How long does a cartilage piercing take to heal?

I just got mine done less than a week ago. I got it done with a gun, ill advised. I got my other piercings with a needle and they went a bit smoother. the gun didnt hurt at first, in fact I didnt even flinch while the needle did hurt on my lobes more than the gun on the cartlidge. I followed the instructions to cleaning it for both piercings and both got infected. my cartlidge is super sweeled and red. it is hott, warm, and hurts worse than most pains I have experienced. the lobe got infected too and I got lumps behind my ear before it finally decided to calm down. six to eight weeks later, in infection in my lobe went away, and I now have a doctor’s appointment for the cartlidge because I am scared to do anything to it just yet. I think it reacts to bodies differntly. both of mine got infected because I have super sensitive ears. some people dont have sensitive ears at all. however, now that my cartlidge is inflamed, I am at a loss of what to do

mine didn’t hurt at all so about 1. it’s a bit awkward to tyr and clean it because the back is so big so sprays are really handy. mines been done for 3 weeks and it’s still kinda uncomfortable to sleep on so I suggest getting it done on the side you DON’T sleep on! x

mine still hurts whenever I lay on it or touch it. but it didnt hurt that bad when I got it done. my bff did it with a earring. :D I dont reccomend that though unless you have alcohol or something to clean it.

NEVER GET YOUR CARTILAGE PIERCED WITH A GUN. Always go with a needle if at all possible. Piercing guns are not made for cartilage, as the blunt force of the gun can shatter it and deform your ear. At Walmart they are not even allowed to use the gun on cartilage.

DO NOT GET YOUR CARTILAGE PIERCED WITH A GUN. The blunt force of the gun can shatter your cartilage and deform your ear, and I don’t know anyone who wants that to happen. oh, and I D0NT ThInK ID lISsiN TO someone wH0 TIPS like DIS.

well, I’m a bit confused now because some of my friends had theirs pierced with a gun at a chemist like a week ago and theirs are perfectly fine but one of my other friends had hers done with a needle like a year ago and it still hasn’t healed and is still infected. im getting mine done tomorrow so I’ll let you know. x

A gun hurts WAY WAY more. Trust me, its horrible. Also, using the needle makes it heal faster.

When I got it done, the dude that pierced my ear said I had to wait 6-8 weeks until I could change my earring.

You can sleep on it. But if it hurts you may have no other choice but to lay on the opposite ear. In your sleep you will move, and possibly switch sides. Don’t worry about it. It won’t get infected that way.

On a scale of one - ten. I’d give the pain about a 3 with a needle. With a gun, about a 6. it hurts way more.

Keep it Clean.

It all depends on you. All the cart. I’ve pierced, probably one girl said it hurt. For me, it kinda hurt but was okay.

The piercing packages claire’s pierces your ear with comes in a sealed sterile little 1 inch by 2 inch rectangular box, the earring is pointed just like a needle and the whole “package” that’s sterile is just snapped into the gun without even touching it. People always say how it’s important to clean the guns but what they don’t realize is that’s not the important part.. it wont even be touching your skin. The important part is the cartridge that was snapped into the gun, with the earring that’s already been inserted and sterilized prior to packaging.

People also swear that when you don’t get an infection that it means the piercing was clean.. what the f*ck.. nope. It means your body worked how it was supposed to against bacteria and you didn’t have filthy hands in contact with your ears at any time.

The only reason why you should go to someone that does it with a needle is if you want a larger gage than a standard earring. Otherwise it’s really a simple and error free process. I’ve never messed up on a piercing… the only way you really can is to not align it correctly and/or have something jam.

Long story short, you’re supposed to keep it in 8-12 weeks, and after you can take it out, clean it, and replace it with any post for 6+ months (never leaving it without an earring). I got my lobes pierced for the 4th holes by my moron co worker at work, and took them out the same day to put ones I liked in. I only say you should attempt that if you want extra irritation and swelling, and if you’re quick.

After 2 days I can sleep on my new cart. piercing, although it’s still slightly tender. It just feels like I have a bruised ear. It’s still a little swollen too.

I’m sorry but the gun is a bad bad way to go for a cartilage piercing. It’s more painful than the needle even tho you’d think the needle would hurt more because it creates a bigger hole. On a scale of 1-10, I’d say the pain was 1. And I’m very sensitive to pain. My lobes hurt more at the moment of being pierced than my cartilage. The needle is also a lot safer. It’s completely sterile and professionial are doing it. I’m not sure if working at Claire’s and using a gun to punch a hole in the ear like a hole puncher is very professional, but it works for some. When you use a gun it is more likely to damage the cartilage (like break it in that area) and cause infection. Also, guns cannot be properly sterilized like needles are. Needle piercings heal faster too just because it is sterile. Why not pay a little extra for a professional who specializes in piercings rather than someone who has been trained to use a gun and shoot earings through your ear?

okay I havent gotten mine done. but dont get it done with a gun. because it will shatter your tissue. your supposed to get it done with a needle because it is a hollow needle and wont shatter the tissue

I would say 4 or 5 on the pain scale and I still have to be careful sleeping on it because it get s sore sometimes… I peirced it half a yr ago.

I periced mine myself. it takes a year to heal a week before you can change it.. well your suppose to wait a year but I didnt & minees perfectly fine. It hurts more with an needle. && after when you perice it its better to sleep with a small tiny hoop or somethin like it cuzz if you havee an earing you sleep on it it will stab the back of it && it will hurt to sleep on it the first night.

I just had my nose and cartilage pierced last night. Nose piercing was nothing, but the carilage was really painful. I’ve had my carilage peirced 3 times before this but I have always taken them out because of allergy/irritation I got from the metals. The first three times I had it done with a gun and it didn’t hurt much, was just a little pinch. This last time I got it pierced was with a professional and it was done with a needle. It hurt a lot more and it still hurts, even if air blows on it.

So a gun is less painful (unless they shatter it) but I didn’t like having a stud with crappy metals because it gave me a bump. Professional piercing with a hoop instead of having an earring back is better in the long run, I hope.

The top of the ear?? I had mine done a month ago by gun.. It was quick and painless. The nose.. I have heard people getting it done by gun.. I had mine done by needle, and it really wasn’t bad

A needle should be used for cartilage, not because it hurts less (even though it does, but because it can shatter the cartilage, look it up on google images, id rather pay more with a needle, I dont think its illegal but it should be.

and I’m not talking about the old ear piercing guns.. I forget the name of the ones claires uses now… you just squeeze it. So you might as well be pushing the earing through not it bursting through your ear which hurts like a b*tch.

I got my cartilage pierced about 3 months ago, and honestly it didn’t hurt much. I would say a 3/10 for the actual piercing. and a 5.5/10 for the healing process. It can take up to a year to heal, depending on each person. You shouldn’t take it out for AT LEAST 2 months, even then I still wouldn’t take it out until it is healed. When you get the piercing it just feels really warm, and thats about it. But after wards it hurts when it is even slightly touched. if they get irritated (like mine is right now) then a lumpy thing can form on the back, but it will go away if you do sea salt soaks. If you do regular sea salt soaks (3 times a week for the first two weeks, then any time it gets irritated) then it will heal better and faster.

never get your cartilage pierced with a gun..it could shatter the cartilage. Its just as fast with a needle.

hi there. I have an industrial piercing in my left ear. I got it done by a professional piercer, which I recommend all the way. it was a more individual experience, which made me feel more comfortable about asking questions etc. and besides that, he charged me half as much as the lame stores in the mall wanted - to some people that might sound shady, but to other people it is realistic. 40$ vs 85$ for an industrial? yeahhh… and if you had any follow up questions about your piercing (ie. if I got infected later), you would be able to ask your specific piercer. good luck finding that same teenage girl who used the gun at claires. also, piercing with a gun can be extremely dangerous. like people have said on here, the guns are wayyy harder to properly sterilize (there are so many tiny parts and pieces that cant be reached and cleaned) and can damage your cartilage. my piercing hurt fairly badly. on a scale from 1-10, I’d say about a 6 for me. it was done with a 14g needle, and since its an industrial it requires 2 holes so it was twice the fun. I will definitely say though it was NOT the most painful experience of my life (my tattoo across the inside of my wrist was). I still dont really sleep on my ear that much to this day, partially out of habit and partially because the bottom hole of my industrial is still healing. I take kind of a long time to heal and I’ve had infections with ear piercings in the past. as you might have seen, if your piercing does end up getting infected, DONT TAKE OUT THE JEWELRY. it can trap the infection in your ear and if it gets stuck in there it could eventually lead to deformity of your ear or possibly amputation. I dont mean to scare you but its the truth and you can look it up. anyway that was a super long post but I hope it helped. good luck!

thanks you stupid idiots. I listened to everyone on here and got my cartilage double pierced. and my ear got so infected and stung soo bad that I have to get it SURGECALLY REMOVED!!! I even got one with a needle and one with a gun to see which was better…guess which one I have to get removed…

It really depends on your tolerance for pain. For me, it didn’t hurt at all. I have piercing on the top part of my right ear, cartilage, in the middle and both of the bottoms of my ears pierced. I’m pretty sure its six weeks before you should change the earring in it. With sleeping it depends on the way you set your head on whether it will be uncomfortable or not. I had to put my hand over that part of my ear when I had a stud in by now that I have a loop earring I don’t have to bother with it anymore. I would recommend going for a gun not a needle. Also, I wouldn’t recommend doing it yourself, get a professional to do it. That way there’s a less chance of it getting infected, which can hurt if you don’t clean it as well right after getting it pierced. Once you get it pierced, ask the professional any questions you may have and they’ll give you the answer. Hope I helped! ~Alanna

Alright, so I’m thirteen, and I got mine pierced with a gun, and it did not hurt at all, it was just like the snap of your fingers, I didn’t even blink. Frankly, I think the gun is more sanitary, because it’s just a never used ear ring in the gun, and you don’t even have to sanitize it. I could sleep on my ear that night. It’s no joke, you do need to clean it every night, it WILL get infected. Mine didn’t from not cleaning it though. Mine got infected because when they pierced it, my hair got in it, and whenever I turned it, my hair got stuck in it, so I took it our after a month and a half, and cleaned it out, and sanitized my ear, and ear ring, although your really supposed to keep in it for 3 months. but really it doesn’t hurt at all. :D

I have 5 cartlige piercing. 1 industrial 1 anti-tragus and 3cartlige studs. they all take different amounts of time it is how your body reacts to the piercing and if your getting just a stud, go for the gun but if your actully geting like a trugus or industrial or something “major” get it done with a needle. if you do roll over in it, its not the end of the world and it will only be accouple iod days until you can fall asleep on it, but it might annoy you. honestly no matter what people say it is how you and your body react the the peircing.

I just got mine done. and I out a needle and cork. and trust me. I wouldn’t go the gun way because my mom got it done with a gun. and she told me that she wishes she went to a tattoo piercing place to get it done. I got mine done at a tattoo piercing place and I got it done march 21 and it stopped hurting like march 24. and when I asked the guy he told me if I use warm salt water with a little bit of hydrogen peroxide and it will probably heal for like a month.

hope this helps!

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I’ve gotten my ears peirced at percing pagoda with a gun 3 times for cartilidge and no problems what so ever! they use a new gun everytime and you sit there and watch them take it out of a sterlized package and they throw it away when your done. I haven’t had and horrible infections or huge bumps. and the guns quick and easy and makes you totally less nervous than a needle coming at you. thats just my experience.

Hey, All those people that say not to peirce with a gun are nuts I have peirced my ears myself 4 times with a gun on each lobe and in middle top ears on cartilage and on inside of ear kitty corner of ear opening on both ears in cartilage and I had very very little pain a 1/10 maybe and I was able to sleep on the top ear peirceing about 3 to 5 days after I peirced it and for the inside of my ears I was able to sleep on both the very same night. and I have peirced a dozen others with a gun and they had no problems when peirced on cartilage.

Lets be HONEST, cartilage NEVER heals right, there will be nights you sleep on it wrong 20 years from now and it will hurt FACT, not because it’s done wrong either, piercing it with a gun is NOT illegal, I’ve got my done at CLAIRS, a shop in the mall and WALMART, walmart isn’t going to do it if its illegal, but I’d go with the gun, because the needles bigger…it doesnt hurt getting it done, after mine felt hot and stung for like, I dunno 5 min, not unberable, just annoying, you’ll be iight

Mine didn’t hurt at all when I got my tragus done, there was a little crunch, and then when it was over it started to sting and hurt like a b*tch… I couldnt sleep on mine for 2- 2 1/2 weeks, but it wasn’t so bad,,, and mine took a while to heel because every time it was about to, it would get hit or bumped, which delayed the time of heeling.

I would say it hurts as much as a paper cut it hurts for like 2 minutes then I didn’t even know it was there I just got mine done 3 weeks ago and I haven’t cleaned it for like a week and it didn’t get infected I would say the gun its less painfull but it is a lot better as for is infection and heal time if you get it done whith a needle I would go with the gun it pain is about a… 1in a half over 10

wow pwople talk so much crap/… it is ILLEGAL to pierce the top of ear with a gun!!! if someone does it they should be closed down… it depends on the personw ith healing and pain…

About 12 Weeks. Needles Are More Painful And More Likely To Get Infected. I Suggest Gettinq It With A Gun . you Dont Feel A Thing. And More Likely To NOT get Infected. Clean It Daily

Hey, ok. When I got my cartilage pierced, I didn’t think it really hurt. It really depends on your tolerance for pain. I’d say it hurt a 2/10. After about a week I could sleep on it, but still not pressing really hard, and mine didn’t get infected either. Of course it stings first, but if you have your lobes pierced, it’s the same as that but you just have to wait a little bit longer until you can take them out. I got it with a gun because it was faster. If you dont have high pain tolerance, I’d say get it with a gun, but if you are afraid of pain so much, and more worried about getting an infection, I’d say go with a needle. Piercing Pagoda is a good place, and so is Claire’s, if you’re over 13. I’m not yet, so I got it at piercing pagoda.

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at the time when she first pierced it, it hurt about a 2. but after that I hurts for about 3 months, mine still hurts. and I got mine done with a gun. a needle probally hurts more because a gun is reallly quick

You should use a needle for piercing cartalidge, a gun can shatter it.

Don’t sleep on it for about a week, and then leave it in for 3 months, and then you can change the stud and stuff, but you should keep a stud in all the time for like a year at least. Mine hurt about a 4 ?

I did it myself though, I would recomend professionally.

when I got mine done about a week ago at the percing pagoda they said that it would take about 6 months to fully heal but I could change it in about 4 weeks, and as far as how bad it hurt 2/10 it just felt hot for a little while and within a day I could turn it with out much pain.

not sure how long it takes to heal but I would stay a really long time. Cartilage doesnt have a good blood supply so it only gets nutrients by diffusion. Thats why it takes way longer for a sprain to heal then a broken bone.

Hey, All those people that say not to peirce with a gun are nuts I have peirced my ears myself 4 times with a gun on each lobe and in middle top ears on cartilage and on inside of ear kitty corner of ear opening on both ears in cartilage and I had very very little pain a 1/10 maybe and I was able to sleep on the top ear peirceing about 3 to 5 days after I peirced it and for the inside of my ears I was able to sleep on both the very same night. and I have peirced a dozen others with a gun and they had no problems when peirced on cartilage.

I am 13 and I got mine done like 4 months ago.I didn’t think it hurt at all..but it hurt my mom so bad she took hers out. I think it depends on how well you handle pain.

i have mine pierced two times. it just hurts when it goes through. but after that. it doesnt hurt, unless you touch it.

About 12 Weeks.

I’ve gotten my ears peirced at percing pagoda with a gun 3 times for cartilidge and no problems what so ever! they use a new gun everytime and you sit there and watch them take it out of a sterlized package and they throw it away when your done. I haven’t had and horrible infections or huge bumps. and the guns quick and easy and makes you totally less nervous than a needle coming at you. thats just my experience.

Mine healed in about 3 days totally.

I know the girl above recommended to get the cartilage piercing done with a gun, but for gods sake, don’t use the gun on the top of your ear. It’s dangerous, and could cause a lot of damage. Using the gun in the bottom of your ear in completely fine, as there is no bone whatsoever in the bottom, but in the top, it could shatter the cartilage and make it impossible for you to ever have piercings in the top of that ear again. Just saying. Always get the top done with a needle.

But to answer the question, it honestly depends on the person and the type of piercing you get. An industrial piercing takes a couple months and is incredibly painful to get. But if you’re just getting a stud done at the top, it’ll only take a couple of weeks to heal and not hurt when you lay on it. However, it is recommended that you don’t change the stud at all until after about 4 months of having the piercing, just to make sure it has fully healed and it won’t heal over.

I hope this helps. I’ve had experience in this (except for the gun, I had the top of my ear done with a needle and really, it doesn’t hurt all too much. It’s just like a burning sensation for a few minutes and then it’s done). I have 9 piercings, 7 in my ears and 2 on my face, so I know about piercings.

Bye.