Ear Piercing After-Care and Advice, FAQ

Ear Piercing Studs and ear piercing positions

New!! Nearly painless, quiet, non-scary ear piercing system. Safe & super sanitary. MUST CALL IN ADVANCE FOR A RESERVATION !! NEXT AVAIL: NOV 29. Wed, Fri. & Sat. *Babies only on Sundays; next avail: DEC 4. ** (Please call us to cancel appts, as we have a Waiting List !) Call 310-858-3800 or Text Janet: 310-413-1722. [We are also open for jewelry, makeovers, repairs, batteries and appraisals.]

I have over 20 YEARS of Ear Piercing Experience. I am certified by Studex, the best ear piercing studs manufacturer in the USA. No need for you to go to a Tattoo Parlor or the noisy mall. No teenaged trainees, no needles, no guns. No infections due to bad earrings. Our ear piercing is safe and sanitary. I've pierced ears of Doctors, Nurses, & a Rabbi. I've discreetly pierced Jane Fonda, Sharon Stone, Kristin Davis, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Gal Gadot, Michelle Kwan, Johnny Hallyday, Carsyn Rose, Kuba Ka & Nicola Peltz; Kids of David Beckham & Victoria Beckham, Mariah Carey, Al Pacino, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Patricia Velasquez, Greg Kinnear, Lena Dunham, Geena Davis, Lolita Davidovich, Fred Savage, Mark Feuerstein, Liza Weil, David Yorkin, Conan O'Brien & Martin Landau/Barbara Bain; Ballerina Theresa Farrell, Tia Riebling, Dena Dietrich, & Roxanne Pulitzers' ears. (We DO NOT announce when they're here.)

I pierce and re-pierce ears of people usually from age 7 to 99. For babies 3 months & up and young children, please bring a helper. Lidocaine or OraGel can be put on the front and back of your child’s earlobes.
Kids should be pretty responsible and listen well to their parents. Have your child pinch her earlobes with her fingernails (or yours), to feel what it's like first. (Scroll down to see photos... and ask your question down below.)

We now have an amazing new ear piercing system!! Cute piercing studs have thinner smooth posts, so it is less painful & a quieter sound. Great for babies, anxious kids & everyone else. (See diagram of earrings)
Your cost is avg. $75, which includes 2 piercings & earrings: 24K Gold on Superior Medical Grade Surgical Steel Studs. Some 14K & 18K Solid Gold choices (+ $25 to $40).

I always clean the ears with alcohol, apply Neosporin/Pain Relief Cream so that the hole is safe, & offer ice paks. I mark the ear with a non-toxic pen. Remember: No two earlobes are exactly alike! (And one ear can heal faster than the other!)
I load the Sterilized Encapsulated Earrings into the Ear Piercing Tool & presto!

              EAR PIERCING CARE & ADVICE
Wash hands and fingertips, or use hand sanitizer before touching earrings or ears.
Dip a Q-tip in Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol and apply between the earring and your ear in front and in back. Twist studs back & forth, 1/2 turns only (to avoid wrapping hair around the posts). Then apply Neosporin or similar, or MediSept Ear Care Solution with Q-tip in back. Twist back & forth again. If alcohol is too drying, use warm salt-water /saline, & apply Aquaphor or coconut oil if itching. Do this Routine only once a day. Bedtime is best.

Keep phones, hairspray, fingers & dogs away from ears - they transfer germs. Keep earbuds & ends of eyeglasses clean. Sleep on a soft pillow. Swimming pools are OK after 48 hours.
Keep these studs in ears for 6 weeks continuously. (12 weeks for cartilage) After 6 (or 12) weeks the piercing studs can be removed, and other post-type earrings may be worn continuously. **Remember to sterilize any new or used earrings with alcohol before inserting them.**

   Use only post style earrings for the first 2 months after piercing (4 months for cartilage). The post should be 14K or 18K solid gold, surgical steel or other hypo-allergenic material. Sterling silver (stamped 925) is OK after 2 months, but some made in China can bother the ears. (& No hard plastic small tube backings!) Light-weight hoops or dangles & costume jewelry are also OK after 2 months.

*** After the 6 weeks, re-apply alcohol and/or Neosporin every month, and whenever you feel sensitivity in your ear lobes. Check behind your ears to make sure the backing is not too tight! You should be able to twist the earring. Sometimes kidney wires, fish-hooks or leverbacks leave more "room to breathe."
Best to remove and clean your earrings every month or so, but keep some earrings in all the time for at least a year, so they don't close up!! **Sleep with earrings in!** No empty holes!

Minor pain/redness may occur immediately - this is normal. This should settle within 24 to 48 hours provided proper after-care procedure is carried out. Usually just remove, clean & re-insert earring w/ Neosporin or similar, on the post.

After 6 weeks, you may remove the piercing earrings yourself, or return to our professional ear piercer, so that she can inspect, round down your posts, & switch to your new earrings!



FAQ and Comments:   (You can ask me questions by email to: jrothcobh@aol.com. I personally answer every one.)

After the first six weeks, does wearing the studs continuously include nightime as well?
Comment by Mida Gosselin on 08:20 AM December 22.

It's best to keep any earrings in the ears. Some people heal so fast in general, especially children, so that the holes can close up after even one day! Make sure the new earrings aren't squeezed on too tight!!
I wouldn't take a chance on leaving them out, as re-piercing is usually necessary.
Keep something in there day & night. If the earrings are not comfortable to sleep in, push a thin piece of sewing thread thru the hole with an earring post & tie the knot. Always clean earring post with alcohol or NeoSporin before pushing it into an ear. Happy Holidays, ~Janet
Comment by Janet Rothstein on 11:42 PM December 22,

After the original 6 weeks of wearing earings I was told I can wear hoops if they have a straight post! Is this true? And also would it be ok if I had to take out my earings for a couple hours few times a week about 8 weeks after the piercing. I play sports and it will most likely be neccessary to remove them for the events!
Posted by maggie on 05:32 PM January 04.

Yes, hoops with straight posts are perfectly fine.
A week before you need to remove the earrings for sports, start doing the nightly alcohol earring-twisting routine again. See if it feels smooth & moving freely when you twist the earrings. If so, you will be ready by then. If not, you may need more time. Either way, at 7 weeks remove each earring for just a minute & thoroughly rub them clean with alcohol & a tissue or your fingers, and put them back in. (Make sure there are no tissue fibers left on.) A thorough cleaning every week or 2 is best to prevent bacteria & keep the holes open. Good luck in your events!
Comment by Janet Rothstein on 08:23 AM January 05.

Thank You sooo much! This website is great! I really appreciate your help!
Posted by maggie on 12:08 PM January 05.

My 4 year old daughter has had her ears pierced for a little over a year. I have noticed that one piercing is lower than the other one. When she wears certain earrings it is a lot more noticeable. I was thinking I could take the earring out of the "bad" ear and let it heal and than have it repierced. If I did this, how long would it take to heal to the point where it can be repierced?
Posted by Jennifer on 12:06 PM March 09.

That's a great idea. Before you remove the "bad" earring: put some alcohol into the hole to clean it out by twisting the earring and also pushing it back & forth. Then remove the earring, & wipe the front and back of the ear. Apply Neosporin. It could take a few weeks or it could take months to close. An ear piercing person with good aim could make a hole in the new spot, without waiting for the old hole to be completely closed.
I hope this helps you, ~Janet
Comment by Janet Rothstein on 02:30 PM March 09.

Which ear do you get pierced if you are gay? It used to be the right side, is it still?
Posted by Skip on 12:36 AM March 13.

Traditionally it has been to pierce the right ear to show you are gay. That is still true today. However, men and women now wear earrings in both ears, and more rich and famous men are wearing diamond hoops!
If people already know you are gay, then you can pierce either ear you like.
Comment by Janet Rothstein on 08:12 AM March 13.

Hi. I had my ear lobes pierced 8 weeks ago, and they're still swollen! I clean them with salt solution and i've been to the doctors twice already about it, but they just send me away lol. I changed the earrings from the posts to small sleeper hoops after the 3rd week as the first earrings were really digging into my ears. Any ideas?
Posted by Janelle on 08:17 AM March 17.

Hi Janelle,
What type of metal (ex: gold, surgical steel) are your earrings made of? You may be allergic to specific metals.   Have you taken them out to clean your holes with 99% rubbing alcohol with Neosporin right after? It works much better than salt water to kill germs. Keep your fingers clean, & sleep on a softer pillow.
Comment by Janet Rothstein on 02:18 AM March 18.

Hi. I have 9ct gold hoops at the moment (the studs were 14ct). I think maybe i'm allergic to the metal, as the swelling went down a few days ago, then when I put some gold earrings into my other holes they seemed to swell back up again...
I'm not sure if it's related, but I had my ears pierced a year or so ago but they were wonky so I let them close. The new piercings are really close to the old scars, and they seem to have raised up and gone like red bumps at the front and back on my ears...
I've been putting some antiseptic cream on them, so hopefully they should start to settle back down again...
Thanks, Janelle
Posted by Janelle on 10:54 AM March 19.

Try 14 kt. or 18 kt. gold... If your hoops are only 9 kt., it means they have more alloy metal than pure gold in them. The alloy could have nickel, which causes allergic reactions in some people. Keep up with the antiseptic cream. Good luck, ~Janet
Comment by Janet Rothstein on 01:17 AM March 20.

Hi Janet, I just got my cartilage pierced two days ago. In three weeks, I have two cross country meets, and we're strictly forbidden from wearing any form of jewelery. We aren't allowed to cover earrings with tape, either. The meets tend to last a couple hours, but the actual running usually takes less than 30 minutes. If I were to take out my earring right before the race, and then put it in directly afterwards (after washing my hands first and such), would that be okay? Or is there a risk that the hole would close in the 30 minutes?
Posted by Alexis on 05:32 PM September 08.

Hi Alexis, I believe that 30-40 minutes will be ok after 3 weeks. My customer changed her cartilage earring after a month. She began doing the cleaning/twisting routine twice a day (instead of once) in preparation. Bring Neosporin creme to your race to help put the earring back in (put it on the earring tip). Good luck! ~Janet
Comment by Janet Rothstein on 12:00 PM September 09.