I Pierced My Ear Myself...and it's on the top and it STILL hurts, it's been pierced for about 3 days now. Does anyone know how long it takes until it goes away? Do you have your ear pierced up there too? I mean, I have 3 sets of holes in both ears. But they are on the bottom. This one is only on the top of my left side. IT HURTS!!! - - - *~Thanx for reading~* Firefly
Piercing the top of the ear is painful and healing will take longer than in your lobe. The top is cartilage and the lobe is fat-like tissue.
Be sure and keep it clean, and be prepared for about two or three weeks of soreness.
Cartilage never completely heals, meaning the hole will always keep trying to grow back together. I learned this in cosmetology school. The fat part of the ear heals just fine, but in some cases if you haven't worn an earring for a while you'll need to "poke" the hole open again with the earring.
I too pierced my own ear at the top through the cartilage. I had it in for about three or four weeks and still could not sleep on the right side of my head so I just gave up. The was about 6 months ago and I can still feel the scar tissued in the cartilage and if I squeeze gently it still hurts.
I have also pierced many noses with the same result - hole is always trying to grow back together.
Good luck and do keep it clean with alcohol swabs at least twice a day.
I had the top pierced twice by a tattoo/piercign artist and they can take up to 12 monthes to heal...both times i ended up taking it out because of the pain....it is a bad stop cause u roll over and sleep on it, you hit it when u shampoo and with your hair brush....keep spraying with bactine and watch for an infection....i had one and had to take anitibiotics...its a tough spot my doctor said becasue there is minimal blood flow for healing so it has to be treated right away.....just make sure u clean it and try your best not to bump it
Piercing your cartiledge will take sometime for it to heal. Your best bet is to get some rubbing alcohol to put on thier twice a day to kill germs or go to you local piercing store to see if they carry a version for ears. If it becomes too infected then see your doctor.
I had mine done when i was 15. The cartilage did hurt and i remember putting something like a cotton ball between the back of my ear and my head since it seemed like the back of the earring was pushing into my skin!
It did take some time to heal, make sure you keep a straight earring in it till it's healed, if you use a hoops there's a good chance a puss bump will grow behind it. I know my friends had the same thing and they had to pop it, and wait for that to heal then re-pierce it.
not me, I try not to use hoops period because I notice those really pull on it in a weird way and cause it to be sore. I also try to keep gold in it too. Donno if thats the reason it helps, but I dont even notice mine anymore.
I have my cartlage peirced twice in the same ear...it was sore for the first couple of weeks and then it gradually healed...i've had them now for about two years, and i've never taken them out once. I do remember at one point it got really swollen..I took the back of the earring off and just left the earring in and it eventually healed..I think it varies for people. I just remember putting lots of rubbing alcohol on it and I also used peroxide ocassionally.
i did mine 3 times and after 6 months or so it still had not healed fully. the doctor says it's a bad spot to pierce because of the blood flow thing sugar mentioned. some people are successful with it tho. i need 14k gold and all 3x i had it done with a gun at a salon or ear piercing place and i think the earrings were only gold plated. my ears know the difference...lol! all my other ear piercings i did myself and put in 14k gold and they healed nicely in 6 weeks. i am afraid to do the cartiledge piercing myself. it's tought to get thru. i need to find a place tht puts in solid gold posts.
stormy
I had my cartilage pierced 5 years ago (with a gun) and don't even notice it anymore-I always wear a sterling silver hoop in it. I'd say that after about 2 months, the pain stopped. I recently-3 weeks ago-(again with a gun) got another piercing in the cartilage right below the other and it is still a tad bit sore and if I bump it-yikes! But that's to be expected. It does take longer to heal-you need to leave the piercing stud/hoop in for at least 12 weeks then after that, you can change it but make sure to leave something in there at all times for at least a year so that your hole does not shrink or close.
see? any kind of metal makes me itch and causes an infection for me. i can't wear sterling (pretty as it is) the gold doesn't. my daughter is the same way. maybe i can get a piercing again and after the 12 weeks, put in a gold stud.
stormy
Stormy did you ever try surgical steel? A lot of places pierce with that because of people like you who have reactions (yikes-that's not supposed to sound mean!!) or you could always try white gold...
I Pierced My Ear Myself... 
Firefly 
