If the skin is looking thinner or tighter around the piercing, or above the jewellery, it's a possible sign of rejection. As well, the colour of your skin changing around the hole is another potential sign. Transparent/near-transparent skin is a very likely sign of rejection.
Surface piercings such as eyebrows, neck, nipple and wrist tend to be rejected more easily than other piercings. That's because they do not travel directly through the body, but rather along an area of skin because the jewellery is puncturing only a small amount of the skin's surface.
If your piercing is already migrating there's a good chance they will recommend removing it. At this point, there is little risk from removing it, but leaving it in could result in damage to your skin and make it difficult to repierce the area after healing.
The most attractive spot for a piercing is the belly button. The least attractive is a tie between the nose and the nether regions.
Leaving an infected piercing untreated can result in a more severe infection or an abscess (a swollen area filled with pus). Upper ear piercings are more likely to get infected. Left untreated, these infections can lead to a condition known as perichondritis.
Gently pat dry the affected area with clean gauze or a tissue. Then apply a small amount of an over-the-counter antibiotic cream (Neosporin, bacitracin, others), as directed on the product label. Turn the piercing jewelry a few times to prevent it from sticking to the skin.
Practicing good hygiene can prevent your piercing from getting infected or from migrating. Piercings rejected due to allergic reactions will usually need to be removed, but infections can heal over time.
In some cases, the body may consider a new piercing to be a foreign object that needs to be dispelled rather than healed. This is when rejection takes place. If your piercing is being rejected, you'll notice a shift in the location of the jewellery, possible skin flaking or discolouration, as well as irritation.
Does a rejecting piercing hurt? Yes, getting a piercing done can be painful, especially if it is being rejected by your body. Rejection occurs when your body begins to push out the foreign object, such as the jewelry. This can cause pain, along with redness and irritation in the skin around the piercing.
Some fear that if their body rejected one piercing, it might reject all of them, which is not a crazy theory but also not necessarily the case. "You can attempt to re-pierce in the same area, but make sure your artist either goes deeper, uses a larger gauge, or chooses a less reactive metal," advises Cheung.
There can be many reasons why your piercing is rejecting! Personal factors such as stress, genetics, weight changes, and the tightness of your skin can all play a role. External factors such as incorrectly sized jewelry, and inferior jewelry material also contribute to a piercing rejecting!
Of all the body sites commonly pierced, the navel is the most likely to become infected because of its shape. Infections can often be treated with good skin hygiene and antibiotic medications.
If a new piercing is infected, it is best not to remove the earring. Removing the piercing can allow the wound to close, trapping the infection within the skin. For this reason, it is advisable not to remove an earring from an infected ear unless advised by a doctor or professional piercer.
PSA: You should never, ever swap out your jewelry before your piercing has healed—doing so can lead to infection, scarring, permanent swelling, and rejection of the earring (aka when your ear literally pushes the jewelry out), says Ava Lorusso, professional piercer at Studs in NYC.
The most popular piercings for men include nipple piercings, eyebrow piercings, ear cartilage piercings, tongue piercings, nose piercings, lip piercings, and genital piercings, in that order.
Similar to the monroe, the medusa piercing is also considered a feminine piercing. Medusa piercings are aligned in the middle of the upper lip directly under the nose. The medusa, like the septum and labret piercings, helps to center the face.
As for what those sensitive areas are, the piercer says that nostrils and intimate areas are often reported as being the most painful, by those getting the areas pierced, as well as parts of the ear that have thicker cartilage.
Two rather distinctive piercing complications are migration (the piercing moves from its initial placement, then settles and heals in a new location) and rejection (the jewelry is expelled completely from the body).