Nada

NightDragon

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blue powder

I got this done about 4 months ago now, I'll search for my original post and link it later.

Basically it's easy as anything, just takes a long time to heal, just make sure you get it done with a needle, not a gun.

Just take care of it and clean it etc. and do what the piercer tells you.

Bionic Monkey

I've had four cartilage piercings. Two turned out perfect, one I developed a lump on the back of the ear where the piercing was, and the other was always infected (but it was so close to the edge of the ear, it almost wasn't in cartilage anymore). But I was also terrible about cleaning my piercings. They do take a long time to heal, but as long as you're not taking them out for job interviews or something on a regular basis, I wouldn't worry about it. They'll be sore whenever you lay your head on a pillow for a week or two, but that will get better.

As long as you're good at keeping them clean, I wouldn't worry about it at all.

I should also mention, my wife has something like 5 or 6 cartilage piercings (one major one through the back of the ear near the canal), and she's had almost zero issues.

Calebros

I got mine done with a gun. Actually, I had my sister bring home a gun from where she works and do it while I was sitting here at my computer, browsing PA most likely.

Don't do that. That was a gigantic mistake.

Currently, my (left) ear looks like this:



I'm happy with how they turned out, but jesus fuck does it take a long time to heal when you get it done with a gun. It's been over a year and a half and the top of the two still hurts like balls.

Basically, get it done with a needle, clean it at LEAST once a day with a dripping wet cotton ball (thats the way I prefer, anyway), and don't fuck with it. I changed my earrings from studs to hoops after about 6 weeks and that was a gigantic mistake also.

Edit: Oh, and about the swimming thing: I don't think you'll have too many problems aside from the potential loss of an earring in the water. Hell, saltwater helps heal wounds. And you know, if things don't work out, you can always take the piercing out and try again in like a year or just leave it alone forever. If you get a scar or something, who cares? Who the fuck looks at backs of ears?

NightDragon

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Calebros

NightDragon wrote:

Calebros wrote:

Edit: Oh, and about the swimming thing: I don't think you'll have too many problems aside from the potential loss of an earring in the water. Hell, saltwater helps heal wounds. And you know, if things don't work out, you can always take the piercing out and try again in like a year or just leave it alone forever. If you get a scar or something, who cares? Who the fuck looks at backs of ears?

That's true. Still, ocean water probably isn't the cleanest thing to be putting on a wound...actually, I hardly get my ears wet anyway (I don't dive) so maybe it wouldn't really be that much of a problem.

...and yeah, I've heard that guns are a no-no for doing cartilage. I actually had the hollow-needle method done on my 3rd lobe piercings, and I have to say, of the methods I've had done that was probably the best.

As far as the scar thing goes, I just don't want a lump on my ear. I like my ears as they are now, and having a lump on them would be sadness.

Nice ear, by the way.



Bionic Monkey - Do you get the "lump" if you're not good at cleaning the piercings? Or does that just "sometimes happen"? I've heard both, so I'm not sure...

thanks

I have 'lumps' around where my pierces go through my ear but I'd imagine it'd only be weird if I ever decided to take the earrings out. They're not that big. I think it has more to do with how quick and clean the pierce was then an infection. I'm pretty sure my cartilage was spider-web fractured and didn't heal the right way. That's the biggest danger with guns, I think.

Re: nholder

I had mine pierced three times and didn't really have any problems. Any time they got hit the next day I would have a lump behind at least one of them but nothing major. I took them out about a year ago and I now have three nice scars because I guaged them to 12s...not the smartest idea I've ever had.

Calebros

Re: nholder wrote:

I had mine pierced three times and didn't really have any problems. Any time they got hit the next day I would have a lump behind at least one of them but nothing major. I took them out about a year ago and I now have three nice scars because I guaged them to 12s...not the smartest idea I've ever had.

I've been considering gaging mine but I've been scared to as I'd imagine it would hurt like shit.

Also, your name is backwards. It would be Renhold:er, because it's Re: D(anny) Lohner

Re: nholder

It really didn't hurt too bad but when I gauged mine I kept the tapers in as earrings (so they looked like spikes and I could be all hard core and shit) and that caused them to get irritated a lot easier. I'm sure if you just wore rings it would be 10 times better.

As for the name....ask my boy friend about it...I'm on his account because I'm too lazy to sign on my own account.

Menthol

This isn't something that you go to wal-mart and sit down on the little blue plastic pench to get done. Do *NOT* get it done via gun. Guns are fine for lobes, but they can potentially crack your cartilage and lead to the little lumps that some people get... as well as pain and swelling.

If you go to a clean professional BODY PEIRCING place, you should have minimal problems.

DiscGrace

My cartilage piercing took about 6 months to heal, but then my lobe piercings took a little longer than normal to heal when I was a kid, too, so maybe I'm just frail or something. :P

DEFINITELY make sure they use a needle. Piercing guns tear your cartilage a lot more than a needle would, so the healing takes a lot longer.

Also, if you do it soon, you should be fine with swimming this summer. The piercer I went to made me abstain from swimming for 6 weeks or so, but that was all. I think the primary reason I had to wait was that the chlorine might dry out the piercing too much so it didn't heal well - you might not even have that issue with ocean water, but I'd ask the piercer what they recommend doing.

NightDragon

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Bionic Monkey

NightDragon wrote:

Calebros wrote:

Edit: Oh, and about the swimming thing: I don't think you'll have too many problems aside from the potential loss of an earring in the water. Hell, saltwater helps heal wounds. And you know, if things don't work out, you can always take the piercing out and try again in like a year or just leave it alone forever. If you get a scar or something, who cares? Who the fuck looks at backs of ears?

That's true. Still, ocean water probably isn't the cleanest thing to be putting on a wound...actually, I hardly get my ears wet anyway (I don't dive) so maybe it wouldn't really be that much of a problem.

...and yeah, I've heard that guns are a no-no for doing cartilage. I actually had the hollow-needle method done on my 3rd lobe piercings, and I have to say, of the methods I've had done that was probably the best.

As far as the scar thing goes, I just don't want a lump on my ear. I like my ears as they are now, and having a lump on them would be sadness.

Nice ear, by the way.



Bionic Monkey - Do you get the "lump" if you're not good at cleaning the piercings? Or does that just "sometimes happen"? I've heard both, so I'm not sure...

Well, the piercing on my left ear is perfect, no lump whatsoever. The lumps occurred on the right ear which is where the problem piercings were. But again, I was horrible at cleaning them regularly. I should note, I've had the earrings out of my right ear for a couple years now, and those lumps have completely disappeared. So, if you do get them, they're not permanent.

Food?

I went to a piercing/tattoo parlor and got it done with a needle (guns leave a lot more scar tissue and don't heal as well). After about 3 1/2 months, the red bumpy swelling thing in the front of my ear vanished practically overnight. The bump on the backside of my ear slowly faded away, but I slept on it too hard a week ago and it showed back up.

I cleaned the piercing twice daily for 5 months straight, and it's healing well. I know people that didn't clean as well and theirs still hurts after at least a year. If you be careful, clean it well, and do everything the piercing person tells you, you'll be fine.