I am getting my cartilage pierced. Any tips, advice, etc.?

Question

I am still in grade school (really close to graduating, though) and my mom said I can get my cartilage pierced. We were at the mall today and my mom said I could get it done then, but I decided to wait so I could ask you guys. Haha! So any tips/advice? Anything to ease the pain more?

Whoa, Trish. That site really helped. :] I think I know who is getting best answer! Haha.

Answer 1

Don't go to the mall and get it pierced. Go to a real piercer who uses a one time use autoclaved (the only way something can get properly sterilized) piercing needle.

Guns can't be properly sterilized (rubbing alcohol does not sterilize), which gets you in contact with the billions of other peoples bloodbourne pathogens and could get hepatitis, which could kill you. As I said, rubbing alcohol wipes don't sterilize things. What does sterilize things as an autoclave. The piercing gun would melt under the heat and pressure of an autoclave. The gun "piercers" don't wear gloves, which also gets you in contact with everything else they touch..what if they didn't wash their hands after they used the restrooms?

It's basically a blunt object being shoved into your ear.. which is very painful, and can do a lot of damage.

The studs aren't long enough to accommadate swelling, and the butterfly backing is a great harbor for bacteria - which could cause an infection.

The solution they give you there is horrible, the ingredients found in the solution have some of the same ingredients found in household cleaners. It also harbors bacteria, causing an infection.

If getting your cartilage done with a gun, you can risk your cartilage collapsing.

Also, they give you horrible aftercare. Apart from that crappy soltion, they also tell you to rotate it (bad! you can tear your piercing that way), and tell you that you can change it in like 3 weeks (lobe piercings take about 2-3 months to heal, whereas cartilage piercings can take upto a year to heal, sometimes longer).

You clean them doing sea salt soaks twice a day.
Do not use rubbing alcohol, peroxide, neosporin or bactine. They will all prolong healing time and could cause an infection.
Do not touch or rotate the piercing. Touching it could cause an infection and rotating could tear the hole.


Edit -- lol, thanks. That site (the first one - APP website) will also help you find the right piercer, and give you lots more info that you will want to know :)
The second (tribalectic.com) is also a great website, I love their forums :)

Answer 2

Go to a professional piercer at a reputable piercing shop, one that uses a needle and not a gun. Guns are not suitable for cartilage piercings. I assume you want your helix done, since that's the most common cartilage piercing(and when most people say cartilage piercing, that's what they mean). They aren't too bad, compared to the others. The healing is the worst part, but I clean mine with H2Ocean and if(or when) you get hypertrophic scarring(NOT KELOIDS..lots of people, even piercers, mistake common hypertrophic scarring for less common keloids) you can use Tea Tree Oil to make them go away. You can also do sea salt soaks instead of using H2Ocean. They can take a year or more to completely heal, and at times hurt like a b*tch, but if you take care of it, it's all worth it.

Answer 3

well i had mine done the first time about a year and a half ago and it got infected because i didnt clean it every day so it closed up. i was really lucky to get it pierced again a few months ago...you usually cant because of scar tissue. well my advice is that you clean it EVERY day for about 2 months after gettting it pierced. and they'll probably tell you not to change or take out the earing for about a year.

Answer 4

Leave earrings in for 8-12 weeks.
Keep some type of earring in for the next year to make sure that your earring hole will stay the right size

Claire's has good after care stuff but i would go to a profesional for the actual piercing

Answer 5

My advice?

Listen to everything Trish said.

Please do not get it done at a place in the mall. They are so disgusting, don't know what they are doing, and can cause so many risks.

Answer 6

Well it doesnt hurt. Just a little sting. but make sure when you get it done. dont sleep on it the first couple of nights....or it'll hurt even more. the cartilage never heals all the way so be very careful. be sure to clean it everyday too. GOODLUCK!!

Answer 7

Get it done at the mall. Don't listen to the people who go against this. I got it done at Piercing Pagoda(not sure if i spelled that collrectly). I got it done. Its very perfessional. The one in the Deptford Mall(if you live in N.J like me) second floor I believe its perfessional its nice and if you do go there and theres a lady with red shorts hair and plenty of piercings on her, me and my friend happened to be with her she explains everything and she is very nice. My friend got hers done 4 times with that person. Just letting you know, don't think if she isn't there its not good 'cause its not they wouldn't have like "rookies" like non-good people putting needles into your ear! When you get it don't think about the needle because she said it will make it seem worse than it really is. So like when she did it she was talking to me to get my mind off it so take someone with you to talk you throw it like tell them to ask you questions and stuff like that. Clean it everyday so it prevents inflections!!

I hope I helped!!

Answer 8

My advice is to have a glass of orange juice. I don't mean before the piercing and I don't mean afterwards. I mean instead. It's a lot healthier.

Answer 9

just dont go get it done at claire's whatever you do. trust me. go to a professional...