I have a question about cartilage piercings?

Question

I've wanted to get my cartilage done for awhile now,

but i don't know after it heals what kind of earring to get.

i saw one on hot topics site,

its a 14 gauge barbell,

i was wondering if you could wear a barbell in your ear, or does it have to be a hoop.

and is it safe to get it done at a Claire's, or should i get it done somewhere local.

i would appreciate the help,

thanks.

Answer 1

I actually got mine done yesterday at Icing's (Which is the same really.) It takes about a year to completely heal and to be honest, it barely even hurt at all. Getting my lobes done hurt worse. But I also got my nose pierced a only minutes afterward so I guess I wouldn't notice much, lol. You could wear anything in your ear after its healed, hoops or that one you talked about, but the problem with gages is that you will want to choose the bar when you get it done, it wont hurt that much more. I actually decided to go with just a silver ball for now, if you get it gaged you can only wear barbells, or something gaged, so I recommend just going for what I did, its simpler and easier to take care of. Besides you have more earring options and if later on you want to go with a barbell you can, you just have to get it gaged a little. Your cartilage is a little harder to take care of and is more prone to infection so just go for something simple for now.  

Answer 2

Okay, I'm going to be entirely honest with you. First of all, I work at Claire's. I've been with the company going on two years. I've done hundreds if not thousands of piercings. I feel like I was trained very well. (the next section is about how we are trained, if you don't care, scroll down like a bit.)

When training, we are first assigned a very thick diagnostics manual about piercing. We take it home, read it, and then are quizzed on it. The quiz is kept on file, if we don't pass we can't pierce. We are trained on everything from the actual piercing to what to do in case of a problem to how to disinfect the ear piercing station.

We then observe several piercings done by someone who is already trained, then we assist with several piercings, then we do several piercings while being observed by a co-worker.

Now- as for your question about getting your cartilage pierced.

I personally have had my cartilage done several times at my store. If it was so terrible, would I trust my company to do it to my own body?

Officially, in theory, it IS better to get your cartilage pierced with a hollow needle. This will take some cartilage with it to minimize keloids. But, this requires you go to a tattoo parlor. They have to pierce your ear and THEN put the earring in. This route can cause greater discomfort if the person doesn't get the earring in properly, struggles with the needle, etc. Tattoo parlors typically don't pierce as many ears as a Claire's does, so the placement may not look as nice.

The nice thing about Claire's is that we do millions of piercings. Over 80 million, to be exact. We are used to marking ears so where we put it is typically going to look nice than anywhere else. Also, with an ear piercing gun, the piercing is done with pre-sterilized earrings that have a pointed tip. That means it's done in one quick step.

As for scarring or a "bump," it depends on your body. I've had it done and have had no problems. But, in one instance, I didn't keep my piercing clean and a keloid did form.

Also- you CAN get your ear pierced with a hoop from our Icing by Claire's stores. For a location near you visit icingbyclaires.com and scroll down to the bottom and find "store locator".

You can also put a hoop in afterwords if you get your ear pierced with a stud. Just follow the aftercare on the pink sheet that we give you and then you can wear a hoop after your healing period.

Finally, don't wear a 14 gauge. That's a pretty big gauge, and it is more prone to create scar tissue in your cartilage. We pierce with an 18 gauge, which is small enough to keep the scar tissue down.

A lot of it is how clean you personally keep your piercing. Hopefully this helps, my e-mail is [e-mail] if you have any other questions. :)

Answer 3

Out of all the piercings I have...cartilage hurt the LEAST. Claires is good. I got mine done at wal mart lol almost 10 yrs ago! And still have it! And I think a barbell would not look good...I think studs and hoops look the best.

Answer 4

Don't go to Claire's.  Go to a piercing parlor/tattoo parlor and they'll help you out.  You can get pierced with either.

Answer 5

You can indeed wear a bar in your ear - in fact it's probably more comfortable at first than a ring.

I really would not get a cartilage piercing done at Claire's - go to a proper piercing studio which is clean, and don't go anywhere that will pierce cartilage with a gun.  This can shatter the cartilage and your ear can collapse.

Good luck!

Answer 6

Its GOOD to wear a barbell!! and hoops are good too!!

BUT DO NOT GO TO CLAIRE OR YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO WEAR EITHER! THEY KNOW NOTHING ABOUT PIERCING AND ARE VERY UNSAFE!

they use a gun, and although ok on the lobes it could shatter you're cartilage and even make you faint! Often because they do not use the correct earrings to pierce with you can not wear real cartilage jewellery.

The cartilage should be done with a needle to reduce the amount of strain or trauma caused to the ear. It is the safest way.

ohh and its likely you will get scar tissue if you go to claires, which looks...not good!

Please go to a proper tattoo and piercing studio, you will regret claires.

Good luck.