[ScarletRose19]

Ok so, here's the thing. I got my cartilage (top of my ear) pierced 8 days ago. It was done by a gun, and barely even hurt. All I felt was a little pinch. I was told it would take 10-12 weeks to heal, but my body tends to heal fast. At first, it hurt to touch but after a couple days that went down. Now it doesn't hurt at all. I've had no problems with it. No swelling, no redness, and the soreness only lasted about 5 days. I clean it properly every day and rotate it once per day.

I got it done at Claire's and they have me the antiseptic for it. It works great and I use it about 3 times a day.

Here's the issue :: I really want to change the stud. I don't feel ANY pain when touching it anymore. None at all. I was told that I should wait at least 4 weeks. Some people said 4 days. But I feel like the hole has healed fully and I really don't like studs. Never have.

I was just wondering if maybe I could get some opinions on what proletariat think about changing it now vs waiting?

[ramona_]

First off, you shouldn't of risked it by getting it done with a gun. You may think your body heals quickly but it's likely that it doesn't. Just because it doesn't hurt anymore doesn't mean that it's healed. In general, cartilage piercings take about 6-10 months to fully heal but you can change the stud/ball captive no earlier than 6 weeks, its preferred to wait around 12 weeks before you change it though. Also take into consideration that you could put yourself at more risk of infection because you got it done with a gun. Who knows, you might already have a blood borne pathogen from the un-sanitary gun that they used.

[ScarletRose19]

Okay, first of all, I do NOT appreciate your judgemental attitude. Second of all, it was not an unsanitary gun. All of my piercings have been done by gun and I have never had any problems with any of those. I already stated that there hasn't been any type of infections. I understand about the "general healing times" but in all honesty, it's just that. General. It's based off a bunch of people, who each took different times to heal. Just because you don't think they can heal that fast doesn't mean that they can't. All your information is based of statistics. If I wanted to know "statistically" when I can change it, I would have googled it.

[ramona_]

Excuse me but how was my response judgemental. How in the world do you know that the gun was sanitary? Did you pull out a cotton swab and go to a lab to test it? No, you didn't. When you say "all of my piercings", I presume you mean ears as using a gun to pierce say... your bellybutton or lip would be pretty irresponsible and the person doing the piercing should be out of the job.

How old are you may I ask?

My information is not based on statistics, it is based on the opinion of professionals and my own experience. I have over 10 piercings in my ears and numerous over my body.

Before 6 weeks the cartilage is not fully healed, putting a new earring in could infect it because of all the germs on there and the metal could irritate it. Just because your piercings were okay with a gun before doesn't mean this one is, how would you know after only 8 days?

You can change your stud to a titanium or stainless steel stud after 6 weeks and no less.

[Star_Ruby]

Ramona is right.