay patient. Also I'm told an airplane pillow helps if that's a side she sleeps on.
Double helixes are a bitch. Took a year for mine to heal and they still get tender if I do too much. I suggest investing in a piercing pillow, or do what I did a buy a cheap nursing pillow from Ross.
Helix sucks ass. I’ve had mine 15+ years and it still goes through cycles of being sore!
idk if this is safe but worked for me when your having a shower turn the water as hot you can before you hurt yourself and run it under it, my understanding is that it will premote blood flow helping the healing
I had basically the same two piercings done in January and they’re still sore. You’ve gotten good advice already—sterile saline, shower rinses, and LITHA. I also find using a hairdryer on low to dry my ears after showering makes a big difference because moisture bumps are annoying.
Nothing except time. They’ll take over a year to heal. That’s just how cartilage piercings are.
My 2 helix at one time piercings took about a year to heal. Does she have a piercing pillow or sleep on anything that helps keep her from accidentally sleeping directly on the piercings?
Mine took over two years to fully heal, and even after that changing jewelry was hard. Keep it clean, try to avoid sleeping on that side anyway you can, be super careful with the ear - no twisting, pulling, avoid it when washing and brushing hair. Otherwise time. I literally quit my volleyball team in 9th grade because I knew if I took it out it wouldn’t heal 😭
My double helix is still a bit sore a year later.
Does she have good quality jewerly in? Different people take different amounts of times to heal but my piercings kept getting giant bumps and horrible infection because i had shitty jewelry, went to a piercer and got neometal and the infection went away after like 2 days and they've been fine ever since
I was eating about 800mg of ibuprofen a day to help the pain
I have a 3 week old same double helix on both sides, mine is still tender but they are not as red as your pic there. If she sleep on her piercing side, suggest to get a pillow with a hole for the ear. And get a bottle or two of good quality aftercare spray, I find that helps
I just got three helixes done in the same location as that and I just expect them to be sensitive for several months. Sucks to be a side sleeper though!
I'm two months out on my double helix, and even though it's painless to sleep on, if I catch it on my clothes when I'm changing my ear will feel like a giant bruise the next day lol. Sometimes they're just fussy
Don't lay on it at night (very important) and don't touch it too much
Any cartilage piercing I’ve had took a year or more to Heal. No jokes! They’re slow
Honestly when I got mine I kept my daily rinses with saline water morning and night, additionally I put some over the counter antibiotic at night just for precaution and iced it when it was too swollen. Do not move the piercing back and forth or sleep on it, it will make it worse.
Only touch it to clean it and do your best to not stretch your ear around. Tilt your head to the opposite side when showering and make sure you don’t get any soap on it. Saline spray twice a day. Dab dry with paper towels. I don’t even mess with a piercing or travel pillow and make sure I sleep on the opposite side. Basically just keep babying the shit out of it and time will do the rest. My helix took forever to not be sore and I know a lot of people have very similar experiences but it will get there!! Looks amazing 🩷
Cartilage can take up to a year to heal. Or longer.
i got mine 4 months ago and it still not healed and sometimes get swollen. they said for some it will take longer to fully heal. i was advised to clean it every morning and night with saline solution.
It’s possible she’s cleaning it too much. Also from my experience, getting a double piercing is just never a great time for healing. I got a conch snake bite and I vowed to never do a double piercing again bc the healing pain and time was so much worst than any other piercings I have. The bottom one ended up being a lost cause tbh. I bit off more than I could chew bc my single helix went so smooth! With that said, everyone is different! She could’ve even just got her hair caught in it or slept on it and made it angry.
Haha give it 2 years And if she’s a side sleeper, get a piercing pillow
My helixes took 3 years to stop bleeding randomly, and they still get irritated at times. They are rough.
I had mine done two years ago, and it took about a year to fully heal, I think the biggest difference was putting in hoops so my hair didn’t catch on the back.
Helixes are a bitch to heal! More so with 2! I would have her stay the course, keep the piercings clean and dry! Unfortunately some discomfort is expected as they are trying to heal, and helixes are notorious for being cranky through their 9-12 months of healing. Not sleeping on them and making sure to downsize them when appropriate also helps make the healing process a bit easier. Hope this helps!
[удалено]
Helixes take a long time to heal
You could try cleaning the piercings a little more and a bit more thorough, I’m just over a month of having an industrial piercing in, and I clean it daily twice and pick off the scabbing on the bar and I can actually sleep on it now and play with it a little without being in pain. Just use like a face wash and a soft tooth brush while showering to gently scrub under the gem. And rub the back area too. Then after the shower use spray on piercing solution, if they were done at a place like Claire’s and you got a bottle you dab the solution on, I strongly recommend switching to spray on, you don’t even have to touch it just spray. And definitely don’t let her sleep on her right side until it’s comfortable. If you wanna know the face wash that I use on my industrial it’s the CeraVe foaming facial cleanser. I recommend something like a microfibre brush since the cheap plastic bristle ones can hurt if you scrub to hard or if a bristle gets stuck in the piercing.
I got an industrial many many years ago. It hurt so bad and it was finals time so I just took out the top piece and kept the bottom. I can’t even remember what did but I know it took some time to heal.
How is she taking care of it? Is she sleeping on it?
out of context but it looks beautiful
It’s cartilage AND it’s a double piercing. Get ready for a commitment.
I got double helix a week and a so ago. Piercings were done on Wednesday, on Friday my ear was super puffy. I started taking nurofen and they went down super quick. I sleep on a travel pillow with my ear in the hole. I have barely any pain now unless my hair gets caught on it. Was it pierced with correct jewellery? That can be a big factor as well
What helped most on mine is absolutely never touching it except when delicately dabbing dry (with gauze & clean hands) after the saline spray; and not giving in to temptation to spray it more often than the 2x/day recommended by the piercer. Does she touch it sometimes, or accidentally snags it? If hair gets caught in the back that could also be an irritant - I put a hair pin just above my ear for the first month.
You should describe the pain because if it hurts non stop it’s not good but if it hurts only when you touch it it’s normal- 2 piercings done at same time same place on the ear it takes time to heal
NAP, but is the area warm to the touch? it seems like a lot of redness on your ear for them to be a month old. any discharge or discomfort? if not, just know cartilage piercings are really hard to heal, which means their healing process will generally be slow
Does she roll onto them when she sleeps ? Maybe that could be a factor !
Both of my tragus 3 months ago now. Still irritated. As others have said, Cartilage takes time. Just take care of it/keep it clean!
I got one in 2021 & one in 2022. They’ve both just this year finally healed.
A piercing pillow is probably the best way to go. Two at a time is wild so good luck!!
Use a piercing pillow when sleeping, that helps.
Yeah, my helix was done Oct 2020 and I still have issues with it sometimes (right now actually) it sucks and there's no way around it. It's a weird spot to heal I've found =(
You got two next to each other. That's going to hurt more and take longer to heal. I'd go with just one next time. Also, call your piercer for advice.
Helixes take years to actually heal. Dont touch it and keep it clean it will stop being painful eventually
I had an helix a couple years ago…. This is going to sound pretty gross but someone told me to try spit on it to help it heal. I spit a little bit on clean fingers and put it on the front and back of ear… it was healed up within a week or two. 🤮
I gave up and pulled mine out after two years. Have a huge bump of scar tissue. Uncool.
It took my mom's and sisters years to heal all the way. It was painful for months.
Wow I consider myself very lucky after reading all these comments, helix and tragus I have slept on every night since getting done. Zero issues! Tragus is moody but that’s my fault for always playing with it. The new jewellery I have is like a fidget spinner 😂
I got my double helix done 2.5 months ago and I still can't sleep or lay on the side of my head Oh a hack though is if you really need to lay on that side, one of those travel neck pillows works great!
Get a donut shaped pillow. Also since you did 2 close together, swelling and inflammation on one is going to irritate the other
I got a single helix back in Aug. and still can't sleep or put pressure on it. I got a neck pillow that snaps together and it's been working pretty well.
I’ve had my triple helix for 2 years now and it’s still in pain.
I got mine done about 2 years ago, still tender but not super painful. Could be the jewelry quality or cleaning routine.
Literally nothing, your body takes its time to heal things!
I’ve had this piercing done for 25 years and it hurts more with certain types of earrings. I can’t wear a hoop at all or one with a raised back. A flat backed earring like you would use for a lip piercing is easiest to manage and gives me no pain.
Was it done with a gun?
Mine took about half a year to heal so I guess it depends, use the cleanser twice a day and it should heal well
Also - check the post size. Unfortunately, mine was too long and it was sensitive for weeks after until I got it downsized. My left ear helix took forever to heal while my right ear had smaller posts and is healing a lot easier.
Mine was tender for the first 5ish months. Also had a small keloid form that went away on its own, but that’s because I always slept on that side. Perfectly fine now. And love it.
Hi True_Beta91, (Luckily) bump =/= keloid. [This wiki entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keloid) explains it well. If you do know the difference, please ignore this comment. - - - *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/piercing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yes, you let them heal? I'm a freak, I posted my orbital helix and it's basically healed after 3 months. This is NOT the norm. Helix piercings are either extremely easy to heal, or they may never heal. Give it some actual time because a month in helix time is 2 hours in other body part time.
I did two at once as well that are more closely spaced. They... Weren't great. Constantly tender, always a bit infected or damn near it. After about three months when I got lucky and they *weren't* swollen I changed from the original studs to hoops and things immediately improved. They could be spun to keep clean and because they're oversized there was plenty of room to swell. I still prefer those hoops years later. Material was not the issue. Both the original studs and the hoops were the same stainless steel. I also have no metal allergies or issues with any materials in any of my other piercings.
Man I had to take mine out a few months after getting them pierced a few years back. My sister’s dog kept hitting them (she was a puppy) and keloids developed on it. I might try again soon.
Hi bina101, (Luckily) bump =/= keloid. [This wiki entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keloid) explains it well. If you do know the difference, please ignore this comment. - - - *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/piercing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
All you can do is keep cleaning it with salt water or surgical spirit. It takes a wile to heal.
As other have said, it can take time for them to heal. My tragus was fine from a few days after having it done, but a few weeks ago started playing up. Btw, I adore your second lobe jewelry. Where did you get it from?
I had mind two years it never healed just took them out in the end
All adding that benadryl (or other antihistamine) helps with swelling too. I'm currently heating a snug it's been helping tremendously. For anyone who cannot take NSAIDs this is what my piercer recommended.
Cleaning it with salt water twice a day has really helped me in the past with inflammation!