Has anybody repierced their ears?

[tigian]

My earring holes sit a bit too low on my lobe for my liking and I was wondering if anybody has had the same problem and fixed it. I guess I''m sort of worried that the new hole will stretch into the old hole and then I''ll have a huge hole.

 

[Sabine]

I had my second holes redone, but they weren''t in long the first time. I got them pierced, took care of them for the alloted time, and then went to change the earrings for the first time. But one of the holes was crooked, and I had the WORST time getting a new earring in. So I stopped trying and didn''t try again for years, then got them repierced. I had my bottom holes done when I was 4, and I go for long periods of time without putting anything in them, and they never close, so I don''t think they ever will.

I think if your holes are new enough that they will heal and close, if you leave enough time it will be fine.

 

[honey22]

Yep, in high school. An ice cube, sewing needle and a shot of vodka, they were fine after a few days

 

[Kelli]

Mine are pierced really low too, to the point that I can''t wear studs. Well, I suppose I could, but unless they''re very very tiny, they droop down and look rediculous. I''ve wondered the same thing about re-piercing, but I have the same concerns as you do. I got mine done when I was five, and they''re never closing up. It bums me out because I love the look of big studs.

I''ve just decided I''ll wear lever-backs, small hoops, or shepherd hook dangles instead of studs. I think even if I did pierce them up higher, you''d see the other hole anyway and it wouldn''t look good. Come back and let us know if you try it though. I''d love to hear how it works out!

 

[lulu]

I''m interested in this too. My friend did mine when we were kids with a needle and string and they are crooked and too low. I''ve heard you have to go to a plastic surgeon because the new hole would be so close to the one you want closed. There are no plastic surgeons in my neck of the woods. I have 3 carat tw studs I never wear because they don''t sit even.

 

[lyra]

If you do a search on this subject, you'll find that someone here had her unwanted holes stitched up at a plastic surgeon. In the end I think she said it wasn't worth it, or the results weren't as good as she'd hoped. If the holes are completely healed, it shouldn't be a problem to re-do them. I would not go to a mall store piercer though. I'd go to a professional piercer who uses an actual needle. My needle done holes never caused any problem at all. The gun piercings are too traumatic on your ear tissue. It's worth it to get it done right.

I guess I was wrong about the outcome, but here is JustJulia's thread about ear piercing reversal: here.

 

[AGBF]

My daughter should be in the Guiness Book of Records for re-piercings, not just for her ears, but for her belly button. One set of slightly-off holes in her ears was fixed when they were re-pierced after she had let the original holes close up. (I believe the holes are currently closed again now.) The belly button is another story. She just got tired of having a belly button ring and let her piercing close up...but then she found a belly button ring she liked and had it re-pierced. However, she never re-pierced the cartilage in her ear (a third ear hole she had at one time) or her nose after those holes closed up, so I am happy.

AGBF

 

[doodle]

Totally agree with lyra. Go talk to a certified reputable piercer--they can take one look at a piercing and tell you exactly what to do with it and whether or not it''d be worth the trouble of trying to have them redone. A good friend of mine is a piercer, and you mention the words "mall piercer" to him only if you want to see an EXTREMELY angry man, haha! Anything done with a gun or a sewing needle is likely to come out crooked or off because you develop scar tissue near it and the piercing shifts (in some cases, it can make the jewelry completely migrate out, which is what happened to me every time I ever got my ears pierced with a gun at the mall. It just pushed the jewelry out the bottom of my earlobe). Professional piercers, however, use hollow needles, so it doesn''t just punch a hole in the skin; it removes a small portion of it, thus having no way for scar tissue to swell around it and cause it to shift. A good piercer could look at it and tell you whether your lobe has enough room to accommodate another piercing above it without the two melding together and whether the first piercing would be noticeable below a new one. Best of luck!

 

[gemgirl]

Date: 6/7/2009 7:03:30 PM
Author:tigian
My earring holes sit a bit too low on my lobe for my liking and I was wondering if anybody has had the same problem and fixed it. I guess I''m sort of worried that the new hole will stretch into the old hole and then I''ll have a huge hole.

tigi, I had my right one redone about five years ago by my ENT who is also a head and neck surgeon. He surgically removed the old hole (after a lidocaine injection into my ear lobe), I had to wait two weeks for that to heal, then I went back to see him again for a post-op check up and he pierced my ear. The new hole has to be at least 2mm away from the old hole to be on the safe side. If your pierces are at least 2mm too low? You can have them repierced without a worry. My pierce was moved by about 3 mm. It was terribly mis-matched to the other one and that bugged me my entire life. Now I can finally wear any type earrings I want to. I definitely think it was worth it (for me).

 

[trillionaire]

my sister got her ear re-pierced, and now she has a hole with two channels. One goes all the way through the skin, the other gets caught on a thin layer of skin on the othersdie.

She describes it as annoying, but the holes are even. I pierced my own second hole, with no problems, and repierced my tongue... twice. Yeah, don''t do that....

 

[tigian]

Date: 6/8/2009 9:59:42 AM
Author: gemgirl

Date: 6/7/2009 7:03:30 PM

Author:tigian

My earring holes sit a bit too low on my lobe for my liking and I was wondering if anybody has had the same problem and fixed it. I guess I''m sort of worried that the new hole will stretch into the old hole and then I''ll have a huge hole.

tigi, I had my right one redone about five years ago by my ENT who is also a head and neck surgeon. He surgically removed the old hole (after a lidocaine injection into my ear lobe), I had to wait two weeks for that to heal, then I went back to see him again for a post-op check up and he pierced my ear. The new hole has to be at least 2mm away from the old hole to be on the safe side. If your pierces are at least 2mm too low? You can have them repierced without a worry. My pierce was moved by about 3 mm. It was terribly mis-matched to the other one and that bugged me my entire life. Now I can finally wear any type earrings I want to. I definitely think it was worth it (for me).

Hi Gemgirl,
Thanks for sharing your experience. Very helpful information. How did the ENT remove the old hole? Did he sew it shut? Is there any mark of the first hole?
Sorry for all the questions.

 

[gemgirl]

Date: 6/8/2009 5:48:24 PM
Author: tigian

Date: 6/8/2009 9:59:42 AM
Author: gemgirl

Date: 6/7/2009 7:03:30 PM

Author:tigian

My earring holes sit a bit too low on my lobe for my liking and I was wondering if anybody has had the same problem and fixed it. I guess I''m sort of worried that the new hole will stretch into the old hole and then I''ll have a huge hole.

tigi, I had my right one redone about five years ago by my ENT who is also a head and neck surgeon. He surgically removed the old hole (after a lidocaine injection into my ear lobe), I had to wait two weeks for that to heal, then I went back to see him again for a post-op check up and he pierced my ear. The new hole has to be at least 2mm away from the old hole to be on the safe side. If your pierces are at least 2mm too low? You can have them repierced without a worry. My pierce was moved by about 3 mm. It was terribly mis-matched to the other one and that bugged me my entire life. Now I can finally wear any type earrings I want to. I definitely think it was worth it (for me).

Hi Gemgirl,
Thanks for sharing your experience. Very helpful information. How did the ENT remove the old hole? Did he sew it shut? Is there any mark of the first hole?
Sorry for all the questions.

No problem! I wish I had someone to ask questions of before I had this done. (not that it would have changed my decision, I''m just always curious about these things)

There''s a surgical tool that''s made especially for removing old pierces called a punch. It''s a tubular small surgical tool that they press against your ear to remove a very small margin of skin around the old pierce. After they do that, they stitch it closed. He couldn''t remove the hole in the back of my ear for some reason, so he cut that one out and stitched it. I have a faint dimple where my old pierce used to be, but virtually every pair of earrings I own covers it.

This is considered cosmetic surgery, so you will have to pay for it out of pocket, but for me it was worth it.