How to Clean Your Cartilage Piercing!

After loafing around on the internet for days, I did my best to scrounge up a good cleaning routine for my helix piercing. I heard many things about using antibacterial soap, sea salt, or h2ocean spray. I had no idea which one worked best. Some people raved about one while other swore by another. It was pretty confusing :/

I finally came up with a routine for cleaning my ear that I think works best!

Products needed!!

1. Colorless, odorless antibacterial soap. I went to CVS, a drugstore, and bought SoftSoap clear antibacterial soap. It had no scents or color. If your soap is scented and colorful, that makes it more harsh on your piercing. Think about it, your piercing is essentially a puncture in your ear. Would you want to put some fruity soap onto an open wound?! NO! 
2. Sea Salt. When I got my piercing, I went with a friend who was getting her belly button pierced. She told me that she now cleans it with iodized salt (a.k.a. table salt). THIS IS A BIG NO-NO. At least as far as cartilage goes, iodized salt burns so bad. It stings and does not clean it properly. Trust me, just get some sea salt. You can get it at your local grocery store.
3. H2Ocean Spray. I'm 99% sure that you can buy this spray at your piercing parlor. I recall that my parlor did have it. However, when I got my piercing, I was not aware of what it even was. So, I went home and learned the hard way that it is a godsend. It's also available at Hot Topic or your can go to their website :)

Cleaning piercing with H2Ocean Spray::

• I do this usually at night, right before I go to bed.
• Step 1 - WASH YOUR HANDS. The number one rule for handling your piercing is to NEVER touch it with dirty hands. Hence, wash your hands thoroughly please!
• Step 2 - Use a q-tip. They may also be known as "cotton buds." It is the cardboard stick with cotton on each end. This will simply make cleaning your piercing much more convenient.
• Step 3 - Spray one end of the q-tip with the H2Ocean spray until it is saturated.
• Step 4 - Carefully clean the area around your piercing using the q-tip. If this is difficult, try using a mirror, or ask someone for help. I usually make my mom or a friend help me! Use the q-tip to wipe away any fluid drainage or any crust that has formed. Don't worry, both of these are normal!!
• Step 5 - Spray the back of your piercing with the H2Ocean spray directly. Use a healthy amount, but not too much.
• Step 6 - Repeat steps 3-5 for the front of the piercing. Although this is a lot easier to clean using the q-tip!
• You can let this spray dry on your ear. Do not rinse it off!

Cleaning piercing with Colorless, Odorless Antibacterial Soap::

• I do this usually in the morning, when I am in the shower. Although it can be done simply at a sink!
• Step 1 - Get your ear and the piercing wet with fresh, running water.
• Step 2 - Pump a little bit of the soap onto your (CLEAN) hands.
• Step 3 - Rub your hands together until the soap reaches a nice lather.
• Step 4 - Rub the lathered soap around the piercing area. You can use a q-tip if it would be more convenient. Make sure to get the front and back!
• Step 5 - Rinse the soap thoroughly.

Cleaning piercing with Sea Salt Soaks::

• I do this a few times a week. It's not a daily thing because I like the regime of the H2Ocean spray and the antibacterial soap. However, if your piercing is irritated or hurts, this reduces the pain!!
• Step 1 - Fill a cup with 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt.
• Step 2 - Add 8oz. of water.
• Step 3 - Microwave until the salt dissolves.
• Step 4 - Allow the water to cool.
• Step 5 - Place your ear/piercing in the sea salt solution for about 10-15 minutes
• Do not rinse your ear after you are done!

There we go! Simple as that. 

**Also, reccommendation, only rotate your hoop/ spin your stud when you are cleaning to help get the crust away. It is okay during cleaning, and only during cleaning!!**

What To Expect When Getting Cartilage Pierced

When I went to get my cartilage pierced, I had no clue what to expect! I know of some people who have their cartilage pierced, but no one that I could talk to about it. I watched as many videos online and read so many articles, but nothing was really specific. It won't be the same as experiencing the piercing yourself, but I'm going to try my best to prepare you for what to expect when getting pierced!

• I got my upper cartilage (helix) pierced with a hollow needle
• I STRONGLY reccomend this method as it allows the piercing to heal properly. They usually pierce with needles at tattoo/piercing parlor. These people are usually more qualified than anyone at Claire's.
• If you have long hair, I urge you to pull it back into a pony tail and secure any hairs that are close to your ears back with bobby pins/clips. You don't want your hair touching your piercing because it can irritate your piercing and possibly even infect it!

Here's basically how the process goes:

1. The piercer will have you pick our your choice in jewelry. I didn't have too much of a choice, since I got a captive bead ring. He pierced it with a 16mm guage, which is one of the smallest there is. I believe that it is two sizes bigger than normal earring you buy at Target. I like the thickness of the gauge because it's not too big that my ear is ridiculously stretched, but it's noticeable :) I am happy with it. I recommend asking to view different sized gauges if you are unsure of what you would like. You most likely will prefer either a 20mm, 18mm, or 16mm!
2. Next, your piercer will mark on your ear where they will pierce it. My piercer just used a marker and made a dot on my ear. Nothing major, but just the next step of the process. Ask for a mirror so you can see the dot and make sure that it is placed properly. Usually they know where it's supposed to go and have a pretty good judgement of placement.
3. The next step is probably the most intimidating: the actually piercing. Your piercer will clamp your ear in place with something that looks like this. These simply hold your ear in place and tighten your ear so that the piercing goes through smoothly.
4. Your piercer will then use the hollow needle to, essentially, put a hole in your ear. It in all honestly did not hurt as bad as I thought it would, but it DID hurt. Quite a bit. My piercing did not bleed, however I have heard of some cases that did. I guess it depends on your anatomy and all.
5. The piercer will probably insert the needle about halfway to three-quarters of the way through your ear, and will then "thread" the jewelry into your ear. If they are inserting a stud, they will put the back end of the stud onto the front end of the needle and then slide the needle through, thus pulling the stud into your ear. They will then attach the backing to the earring and voilà! OR they will attach one of the open ends of the captive bead ring to the front end of the needle and then slowly rotate the hoop through your fresh piercing, then they will insert the bead and voilà! Either way, you get an awesome looking piercing :)
6. Your ear will then proceed to turn a lovely fire-engine red shade and perhaps be a little hot. This is all completely normal. I mean, you just punctured your ear! It will also be a little tender. As much as you want to, RESIST THE URGE TO TOUCH IT! Any touching of your new piercing, other than when cleaning it, can lead to infection. Don't do it.

That's it, all done!! It wasn't that bad, in all honesty. Yes, it did hurt, I'm not going to lie. When he changed the jewelry in was when it hurt the most. But after that, I had no problems. Happy Piercing!

How to Get Ready For A Cartilage Piercing!

Okay, so there are some things that you might want to take care of before getting a new cartilage piercing. Here's a fairly simplified list of everything that should be taken into consideration.

• PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make sure that you get pierced with a hollow needle if they're available near you. Claire's and Piercing Pagoda use a gun, which shatters your ear cartilage because it pushes the cartilage from your piercing into your ear! Gross, right? Also, being pierced with a hollow needle allows for shorter healing time! :)
• In order to get pierced with a hollow needle, you will need to go to a professional piercing parlor. I went to a store that did tattoos and piercings. It might seem intimidating, but everyone at my parlor was extremely nice!
• Also, make sure to get either surgical steel, titanium, or gold jewelry put into your new piercing. Make sure that it is sterilized properly beforehand as well. Anything other than this will lead to either an allergic reaction or an infection.

• Figure out which side you want your piercing on before you go to get it pierced. It may seem pretty menial and easy to do this, but take into consideration:
• You won't be able to sleep on that side of your head for about 6-8 months
• Your hair on that side CANNOT touch the piercing for a few weeks
• It will be remarkably tender and sore, so you pretty much have to nurse it and be very mindful of touching/bumping it
• You pretty much cannot touch that ear at all for a while because it will be sore.
• Therefore... take some serious thought about this before piercing!!

• Hoop or Stud?! This question seemed like a given to me. I'll get a stud, because...they're practical. Right? Well, there are pros and cons for each.
• Captive Bead Ring (Hoop) PROS - my piercer said that it will heal faster, it allows more room for the ear to swell. CONS - honestly, from experience, it gets caught on my hair a lot and gets bumped around.
• Stud PROS - it's cute and stylish, probably looks better than a captive bead ring. CONS - it costs extra and doesn't allow as much room for the ear to swell, which can lead to problems in the healing process.
• After weighing my decision, I came to the conclusion that I would get the captive bead ring. Mostly because it would help the healing process incredibly. On the plus side, I think it looks kind of cool!! C:

• Are you willing to put up with it for months on end?
• I am not going to lie, it is a BIG commitment to get any piercing on your cartilage. The helix being one of the most tender. It gets bumped and touched way more than you can imagine. It will swell. It will be red and hot. It will crust. It will throb. It will be painful. But most of all, it will be worth it. I promise you, I love this piercing so much and all of those factors are worth it in the end.

And once you have completed these 4 steps, you are ready to go get pierced!!

Introduction!! :)

Hello to anyone who may be reading this! My name is Rachel, and just 10 days ago I pierced the cartilage in my ear. The proper name for my piercing is a "helix." I am absolutely head-over-heels in love with it! It's in the perfect spot (thanks to the help of my piercer) and I am growing fond of the captive bead ring look. Now, the only other piercings I've ever had are my ear lobes, one on each side of my head. So, you can imagine, I was TERRIFIED about it. I honestly had no clue what to expect. I don't have any super close friends or anyone that I can talk to who have had their cartilage pierced before. And I'd imagine, they probably got it done at Claire's :/ So, I was completely on my own. That is why I am here!! For anyone out there who may be in the same place that I was in, I am your "friend" who you can ask for advice! I will be completely and utterly honest in my posts and will update as much as possible. 


I do not claim to be an expert or any sort of professional on piercings. I am simply passing on any knowledge of things that work or things that don't work onto my fellow piercees! I cannot count on my hands how many times I've considered taking the darn piercing out already, and it's only been 10 days!! :O But, I'm determined that I am in it for the long haul. If anyone is reading this, I thank you in advance, and wish you happy piercing! <3