Piercing Healing Time: How Long Will My Piercing Take To Heal?

Are you crazy about piercings? The uncertainty during the piercing healing time and the process can sometimes take a toll on you if you do not have the right tips and tricks to maneuver through the healing process. You need to understand the dos and don’ts and every healing stage of the piercing.

Some people may have an easy healing period, while others may experience complications. Your experience will depend on how much you know about piercing care and how you apply your knowledge.

Cosmetic advancements have made it possible to have piercings on nearly any body part that you would like to showcase your beauty. Here is how you can best take care of your piercings.

Types of Piercings and Their Healing Periods

Piercings have become a common trend, and people are going all out to express themselves using these piercings. Unfortunately, improper care of these piercings can be harmful to your health. You need to understand the risks and care procedures of each of your piercings.

The time it takes for them to heal will also differ depending on the type of piercing.

Nose

Nose piercings are pretty delicate and will pose several challenges, primarily due to their vulnerability and exposure. They can be further subdivided into the following:

Nasallang

The nasallang piercing usually looks like symmetric piercings on both nostrils. The piercing will go through the septum to the other nostril. It is a complex piercing that can take at least four months to heal.

During this nose piercing healing time, you need to be keen on avoiding aggressive contact with your nose. Cleaning it daily and monitoring its progress is vital for an effective healing period.

Rhino

This piercing is usually through the nose cartilage and takes up to 9 months in healing. It is because it is in one of the busy areas around the nose. This disruption and distraction will often cause increased movements around the piercing.

Regardless, you need to be keen on which type of jewelry and the care procedures you do on the piercing. They will influence your healing time greatly.

Bridge

This nose piercing is on the bridge – between the eyebrows. Luckily, it does not pierce any cartilage or bone, thus making the healing process and time more straightforward. However, even with this advantage, it still takes about three months to heal completely.

It is also prone to infections due to its prime facial position. Therefore, ensure you follow the correct procedures to ensure complete healing.

Septum

The septum piercing goes through the cartilage, separating the two nostrils. The cartilage piercings often pose particular challenges during care, and the septum piercing healing time can take approximately three to four months.

Nostril

This is the simplest form of any nose piercing, a single piercing on either or both nostrils. Though they are simple, you need to ensure that you follow the proper cleaning and care guide to avoid infections.

Ear

Ear piercings will generally have the same care procedures, but you will have to focus on the healing time and stages with each specialized piercing.

Earlobe

These are the simplest and easiest piercing to care for. Its accessibility and the fact that it does not pierce through any bone or cartilage contribute to this easy care. This ear-piercing healing time can take up to 3 months and as little as six weeks to completely heal.

Helix

This cartilage piercing at the rim of your ear requires specialized care. This is due to the frequent interference when sleeping or leaning over something. The helix piercing healing time can take up to 9 months to heal.

However, with proper care and cleaning, it will heal faster without any infection.

Forward Helix

This piercing is similar to the helix but is at the front part of the helix. Its proximity to the ear makes it prone to disturbances from mask loops, glasses, or hair that affect the healing process and time.

Keeping it clean and undisturbed is the first step in ensuring an infection-free healing time. It can take up to 4 months to heal.

Conch

This is a middle ear piercing that goes through the ear to the other side. It takes 3 to 9 months to heal, considering it goes through cartilage. You will need to clean it daily with saline solution and avoid stressing out the piercing by applying unnecessary pressure.

Tragus

The tragus is the piercing on the ear attachment to the face and right in front of the ear canal. Another cartilage piercing needs intricate care in cleaning through the healing process. It will take about 3 to 9 months to heal completely.

Daith

This piercing between the tragus and the innermost part of your ear at the forward helix will provide a stern test for your piercing care process. It goes through cartilage, thus complicating the healing process. It also lengthens its healing time to between 6 to 12 months.

It is in a complex and congested area. Therefore, you need to be keen when cleaning and caring for the piercing. It is a risky process since unwanted objects might end up falling through to the ear canal. Work on having a sanitized area that is free from bacteria.

Rook

This piercing on the upper part of the ear's cartilage can pose a challenge in care and cleaning. However, proper care will have it completely healed in 9 to 12 months. You will notice that any piercing on the cartilage will probably take more time in healing than those that don’t pass through the bone and cartilage.

Industrial

A piece of jewelry connects a double piercing on either side of the ear cartilage. The precision required on these types of piercings will determine the healing process. A slight mistake in the accuracy will complicate the healing process since the asymmetrical piercings will constantly aggravate it.

It is a delicate piece of piercing and will need utmost discipline to walk you through the healing process that can last for more than 12 months.

Body

General body piercings will have different care procedures. The healing times will also vary but are generally longer due to the delicateness of the piercings.

Navel

The navel piercing will take on average six months to 1 year to completely heal. You will need to follow the correct procedures in cleaning and caring to avoid inflammations and infections.

Nipple

Similarly, the nipple piercing will take up to 6 months to heal. Though these piercings can be on any gender, females have more of these piercings. You should be keen on any inflammation and care lest it causes damage to the breast.

Facial

Facial piercings are growing in popularity, especially with many celebrities. The variety in the piercings is also steadily rising. People are willing to take more chances on beauty. However, this translates to the need for better and meticulous care to avoid infections.

Eyebrows

This piercing only affects the surface, and no cartilage takes a shorter time to heal. Its care and healing process also does not require a complex process; only cleaning with saline and keeping it free from aggravating. However, it can take between 2 to 4 months to heal.

Tongue

The tongue piercing is sensitive. However, despite its sensitivity, the tongue piercing healing time takes the least time to heal compared to other piercings-approximately four to six weeks o heal completely.

Lower Lip

This is another surface piercing that you only need to worry about, keeping it free from any inflammatory substances. It will take about two to four months to heal completely.

What Can You Expect After Piercing?

There are no standard effects that you will get once you get a piercing. However, there are specific reactions that you can expect to have during this period. Such reactions are:

• Mild swelling of the area
• Itchiness
• Soreness
• Some pain
• Redness

Despite knowing these expected outcomes, you should not take anything for granted. You may also have a whitish discharge that is not pus. Kindly do not confuse it with pus as it signifies a problem with the piercing, while having the former is quite okay.

Here are the stages in the piercing healing process:

Wound Closure

This is the first stage of healing. The wound at the piercing closes off and adapts to the newly pierced area. The hole hardens due to the blood clots and new tissues forming around the wound.

Next, the blood cells will try to repair the damaged tissues using collagen but will find some resistance due to the jewelry in the wound. Finally, through its adaptation and rejection in a bid to restore the piercing wound, the body might react and cause some swelling or redness around the piercing.

This is normal. You can reduce the pain, itchiness, and swelling by using a warm compress, cleaning it regularly with saline, and also taking pain relievers or antibiotics if it becomes unbearable.

Healing Stage

The healing process usually begins once the swelling reduces and the scar tissues form around the piercing wound. Though it may take a while before the scar tissues connect and create the piercing hole, the end of this process will symbolize the end of your healing process.

The discharge and pain drastically reduce during this stage, and the piercing hole forms. This process can take a few weeks to a few months.

Maturity and Blending in Stage

This is the last stage in the healing process. After that, the piercing hole continues its healing process, but you can easily swap your jewelry or remove them if you want to have some jewelry-free time. It is essential to understand the stage and delicateness of your piercing before releasing it for a more extended period.

Signs of an Infected Piercing

If your piercing gets infected, you need to act quickly and consult with your doctor. Some of these complications include keloids, infections, body infections, partial or complete piercing closure. Being adept at the warning signs of piercing trouble can save your piercing as well as your life.

Here are some of the most common warning signs that you be wary of:

• Piercings with pus (discharge)
• Prolonged swelling and redness
• Fever
• Tenderness

Even though it is not a common occurrence, you will find that some people will experience these infections.

The best way to deal with this infection is to visit a doctor. Self-medicating is also a viable option. But you will need a doctor to examine the extent of the damage if there is no change after taking the medication.

But don't be scared; only about 0.9% of those with piercing infections usually end up hospitalized. Therefore, the odds are in your favor.

Home Remedies of an Infection

The good news about these infections is that you can efficiently deal with them at home. But you will need to be extra careful to monitor them and rush to the hospital if they worsen. Here are some simple home remedies that you can try:

Using a dampened piece of clothing, compress or pat the infected area several times a day to ease the swelling and redness. Next, you need to clean and rinse the piercing with saline water to act as a sterilizer.

Remember to use antibiotics and pain relievers if the pain is too much. Your fever will also dial down once you take these medications.

Causes of Piercing’s Infection

There are many causes of piercing infections. However, most of them will revolve around good hygiene standards. Germs and bacteria are the worst enemies to any fresh wound, let alone a piercing.

Proper hygiene should start from your piercer to your caregiving routine. Touching your piercing with dirty hands, removing the jewelry before the wound heals, using sub-standard pieces of jewelry, and neglecting proper care of your piercings are some common causes of ear infections.

Fortunately, these are issues that you can easily deal with to avoid further problems with the infections. It only needs vigilance and strict measures from you.

How Can You Prevent These Infections?

The simplest way to ensure that you prevent any piercings infection is by maintaining high hygiene standards. Here are some of the ways that you can do this:

• Go to a qualified piercer
• Always follow the instructions of the piercer
• Avoid touching or applying pressure on the piercing
• Wash your hands before touching your piercing
• Clean the piercing regularly
• Be patient – do not be in a hurry to change your jewelry

Dos and Don’ts of Piercing Care

Like every care process, there are particular dos and don'ts in your piercing care that you should not ignore. They may seem trivial or expected, but they are necessary for your well-being and, of course, beauty.

Do not get pierced by an unqualified piercer. Always make sure you vet our piercer, especially if you are having your child pierced. Remember, they are so vulnerable and may not be safe if they get infected.

Next, you need to learn about proper piercing care. First, buy the necessary equipment and tools that you will need during the healing process. Then, learn and research ay additional care methods that may help you heal faster.

Maintain cleanliness and do not over-engage your piercing. For example, if you got an ear piercing, try not to sleep on the piercing area. It will aggravate the area by applying unnecessary pressure on it. On the other hand, such small acts of keenness will boost your healing process.

Since this is a wound that you will need to constantly care for, avoid twisting and turning the piece of earrings. Instead, rotate it to prevent it from sticking on the scar or scab tissues that form around it.

Always use quality jewelry to avoid unnecessary effects, especially on those who are allergic. You should also be patient and wait to heal before changing your jewelry at every outfit change.

Understand your limitations. If you are allergic to certain types of metal, make sure you avoid such jewelry to minimize the chances of an infection. If possible, go for neutral materials that will not influence your healing process in any way.

Be keen on how you accessorize too to avoid any aggravations that may occur during your wardrobe changes.

Lastly, do not submerge your piercing in water. Water contains numerous bacteria or viruses that may cause infections to the piercing.

Why Do Cartilage Piercings Take Longer To Heal?

Cartilage piercings are like the industrial, tragus, rhino, conch, or anti-tragus piercings. These piercings usually take longer than flesh piercings to heal.

Scientists attribute this factor to the number of blood vessels in each of the piercings. Remember, the healing of the piercing is usually down to the formation of blood clots and scar tissue from the blood composition matter.

On the other hand, Cartilage piercings have fewer blood vessels hence cannot get these substances readily available and in large quantities.

Notably, cartilage piercings are also more painful and delicate to maintain. Statistically, most piercing infections usually are from these cartilage piercings. But this is not to discourage you too for these piercings. Their management and healing process is all determinant on the ow you handle the care process.

Additional Factors That Will Affect the Healing Time of Your Piercing

Since you know the average healing period of each piercing, you need to understand which other factors will influence your healing period besides the known type of piercing.

Environment

Your environment plays a critical role in your healing process. For example, if you live in a rainy and humid area, you need to ensure that you keep your piercing dry and clean always for a quicker healing process.

Your support system will also influence your healing process and time. Once you have people who can help and remind you of the fundamentals of piercing care, there is little doubt that you will emerge victoriously.

Daily Life

Your daily life will affect how quick your healing process will be. For example, in an area with constant contact, mingling and interacting might aggravate your healing.

A simple act like talking on the mobile phone for too long may affect your industrial piercing. Therefore, take note of such occurrences.

Hygiene

You need to maintain high levels of hygiene. Get clean and sterile clothing or gauze that you will use to sterilize and clean the wound. Poor hygiene will be a significant contributor to bacteria within the wound.

Piercing Care

Learn and research more about piercing care. Besides cleaning and sterilizing, you will learn more about caring for your piercings, especially the new piercings in the market.

If you got multiple piercings, always ensure that you take time on each piercing lest you neglect some of them.

Determination

Your determination and willingness to learn about your piercings and their care will help you in your healing process. In addition, understanding each healing stage, what to expect, and what you need to do will help you create a smooth healing session.

Avoid listening and considering the myths and misconceptions about piercing care. Instead, stick to the facts and always consult when in doubt.

Age and Health Status

The healing periods are an average of ideal candidates. Reasonably, you will not expect to have people of different ages and health statuses have the same healing period.

Children tend to heal faster than adults. So these are some of the considerations that you can make when choosing an appropriate age for piercing. While the older generation might have lengthier healing periods, especially on cartilage piercings.

All You Need To Know About Piercing Healing Time

The process of piercing and showing off your beauty can be tedious. It will help if you arm yourself with the correct facts and tips about piercing healing time to get through it. The beauty at the end of it all should serve as the perfect motivator during the healing period.

If you take the proper steps, you will be sure to succeed. Find out more about these piercings here.