Long-term aftercare and jewellery advice please

[davidjpeacock]

Hey everyone,

I'd like some opinions on my lobe situation.

Short story: I was pierced a while ago with a needle at 4mm, and had steel single flared tunnels put in with o-rings on the back as my newbie jewellery. The plan was to keep these in for 3 months for full healing to happen before any possible jewellery change. However, a couple of mishaps later involving a tunnel being push backward into my ear and general lack of confidence in the ability of these to stay in made me switch out the jewellery early (with the guidance of my piercer). I switched to titanium tunnels with screw-on backs that have much larger flares. Did a bunch of sea salt soaks and things healed up great.

That was a few months ago, but now I am having a cleansing / oiling dilemma. What's the best policy for cleaning in my situation? I'm trying to avoid taking my tunnels in and out because of fear of hurting the still relatively young piercings, but keeping them in makes cleaning difficult, and jojoba oil / Holey Butt'r massages effectively impossible.

My other question is does anyone have any suggestion for jewellery that would be simple to get in and out, without risking the original problem I had with small flares being pulled inside?

Here's my timeline for clarity.

2012:

March 29th - Pierced at 4mm
May 1st - Swapped jewellery for titanium wide flared tunnels
July 16th - Considered lobes healed and healthy at this point
August 8th - today

For what it's worth, I have no intention of stretching for a *long* time; I want to do this safely and properly; my post is about how to best take care of my lobes in their current size.

Thanks,
David

[corazon_de_oro]

Are they still sore at all and does taking them out irritate them? You had them done over four months ago so you should be able to remove your jewelry. I wouldn't worry too much about oil massages at this point and if they're healed the only thing you really need to do is take out your jewelry to clean it. Just rinse your plugs and lobes in the shower with some soap and water. If you want some jewelry that's easier to get in and out maybe try some glass single-flare plugs. They don't flare out and they're not sharp like metal eyelets so they won't get pushed into the holes in your sleep.

[davidjpeacock]

They're not sore in the slightest, and feel healthy. That said, once I go through the plugs out, clean, oil, plugs in cycle they'll feel slightly itchy and irritated (though not painful) for maybe an hour after.

Thanks Lindsay.

[mouse2cat]

I have to second Corazon on the glass single flare plugs. I think plugs that have a flat back cause more irritation when you put them in, and the glass ones have this soft curved back which is super gentle. And they are very stylish.

Being sore for an hour after cleaning is too much.