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There is a wide range of exciting choices when it comes to cartilage piercings in terms of position, angles, connections and choice of jewelry. Wearing them looks absolutely wonderful. However, due to the extreme sensitivity of the ear cartilage and slow recovery, constant aftercare is essential for healing. Many people have neither the information nor the patience to heal them successfully.If you are interested in trying, we can help you with the information. Patience is up to you.
The many variations you can make depend mostly on the shape of your individual ear. We all have different folds and surfaces, so the best thing is to tailor the piercing to you. Unlike the softer tissue in the earlobe, cartilage is not as compliant, so you can not force it into unnatural positions. If you do, you risk paying for it in pain and scar tissue. If you work with the shapes you already have and are careful not to put pressure on them, the chances are much greater that you will get a happy piercing.
The biggest difference between cartilage and earlobe piercings is the healing time. An earlobe can heal in 6-8 weeks, while a cartilage piercing can take up to between 6 months and 1 year before it is fully healed.The piercing may ache or sore for a long time after it has been done and you must be careful about sleeping on that side, holding phones against it, playing with it or otherwise exposing the piercing to pressure. If you do not take care of it in a mild way, cartilage can build up large lumps of reddish or skin-colored scar tissue around the piercing.
By eliminating the problem, you can usually help the scar tissue to disappear (eg by stopping sleeping on it) but it can become permanent, so it is really in your interest to take care of your cartilage piercing from day one. Along with navels, cartilage piercings are some of the most difficult piercings to heal.
Worth thinking about current cartilage piercings: NEVER NEVER NEVER let anyone pierce your cartilage with a piercing gun! It is a sure guarantee of extended healing time with increased pain and scar tissue. Guns are not made to pierce through structural tissue and can cause injury. Furthermore, the pins the guns use are too short to allow the swelling caused by gun holes. If the tissue becomes restricted during the swelling, you run a greater risk of scar tissue. Piercing cartilage with a pistol opens the door to a whole new world of possible complications. Do not do it.
HELIX - One of the more common ear piercings after the earlobe is the ear edge, or helix as it is also called, and can be varied in angle depending on how the ear edge is shaped.
Jewelry for this piercing can be varied between rod and ring. You can also stretch the hole and use thicker rings or tunnels.With a rod, these usually heal better than with a ring, as rings move more and are easier to access. But it is important not to join too long a rod for too long, as this in turn can lead to problems, so keep in good contact with your piercer.
FORWARD HELIX - This piercing is placed in the ear edge at the far end of the head and is very dependent on the anatomy of the person's ear, whether you can have it or not. Some may have several, while others may not even have one.
Jewelry for this piercing varies depending on the shape of the ear and the angle at which it is placed, but both rod and ring occur.
Has in recent years received a boost after one and the same image circulated online, with three pieces of Forward Helix, which has since come to be known as Triple Forward Helix. Many people mistake this for a single piercing, but there are three.
TRAGUS - is called the small flap / flap that sits at the ear canal in the ear and is a discreet and beautiful piercing, which has grown in popularity in recent years.
However, this piercing is not optimal to wear with earphones / headsets.
CONCH - This piercing is located in the middle of the eardrum and can be both discreet and eye-catching depending on which piece of jewelery you choose to wear.
In standard holes, a glittering stone can be varied with tips depending on the event. If you have a stretched hole, you can choose between both plugs and tunnels.The angle of this piercing can also be varied and adjusted with different jewelry.
DAITH - Daith sits in the innermost fold of the hard ear and is a different but stylish piercing.
Rings are by far the most common for this placement, but horseshoes can also sit beautifully.If you want to be really discreet with this piercing, a banana table can also work, well healed.
ROOK - This piercing sits through one of the folds in the hard ear and can be worn with both a ring and a curved barbell.
As this piercing goes through the cartilage, it has a longer healing time than e.g. the earlobe but with the right care and common sense it heals well.Feel free to use your other ear when talking on the phone, as it can be irritating during the healing period.
INDUSTRIAL - This piercing is visually a very cool piercing that can be varied in many ways.
Jewelry that is put in from the beginning can be a long barbell that goes through at least two holes, or short rods. What works best is different from person to person. Not all piercings are feasible at all, so if you are interested in this piercing you are welcome so we can see what suits your ear.
The EARLOBE can easily be called the most common piercing in the world and is therefore not even considered by many to be a piercing. The range of jewelery ranges from thin rings to large plugs and tunnels in various materials, or combined.
Once the hole is healed, you can, if you want, stretch it to slightly thicker sizes, regardless of whether you want rings or plugs. The most important thing then is not to stress through the stretch but to "hurry slowly" so that you do not risk cracking the hole.You can usually change to thicker jewelry at about 1 month intervals, but there are also so-called stretch jewelry or stretching kits that you can use. Then you can take care of the stretching yourself and stretch a little every day, but it is still important not to stress.
One of the most common questions when stretching the earlobes is if the holes grow together, you would get tired of them. The hole never grows together completely, but contracts so that you only see a dot on the snout. However, this varies from person to person and depends on how "good" you have stretched. If you have stretched your hole up to 10mm or larger, there is a risk that the hole will not contract completely if you were to remove the jewelry.
Barbarella Body Piercing never performs any piercing with a so-called earhole gun. If someone wants to punch you with a gun, get out of there right away!
We use a sterile disposable needle that is developed specifically for piercing. Earhole guns cannot be sterilized, which drastically increases the risk of blood infection.
It makes it much worse to pierce yourself with an earhole gun, as the body is inflicted unnecessarily great damage when you make a hole with a blunt piece of jewelry that is pierced through the body. The jewelry that is inserted with ear guns is usually very tight, and does not allow the ear to swell.
The two most common ways to take care of a new piercing are:
Saline solution as recommended, you can mix it yourself and soak the piercing, you can also buy a ready-made solution in spray form: H2Ocean piercing aftercare spray which speeds up the healing with the help of natural sea salt and minerals. The spray should carefully remove each and every scab. It is packed sterile in a separate pressure vessel, thanks to this, cross-contamination is almost impossible. The spray is antibacterial and disinfectant. We also have a similar product: Recovery Aftercare Spray which is completely vegan.
Alternatively, you can wash with Barbarella Bodysoap. Take a few drops in your hand when you shower, lather up and soap the piercing. Let it work for 30 seconds. Rinse thoroughly with water afterwards.