[stargzr]

Hey-o! I got an industrial piercing in my ear last October. I love it, but at the same time I don't love it... It's SUPER cute, but it is always in my way when I tuck my hair behind my ear. Also, the guy said it would take 6-12 months to heal, but mine's pretty good... I think I just keep getting shampoo in it or something and it gets puffy for a day or two (like once a month) then goes back down. I also have a small fleshy bump behind the top of the top hole. I'm thinking now about taking it out...
So those of you who have this or are familiar with it (you know someone who has it) do you/they still have yours/theirs? For how long?
Also, so as to keep with weight loss questions - I also have my belly button pierced (got it done like 6-7 years ago). Have you had issues with it as you gained or lost weight?

*edit: I just realized the other piercing thread closed a while back, feel free to share any others you might have!

[bitetoobreakkskin]

the industrial-i had one, and had the same issues you are having..i took mine out (husband HATED it) and that bump behind the top piercing eventually went down (it is trapped cartilage). The reason you are getting the puffiness is because it actually is still healing, that should go away if you leave it in. I am happier with it out, but i do miss it because as you said SUPER CUTE.

belly button-i got when i was 16 and about 150 lbs, i went down to 130, and up to 260 all with it, and it didnt affect the piercing at all..i just had a baby and still have it, and it is stretched but that is from the pregnancy (its not really noticeable to my husband though, but it is to me). so you shouldnt have any issues with gaining/losing weight affecting it.

hope that helps

[tattoodles]

Where/ with what did you get it pierced? It should not take that long to heal unless you got it done with a piercing gun and sometimes that never heals.

And for belly button piercings mine was fine til I had a baby...

[Latchkey Princess]

I have my industrial done and I've had it now for maybe 3.5 years. I love it, it's adorable (and socially acceptable which can be nice sometimes) tho it did take some getting used to when combing my hair and stuff. And the hairdressers that cut my hair still catch it sometimes, but it doesn't hurt when they do that anymore, it's just a little tug. It actually hurts more when they catch my eyebrow piercing... Anyway, your piercer was right in that it takes a cartilage piercing 6-12 months to completely heal inside and out, and that would probably why it still gets puffy on occasion. Mine hasn't given me issues with soreness or puffiness in about 2.5 years now. The bump is just cartilage that got pushed up by the needle during the piercing, it would most likely go away if you took the piercing out. But I recommend keeping it for another 6 months and then see how you feel about it. If by then you're still not happy with it then it's not for you. But it might be just the amount of time you need for it to completely heal and to get used to it. :-)

[shanara]

Originally Posted by bitetoobreakkskin

belly button-i got when i was 16 and about 150 lbs, i went down to 130, and up to 260 all with it, and it didnt affect the piercing at all..i just had a baby and still have it, and it is stretched but that is from the pregnancy (its not really noticeable to my husband though, but it is to me). so you shouldnt have any issues with gaining/losing weight affecting it.

hope that helps

Awww I bet that was cute having a pregnant belly with a belly button piercing I think that would look awesome for pregnancy!

[krampus]

I'm thinking about getting an interesting ear piercing. I never show the top half of my ears because I'm self conscious about how small they are. I'm thinking about a conch - always thought that looked bada$s.

I prefer face piercings but I'm getting a little old for that, plus I'll be job hunting in a few months and would like to maximize my chances to make the big bucks.

[stargzr]

bite - thanks for helping my ear feel "normal", lol.

tattoodles - Got it done at my local tat/piercing shop, done with sterilized needle. Everything was done correctly. =) Also, everywhere I've checked says 6-12 months healing is the norm. =/

latchkey - Thanks a bunch! I hadn't even thought yet about how it's going to go over when I get my hair cut for the first time since I've got it done, lol. I'll be sure to mention it to my hairdresser. I think 6 months sounds like a reasonable amount of time to keep it. Just to let it heal all the way and then see how I feel. =)

krampus - A conch would be cute! If you aren't afraid of pain, getting your tragus would be nifty also... more "interesting".

[Latchkey Princess]

krampus~ Have you considered a horizontal lobe piercing? It's kind of like an industrial for your lobe, I've always thought they were super cute. Or an anti-helix... But a conch piercing is adorable too! If you're more adventurous you could look into subdermals, I've seen people with them placed so that they almost look like tragus piercings.

I've been wanting to get another ear piercing myself, but can't until I'm not pregnant anymore. In the meantime I'll have to be content to just stretch my lobes. :-)

[kateleestar]

I've had my industrial for 8 or 9 years, and it was a problem for about 6 months after I got it. After that though, I don't think I've had ANY problems with it since then.

I also have a my rook, both tragus's (es?), several cartlidge piercings and my nose. I have 21 in total, all above my nose. I was looking into getting a dermal anchor between the girls, a teeny sparkly star. I also have some random cartlidge piercings that are on the "outskirts" of my ear that really don't have names, I just went to the piercer and pointed.

As far as it still being infected, I always did the same few things when I got those bubble things. Hot compress, for 10 or so mins a few times a day. As hot as the tap could get, and let it sit, and keep reheating the washcloth or whatever you use. It will bring the infection to the surface and help it heal. I would also make sure that I kept it VERY VERY CLEAN. As clean as humanly possible. It might be unconventional, but I would put Purell on it all the time. Kills germs on hands, it kills them in ears, too, haha.

Also, I used to pierce ears for a while... I worked at a jewerly store, and I did it with a gun. All of my piercings, besides the "non-normal" ones were done with a gun. If the person doing it does it correctly, and its kept clean during healing, there should be no problem for lobes or cartlidge. Just my .2 cents & expierence...

[OhMyDogs]

I have a horizontal hood piercing (I think LOL). I haven't had a captive in it for well over a year, but had the piercing done 8 years ago, so it should still be good.

I used to have my tongue pierced, but got rid of that several years ago.

Don't have much to add about the industrial piercings, just thought I'd put in my 2 bits (LOL).

[CollegeChickMN]

I have my industrial, lobes stretched to 5/8", second lobes stretched to 14g, two left lip piercings, right nostirl, and anti-eyebrow. I've had almost every facial/ear piercing you can name, at some point, so I am very well informed on the topic of piercings, haha.

The bump you're seeing is called hypotrophic scaring, it is very normal for industrial bars and will go down over time. Cartilage piercings generally take about 6 months to fully heal, but industrial bars take about a year, due to the constant stress of one piece of jewelry through two different holes.

Like somebody else said, hot compresses will work very well, also just being careful to to get any hair product on it, or get a comb stuck in it (ouch!).

Any piercings done with a gun will take much longer to heal than with a needle, piercings guns are horrible for your body and should never be used because they put the tissue through WAY to much trauma.

As for the belly button piercing, I cannot help you with, I haven't had mine done- yet. I think I may save that as a reward for myself when I hit my weight goal

[bitetoobreakkskin]

this post makes me severly miss my industrial ....but my husband hated it and its just not worth the fight..i have 3 holes in my earlobes (that also was a fight) but eventually he gave up complaining about them i used to have the girls done but the piercings kept migrating (i now have terrible scars from having them done twice and the rings migrating out)...and i miss those too!!!

[CollegeChickMN]

Awh, yeah migration & rejection sucks! I've had my battles with rejection, and they do leave some nasty scars. What you can do to make them less noticeable is put some vitamin e oil on them after every days shower, or before bed, it works wonders on scar tissue.

I'm planning on getting my nipples & belly button as a lose more weight, my nipples as a half-of-my-goal treat, and my belly button when I'm finished.

[bitetoobreakkskin]

good idea college chick..ill have to try that...one of them healed and was great-but the other was just about a 1/2 centimeter of tissue from coming out! i tried to make it work lol...i think those are great rewards-i would like a lip piercing but my hubs said **** NO...lol his wording is "dont mess up that pretty mouth"...so maybe my nose will get repierced

[Cat86]

I miss my piercings now reading about all of yours! I had my lip done twice, my tongue, my tragus and i had my ears stretched. But then I made the mistake of getting microdermals in my wrist, which ended up severly infected and I was in hospital for a week. My whole arm from my fingertips to my shoulder was swollen and gunge filled and was pretty close to amputation Never ever again! Sorry if this was TMI...