Helix piercings take about 3-6 months in healing completely, that’s when you can consider changing your helix piercing. The recovery of this part of the ear is prolonged because of the fact that it is performed on the upper portion of the cartilage of the ear.
Helix piercings are very much in trend because it looks very attractive with all that lustrous jewelry dangling on the upper bit of the ear. People are fascinated by helix piercing for they give a beautiful upper edge to the ornaments.
However pretty they look on the surface, helix piercings can be a little stubborn sometimes because cartilage can be difficult to heal. Helix piercings can be stacked with multiple piercings in the very area of the helix because it has room for more than one to be accommodated.
How Long Does It Take A Helix Piercing To Heal?
Though varying for every individual, helix piercing can take good 3-6 months to heal. The credit of slow recovery is attributed to the cartilage that has significantly less blood flow in the area. Healing is dependent on multiple factors that are both in and out of the control of the individual. These factors could be the following:
- Weather
- Aftercare
- Exposure to an unsafe environment
- Infections, if any
- Personal biological factors
An under-process helix piercing recovery can look a lot like this:
- A bump on the helix indicates the piercing has been healed.
- The bumps can be seen in the target area and around it too.
- You often feel a little pain in the area.
- Some itching is constant and is slowly going away.
- A little bleeding is also apparent once in a while.
If any of the above symptoms are visible to you, you shall consider not changing your helix piercing for it might disturb the process and cause complications which you certainly want to avoid.
Once you get your piercing, you are basically causing a wound in the body that needs time to heal even if it is just a tiny hole. The healing process varies from person to person and can look different. But mostly, the healing takes somewhere between three months to six months.
A few weeks after the piercing can be difficult in terms of pain and unusual discomfort including some bleeding on some occasions. But, once a few months have passed by, you will get used to it and the healing would have progressed quite ahead.
When Should You Avoid A Helix Piercing?
Depending on genetics and behavior patterns, some people are not advised to get a helix piercing.
Helix piercing looks charming with all those pretty tiny jewels hanging through it. But, not everyone is built for a helix piercing. The cartilage piercing can be somewhat problematic for some people who are predisposed to a few genetic factors and do not tend to have enough self-control.
Here are some factors affecting your ability to get a helix piercing:
- Keloids are your enemies: Keloids are bumps that appear in and around a cartilage piercing. These keloids are real trouble for those who are genetically predisposed to getting one. These are not some regular bumps that just appear as a part of the healing process and go away on their own after a certain amount of time. Instead, these are pretty stubborn and can only be removed by getting medically operated on. It can cause all the hassle and yet leave a scar ultimately.
- Lack of self-control on messing behavior: if you’re someone who just cannot keep their hands off of the newly pierced area and has a compulsion of checking again and again, this piercing is not for you. As mentioned earlier, this piercing takes more time than other ones to heal. This means you would have to keep your instinctive urge of touching and bothering the piercing out of the way. Even a little bit of touching, bumping, and scratching here and there can cause the area to swell, become red, or worse, cause infection. If you keep doing this, it can cost you your cartilage and the damage would be irreversible.
Does Getting A Helix Piercing Hurt?
Yes, of course getting something intruded on in the form of a needle will hurt you. The real question is, how much does it hurt to get a helix piercing?
Talking of the helix piercing, it won’t have you screaming in the artists’ studio. A helix piercing falls toward the lower end of the pain scale. This is primarily because the thickness of the cartilage at the helix region is very thin. This renders the whole process of piercing a faster speed and much lesser pain for the client. Typically, it does not hurt more than a pinch on the area.
Once you’ve got it done, you can experience some throbbing and swelling in the area which can lead to pain. However, the pain after the piercing also isn’t very noticeable or disturbing. You just need to take good care of the thing.
How Do You Take Care Of The Helix Piercing?
Helix piercings are a little tricky to take care of since they are at the cartilage region. Your helix piercing, like all cartilage piercings, needs to be cleaned regularly to heal. Clean the upper cartilage with a cotton ball and saline solution.
Before cleaning your piercing with saline solution, wash your hair and let the warm water rinse over it for about 15 to 30 seconds.
- Keep your piercing dry at all times. Remember, the more moisture, the higher the chances of attracting bacteria and getting an infection.
- Clean your piercing from time to time with saline water and an antibacterial solution to ensure that there is no bacterial growth around the area.
- Do not coerce a jewelry change on the piercing when it is not ready. If you move the jewelry on a new wound, it can damage the skin seriously.
- Make sure your hair is not in close proximity to the piercing.
- Swimming is a no-no until the piercing has healed completely.
- No unnecessary scratching, playing, or touching of the region.
- Tyr not to sleep on the side of your helix piercing for a few weeks.
- Creams, bleaches, and any sort of peroxides must not be applied to the piercing.
Will My Helix Piercing Close Overnight?
If unattended, your helix piercing can even close in a matter of 20-30 minutes. Thus, it is strictly advised not to mess up with the jewelry put in the piercing until it has healed.
FAQs
- How do I know if I can change my helix piercing?
You should only change your helix piercing if it has been completely received and has no symptoms of the under-process recovery like itching, pain, swelling, redness, etc.
- Can you change a helix piercing after 2 months?
No, it is not advisable to change the helix piercing in just 2 months. It needs at least 3-6 months to recover and that’s when you should change it.
- What happens if I change my helix too early?
Moving your jewelry before its time can cause infection, damage the cartilage, and make a permanent scar on the region.
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