Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with earrings

Why do my ear piercings continue to get irritated after 10 years?

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:42:44 -0800

Almost ten years after I've worn earrings, my piercings continue to regularly swell and discharge pus. What's wrong with my ears, how can I fix it, and will I ever wear earrings again? The (gross) backstory:

Each of my earlobes is pierced twice. Both were done with a gun rather than a needle (bad, I know); the first ones about 20 years ago and the second ones about 12 years ago. I used to use hydrogen peroxide to clean my piercings and earrings (I think that's also no longer recommended).

I no longer have any of the earrings I used to wear, but they were all fairly inexpensive, and were probably made of a variety of metals that are usually used for cheap earrings.

About 10 years ago, my piercings suddenly started getting really irritated, no matter how often I changed/cleaned them. I gave up on wearing earrings for a while.

At one point, after I hadn't worn earrings for almost a year, I tried putting in my original piercing earrings (some fake gold ones with extra-pointy posts); my earlobes were red and swollen within 15 minutes, and it took several days to recover. I haven't attempted to wear earrings since.

A year or so later, I discovered one day that my earlobe was swollen and itchy. I pressed on it from behind and discharged pus through one of the piercing holes -- like popping a zit. It relieved the pressure and pain. In the years since, my piercings have intermittently become irritated in this way, and I can usually "pop" whichever one is irritated and discharge white pus (although sometimes a hole can be irritated but doesn't want to "pop"). Blood never comes out of the holes.

All four holes are susceptible, although it seems that my right side is irritated more often (however, the top hole on the right side is irritated right now, so maybe I'm biased). I estimate that at least one hole becomes irritated every two to four weeks, although I admit I've never kept track. The irritation usually lasts a couple of days.

Obviously, since this has been happening for many years, it has gone on as I've had many different hairstyles, used different hair products, slept on different pillowcases, lived in different apartments, and even lived on different continents. I don't have any medical conditions or allergies that I know of.

My questions:

What the hell would make really old piercings randomly, but regularly, irritated? Is there anything I can do to prevent the irritation? I'd really like to wear earrings again, and I'm willing to wear metals that are better for sensitive ears (stainless steel?), but I'm reluctant to experiment because of the cost of earrings and the pain that's involved.

(Anonymous because I really don't want my coworkers to know about my gross ears...)

Should I get my ears pierced?

brainmouse — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 08:49:39 -0800

I’m considering getting my ears pierced. Just regular old lobe piercings. Help me decide if I should, then help answer all the probably simple questions about the process, because I seriously know nothing. Before you bring it up – I’m planning on going to a real piercing place, not Claire’s. I got my ears pierced when I was in elementary school. Once they healed, I took the earrings out and basically never wore any again, so the holes closed up. I could feel the hole through my ear still for a long time, but it’s been gone for maybe 15 years. There are still little marks on the front of my ears where you can see that they were pierced.

I’m considering doing it again. I’m just undecided. I’ve been thinking about it for a while now, and I think I will always be undecided if I keep on this route… so I just thought I’d ask for opinions. My pros are: I think earrings look pretty on people, and I think they would look pretty on me. Also, most adult women wear earrings, and it's often assumed that I do to. People occasionally think it's weird that I don't. These people sometimes include me. My cons are: I don’t wear a lot of jewelry, even when I like it, so I’m a little worried I won’t actually wear earrings either, and they'll close again. Also, I can't help but thinking I shouldn’t be literally mutilating my body for beauty (note: definitely not judging people who have even many piercings; I mostly think they look great and have never had that feeling about other people, just myself). I’m just not sure how reasonable that is – especially given I’ve already done it once, and you can still see the holes.

Once you answer that (or not, whatever), can you help me with answers to the following questions about the process?:

1. Do I bring my own jewelry in or get some at the piercing place? I don’t especially like studs, and don’t plan on wearing them after the healing part of the process is over. How small can they be and still be ok? What should they be made of? (assume gold isn’t an option)

2. Will it hurt? How much? For how long? Is there anything I can do to mitigate the pain at the time of the piercing or later?

3. I really really really don’t want them to get infected. If they do, I plan on taking out the piercings immediately and permanently and not trying again. What are the odds that it will? What can I do to keep it from happening? Where do I buy the cleaning supplies?

4. How much should I expect this to cost?

5. Will I need to make an appointment or is this the sort of thing you can walk in for?

6. Long-term, how often, roughly, do I need to wear earrings to keep the holes open? How do I keep them as small as possible while keeping them open?

7. Can anybody recommend a good piercing place in downtown Oakland or downtown Berkeley (or, I guess somewhere BART-able in San Francisco would work too)?

8. Is there anything else I should know?

Thank you!

Converting clip-on earrings

orrnyereg — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 05:51:19 -0800

Suggestions for converting clip-on earrings into post earrings? So, I scored some great 50s-era earrings at the flea market this weekend. Trouble is, they're clip-ons, which I don't really care for. Is it possible for someone with intermediate-level craft skillz to make them into post earrings? Or should I take them to a jeweler?

Thanks in advance!

Looking for clear, straight, plastic (or acrylic) ear piercing retainers.

aloneinvietnam — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:23:53 -0800

This is my left ear and this is my right ear. I need help finding a reputable online shop that sells clear, straight, plastic (or acrylic) ear piercing retainers. Please help!

Can you recommend places in San Francisco or online to buy interesting silver+gemstone jewelry?

otherwordlyglow — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:29:50 -0800

Can you recommend places in San Francisco or online to buy interesting silver+gemstone jewelry? I need a necklace (preferably with matching earrings) for a special occasion. I'm thinking that something silver with some color, maybe semi-precious gemstones in various colors, would be nice. Something feminine and somewhat delicate. Could be vintage, could be modern.

I've been looking around Etsy and found some that are close to what I'm looking for but none is exactly right and I find it really difficult to browse in any efficient manner on Etsy. Any other ideas?

If there's a place in San Francisco that I should check, I'd be open to that, too but my time is limited so online might be better.

Diamonds: What cut is more desirable?

jwfree — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 13:31:44 -0800

Which do you prefer, round or princess cut diamonds? Why? What are the pros/cons to each? My girlfriend's birthday is coming up and so I think it's about time to buy her diamond earrings (studs) for the first time. Size wise I was not thinking anything too crazy, around 0.15 in size.

I am a guy and I am partial to princess cut myself but I have heard that with smaller diamonds that are round will shine more. Since I plan on getting around the 0.15 in size, the more shine the better!

Ladies, any suggestions or tips?

Gentlemen, any words of wisdom?

where do i get quality earring backs?

lia — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 18:27:42 -0800

i've lost a few earring backs over the last year or so, where can i get replacements? the posts are different widths so i can't swap between the ones i have left. online stores or lower manhattan, preferably.

Itchy ears

pipti — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 07:46:04 -0800

Earrings hurt and itch--what to do? I have a new pair of pearl earrings with 14k gold posts. They--alone among all my other earrings--hurt and itch literally within minutes of putting them in. I really love these earrings--is there anything I can do? I've heard that coating with clear nail polish might help, but I've also heard that it might not.

Do black earrings exist?

yoga — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 10:59:16 -0800

In search of simple black earrings (pierced). They can be small hoops, studs or wires. Not necessarily onyx or obsidian - could be rubber, for all I care, but definitely not pearls. I'd like something kind of like just the hoop part on these. If combined with metal, preferred color is silver.

Help me save my ear-holes.

ultraultraboomerang — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 08:42:03 -0800

Is there any point in re-piercing my ears properly, 20 years after they were pierced with that damn gun they use in the mall? I have 3 piercings in one ear and one in the other. The first two are about 20 years old, the other two are more like 10-12. There have been times when I could wear earrings 24/7 for years with no problem, but lately I'm lucky to get one evening out of them, even with all the elaborate cleansing and neosporin-ing and everything else I've read about to try and prevent that hot, itchy, painful reaction (presumably due to nickel, so I've given up on cheap jewelery).

My question is essentially, is there any benefit from just starting over? They've never healed shut, even though there have been periods of a year or more where I haven't worn a single earring, so I wouldn't really be re-piercing them. But from all I've read about how awful the mall process is and how you really should heal piercings with titanium barbells or what have you, I'm wondering if there's any benefit to going to a real studio and having them treat them like brand new piercings. Maybe buying some more appropriate, sterile jewelery to wear for a few solid weeks to see if I can heal them properly this time. Or even having them re-done with a needle, since I've heard that the wonky angle caused by those mall guns is sometimes a problem in healing.

Has anyone else had this experience? I'd like to have some simple non-cheap non-nickel hoops I could just leave in all the time. What has worked for you, in terms of getting to the point where you can wear earrings properly again? Can I reverse any of the damage presumably done by exposure to cheap metal? Are my ear-holes a lost cause?

Arrrr, matey.

tristeza — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 17:56:28 -0800

Online source for single, gold hoop earring? I've looked at about 20 body jewelery sites, and I can't seem to find anywhere to buy a simple, gold hoop earring (single, no post, thicker than maybe a girl's hoop earring, it's for a guy). All I'm coming across are belly bars and penis rings and eyebrow staples....I am definitely out of my element.

Can someone point me to a good online source for this?

How to treat old ear piercing that's always infected?

mintchip — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 17:11:11 -0800

Old ear piercing always gets infected. How to treat it? I have had one piercing in each ear since I was three years old. Over time I seemed to develop an allergy to most metals. I resorted to replacing all of my earring posts with nickel-free posts, which are supposed to be hypoallergenic. Even so, the piercing in my right ear gets infected (hot, red and itchy) a few hours after I put nickel-free earrings in.

The only earrings that don't give me problems are tiny white-gold studs--cute but boring and expensive to replace.

Why does the infection come back to the same ear every time? Is there anything I can do to desensitize my ears and get rid of this infection for good?

Earrings for men

jonmc — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 16:05:06 -0800

Fashion Question. Two months ago I got my ears pierced. I recently bought a few pairs of cheap earrings on the street. I'm sure women learn the tricks of this stuff early, but what type of earrings work best on a guy, without making him look ridiculous or overly femmy?

How can I see what Tiffany jewelry looks like on a person without going to one of their stores?

radioamy — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 00:44:51 -0800

How can I see what Tiffany jewelry looks like on a person without going to one of their stores? Last year for my college graduation my dad got me a Tiffany ring and for my birthday a Tiffany neclace. So chances are, for my upcoming birthday and/or graduation (MBA), he'll be getting me another Tiffany piece. I'd like a pair of Tiffany earrings to complete the ensemble (please refrain from debating the merits of T&Co) and would like to nudge him in the right direction, but its really hard to tell how the earrings look on! I don't live anywhere near a T&Co store. Any suggestions where I can find pictures of people wearing them?

Fill my ear holes!

LunaticFringe — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 12:43:41 -0800

InterestingEarJewelryFilter I am looking for larger gauged (from 12g up to 0g) ear jewelry such as this or what's found here in both the Toronto and Ottawa regions. I'm in the market for some new ear duds and will be in both these places in the near future so I'd like a mission while I'm visiting these places. Thanks in advance!

Good jewelry store - downtown Chicago?

WestCoaster — Sat, 24 Dec 2005 17:03:27 -0800

Recommendations for a good place to buy (expensive) earrings in Chicago - downtown/loop area, on December 28th? (And yes, Tiffany & Co has a store on Michigan Avenue, but I'm looking for a place with less attitude and more value.)

Why is nothing easy?

ohcanireally — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 12:36:04 -0800

Earringfilter: good god, why are there so many? Just how hard can a gold hoop attached to a gold ball earring with a post back be hard to find?

My mum’s “everyday” earrings were damaged last year after she put them in her handbag. I want to replace them. A gold ball post earring, from which dangles a single gold circle about 1½“ in diameter. Absolutely nothing fancy or special, just those two elements. Doing a search with various combos of “ball” “hoop” “drop/dangle” “post” et al provides a million earrings…of which the first few thousand aren’t even close. My google-fu filter needs work, but in the meantime, I’m ready to give up finding them. It doesn’t help that I hate shopping for jewelry. Has anyone seen these online anywhere?

big stud

crunchland — Fri, 04 Mar 2005 20:06:52 -0800

My wife's problem with a stud that's too big. So my wife likes to buy jewelry on ebay, and some of the pierced earrings she's bought have posts that are too big for the holes in her ears, and she can't even wear some of the earrings she's bought. She wants to know if she's having the problem because her ears were pierced 20 years ago, or if it's because she sometimes wears clip-ons. Has anyone else had this problem, and if so, were you able to find a solution, or is my wife destined to just look at some of the jewelry she's bought instead of being able to wear it?