Taking Care of Your Pierced Ears

When you first get your ears pierced, you should leave the earrings in until your ears are completely healed. This usually takes about 6 to 8 weeks. If you don't, your holes could close up and you'll have to go through everything all over again!

Germs

If you touch your new piercing with hands that haven't recently been washed, germs will transfer and could lead to an infection. You don't want germs with your newly pierced ears, so it's very important to keep your ears clean. For several days after the piercing, you or a parent will need to clean your ears and put ear cleaning solution, rubbing alcohol, or antibiotic ointment on them.

Your hair holds onto anything and everything it encounters throughout the day. It contains the shampoo, conditioner and product from this morning, plus all the bacteria and dirt that happened to be floating around in the air you walked through today. To prevent bacteria from transferring from your hair to your piercings, try throwing your hair up at night - at least for the first month. Keeping it pulled back and away from your ears will not only reduce the risk of infection, but will also keep it from getting caught on your earrings while you sleep.
Picture
Whoever is doing the cleaning should follow these steps at least twice a day:
1. Wash hands thoroughly before touching ears.
2. Apply provided alcohol via spray bottle to front and back of ear lobe.
3. Gently rotate the earring in the ear.

Twist the earrings a few times daily. This will help keep the pierced holes open.

You can take your earrings out after 6-8 weeks if they feel ready, but don’t leave them out! They will still close quickly since they’re relatively new. Leave your earrings in as often as you can for roughly a year before going extended periods without them.

Cleaning Solution

Everyone suggests different solutions to use, so it’s hard to know which is the right choice. We recommend alcohol and provide a small spray bottle that you should use every day, twice a day. Apply it to the front and back of the piercing with a clean cotton ball, and then twist the earring a couple times while it is wet. Warning: Rubbing alcohol may sting a bit when you use it. Also, if you find your skin is getting too dry, stop using it and switch to something gentler. Only you know your body and can judge what works best for you.

Don’t Use Cheap Earrings

You’ve done your time. The long two-month wait is over. Don’t ruin that progress by switching the possibly boring, but high quality, earrings out with those super cute $3 earrings you just scored! Jewelers suggest wearing 14K yellow gold earrings consistently throughout the first year because yellow gold is more pure than most metals. They recommend not using white gold because it may be mixed with nickel, which could possibly lead to an infection depending on your skin sensitivity. During the first year, your ears may be more sensitive, and the last thing you want is an allergic reaction.