If you have a question about when you can change your earrings after getting yours, you'll need to wait until the healing before changing your earrings. Most recommend waiting at least six weeks, but it can take up to several months for them to completely heal.
For ear piercings, it is recommended to wait 6-8 weeks before attempting to change your earring. This is recommended as 6-8 weeks is the length of time that it takes for a piercing to heal.
If you take your earrings out early, it can be difficult and painful to put them back in. Plus doing so increases your risk of developing an infection or having your new piercing hole close. At the end of your healing period, you can change your earrings.
The quick answer is 6 weeks for an earlobe piercing, and 12 weeks for a cartilage piercing. However, everyone has a different healing process. We've compiled a list of tips for knowing if you're ready to change into a new pair of earrings!
Taking Care of Your Ears
When you first get your ears pierced, you should leave the earrings in until your ears are completely healed. This usually takes about 4 to 6 weeks. If you don't, your holes could close up and you'll have to go through everything all over again!
Lobe piercings heal the quickest, taking only 6 to 8 weeks. Cartilage piercings, including midi, helix, conch, and tragus, may take around 3 to 9 months, and you should wait at least 6 months before changing the earrings.
Has My Piercing Healed? You can tell if a wound is healing if there is no swelling and redness around the site. The healing process can take some time but redness usually subsides within a few weeks. A lack of redness, however, doesn't always necessarily mean that your ear is fully healed.
If you change your earring before six weeks, it can cause the hole to close up. This is because the earring keeps the hole open, and when you remove it, it will start healing. Therefore, waiting at least six weeks before changing your earring is important, so the hole does not close.
The rate at which a piercing heals varies from person to person and can also depend on what type of piercing you get, but typically, a new earlobe piercing will heal in 6-12 weeks. Piercings further up the ear (especially those involving cartilage) can take several months.
After six months for earlobes and 12 months for cartilage, it's okay to switch from light stud style earrings to light dangling earrings and hoops! Thinking of giving the gift of an ear piercing for the holidays?
Don't take your earrings out too early! They will close rather rapidly. Leave earrings in for 6-8 weeks, giving your ears time to heal.
Changing your earrings only after a couple week is not recommended. The healing process lasts for much longer than several days. Keep in mind that the process of healing takes 6 weeks. In this time, the body will heal the skin around the earring.
Would it be okay if I changed my earrings 5 weeks after piercing? I would strongly advise you not to - at 5 weeks, your piercings are still healing and are vulnerable to infection. They're essentially small wounds which need to be taken care of, and changing them before they've fully healed will irritate them.
There's no reason to rotate your piercing. You could damage the delicate, healing skin by rotating the jewelry. In the past, rotating the jewelry was recommended, but it has been found to cause damage that can lead to infection and scarring. For happy healing, NEVER rotate your body jewelry.
Farber. She recommends washing your ear piercing and the area around it once a day throughout the entire 6- or 12-week healing process with a gentle antibacterial soap (we like Dial Antibacterial Liquid Hand Soap, $2, Amazon) and warm water (doing this in the shower is fine).
The general healing period is 6 weeks for earlobes and 12 weeks for cartilage or helix. If you have a nose piercing, 4 weeks is sufficient. Keep in mind that this period is only possible if you have no infection or nickel reaction along the way.
From a professional piercer's point of view, you should wait for at least six weeks to change your earrings. This is because the wound would have already healed entirely by this time, making it safe to remove the initial earrings and replace them with your new set.
Another term you may hear to describe piercing earrings is “starter earrings” since these stud style earrings are kept in the ear while the new piercing heals.
Having your post downsized will feel just like switching out your earrings. At the most, you may feel a tiny amount of discomfort, but nothing should be painful.
Although you may be able to wear cheap earrings after 6 weeks or so, it's always better to err on the side of caution and wait until your piercing has fully healed before wearing anything that could potentially cause an infection or irritation. Remember, your health and safety should always be your top priority.
On average, the expected healing time for a lobe piercing is six weeks, but some people's lobe piercings will heal within a month, while others may take as long as eight weeks.
Orbital Piercing
They are typically done on the ear lobe, but they can also be done towards the middle of the ear (along the helix). Orbital piercings have the average shortest healing time, 8-10 weeks, aside from a standard lobe piercing.
We recommend using this solution at least three times daily during the initial healing period (6 weeks for an earlobe piercing and 12 weeks for a cartilage piercing). After the healing period has ended, we recommend that you continue using your ear care solution as needed to keep your new piercing and earrings clean.