<p>I made a deal with my D who is a HS Freshman. She has kept up her end of the bargain and I will be taking her to get her cartilage pierced in the next 2 weeks. I have no experience with this so I’m looking for advice (besides don’t do it ;)) What do we need to think of ahead of time? How do I choose where I take her? What questions should I ask the place where it is to be done? What am I not thinking of?</p>
<p>It may sound silly, but she has kept her room and her bathroom clean for 3 months. She has to keep it clean for another 3 months or the piercing will be removed. I’m hoping she is working on developing a habit. Thanks!</p>
<p>I am not into the whole cartilage thing, but I think you are doing the right thing by making her earn it and sure sounds like she has done just that. My nieces have cartilage piercings and my sister took them to a tattoo parlor, that does body piercing. She studied each of them making sure they were into the whole sterile thing, and she called every place she was considering. She found person that really into explaining the whole thing, especially after care, and she knew she had found the place.</p>
<p>I recommend a tattoo/piercing studio as well, that’s what I did for D1 when she wanted it done. The guage they use is better for that part of the ear and curved barbells or captive bead loops are definitely better for healing than studs (hair will more easilly wrap around studs).</p>
<p>We found a place that is owned and operated by two RNs. We went through all the ads for piercing/tatoo parlors in our city on the internet in order to find this place. The nurse who did the piercing was very careful to tell my D how to take care of the new piercing and what to watch out for. I was not exactly in favor of this, but I have to say it looks just fine and she has had no problems with the piercing.</p>
<p>Go to a tattoo/piercing shop that is reputable. If you see a piercing gun anywhere, run away. Guns should never be used for any piercing, and are especially dangerous on cartilage, because the force of it can shatter the cartilage and make it very difficult to heal.</p>
<p>Make sure you talk to your daughter and she knows that it is going to HURT…when they do it, but also for a long time afterwards. I have had mine for 14 months and it is still tender sometimes. Cartilage can take anywhere from 6 months to 2 years to fully heal.</p>
<p>Don’t let her put anything on it afterwards…anti-bacterial soap, hydrogen peroxide, etc. If she must clean it, use a sea salt and water solution on the end of a q-tip. Try to touch it as little as possible with your hands, because the bacteria/oils on your hand can get into the new piercing and cause infections.</p>
<p>I also agree about the hoop/barbell rather than a stud…I have a captive bead loop and I’ve never had a problem with hair getting caught on it like my friends have had with their studs. You can always switch to a stud later.</p>
<p>I agree with everyone else - do NOT go to Claire’s or another mall-type store, go to a piercing parlor. If it starts to get infected, she should soak it in salt water (sea salt works best) 3x a day. Generally, piercing parlors will pierce you with a barbell because CBRs move around more and drag more bacteria into the piercing while it’s healing, which increases your risk for infection.</p>
<p>Let her know that she won’t be able to sleep on the side that she gets pierced for at least a month (no, seriously - and if she rolls on top of it in her sleep, she’ll either wake up with her head really sore or it will wake her up). My industrial (2 cartilage piercings connected with a bar) took about two months before I could sleep on it, and it still is sore when I wake up if I sleep on it too much, even though it’s been like a year.</p>
<p>If she ever wants cool-looking earrings, she should get it slightly gauged (16g is pretty standard), but your piercer will be able to give you more information on this.</p>
<p>I would also go with the tattoo/piercing studio/parlor. When S1 wanted his first tattoo we asked around (most of my neighbors kids or themselves have tattoos) and then I went with him to check out each place. Most of the reputable places will show you around and explain everything. S1 got his tattoo and then went back 2 months later for the piercing and then had the other ear done shortly after that! Don’t settle for the first place, check out a few before jumping into it. The place that I had thought wouldn’t be good ended up being the cleanest and the employees were so helpful. So don’t go by what the outside looks like, sometimes you will be quite surprised at how bright and sterile they really are. On a side note, he had to have a MRI when he was a sophomore in college and had to remove them, and never put them back. He’s 24 now and I have to really look to see where they were in his ears. Good Luck!</p>
<p>Also check out piercing shops on yelp. The place where i got my cartilage pierced is not such a good tattoo parlor, but has fabulous piercers, and there are tons of honest help reviews attesting to that. People write what they think of these places, and their experiences completely honestly. </p>
<p>Also, personal feedback – I got my piercing with a captive bead ring. It was the tragus which is cartilage but probably not where you have in mind. Cartilage takes forever to heal, and the curvature of the ring made mine take longer – it just kept getting bumped and aggravated. A year after I got the piercing, I got it changed to a labret stud, and it finally fully healed, and has not gotten irritated since. That said, everybody’s different, and piercers have reasons to use the jewelry that they do (I don’t think that mine would have used the labret initially) but it is something to keep in mind, discuss beforehand, and remember that switching might help if you have issues.</p>
<p>Also, with a good piercer, it is always a good idea to go back to the piercer if you are having problems. They will help, change the jewelry, advise you on what the issues might be – it is their area of expertise.</p>
<p>A good friend of mine wanted them, and his parents made him look at pictures of people who had them and now have the gaping holes in their earlobes.</p>
<p>I second going to a tatoo/piercing parlor. Get the person who has the most piercings to do the job - lol.
Ask around to the adults that you know - you will be surprised at the recommendations you get.
I got my cartilage done last August. It did not hurt a bit. My ear was sore for about 3 months, mostly when sleeping on it.
I left the earring in until about Jan when I got my daughter to get it out and put in a stud.<br>
Plan on buying a couple of cans of H2Ocean. It’s in a spray can and is the best stuff for a piercing. She should not wash with soap or put neosporin or anything else on her piercing. She can get it wet in the shower and spray the H2ocean on it a couple of times a day and tell her to keep her fingers off of the piercing!
The healing process is not bad, but a little bit longer than a lobe piercing.</p>
<p>How big does your son want to go? I personally think the huge ones look gross but if it’s like 14 gage not so bad (and that will shrink back). From what I’ve heard, you want to be really careful with not going up too quickly and following instructions or you will mess up your earlobe.</p>
<p>My son wants to go to 00,or 1cm. he says that is as far as he will go. I am trying to tell him that when he is 40 he will regret having these big holes in his ears.</p>
<p>Am I just being paranoid, or will he have permanent scars and holes?</p>
<p>Some of the smaller gauges shrink back relatively small after taking them out, but @HisGrace has the right idea… when they get too big and taken out, the lobes look horrible and ridiculous. I have seen a few people who have taken gauges out after going very large, and it looks truly awful. Make sure he knows that if he gauges too quickly or decides to go too big that the holes might not be able to return to a “normal” size.</p>
<p>They can shrink back, but you have to be really really careful about how you stretch them. Really research it and don’t do it too fast – there’s definitely a risk of permanently damaging the ear tissue.</p>
<p>A salesperson at a store where I frequently shop had gauges, but he recently had the jewelry taken out. The large hole that remains looks very odd and doesn’t seem to be closing up on its own. I don’t see any way that he’s going to be able to get his ears back to a normal appearance without plastic surgery.</p>
<p>Maybe it would be better for people to limit their bodily self-expression to things that are more easily reversible, such as small piercings that close up to inconspicuous little dents if you change your mind or (even better) exotic hair dyes and styles. You can have a lot of fun with your appearance without doing things that you might regret 10 years from now.</p>