What to do with cartilage ring...

[cammy85]

I''m kind of stumped what I should do.

Right now I have a really basic stainless steel tension cartilage ring. You can see from the picture what it looks like. Mine''s not huge, but FI has expressed a sincere desire that I either don''t wear it at all for the wedding or find a way to make it less obvious. I agree with him. I am wearing nice jewelry, getting my hair and makeup done, and then I would have this casual, dingy, stainless steel ring in. I am afraid that just removing it will leave a funny looking hole in my cartilage, but I''m also afraid that wearing a small gemstone stud will look weird in pictures with the back of the stud sticking out from my ear.

Chances are I''m overanalyzing this, but I''d love to hear any advice you could provide.

 

[doodle]

Go to a piercer and ask if they have retainers for cartilage piercings. I know you can get them for most piercings (I used to have one for my nose stud) because so many employers don't allow facial piercings, excessive ear piercings, etc. It's just a little clear plastic thing that slides into the hole--it doesn't show at all, but it keeps the hole from closing.

ETA here's a link for a site with a number of different kinds of retainers and information. This was the first hit I got when I googled cartilage piercing retainer, but I'm sure there are other kinds, too. Hope all this helps!

 

[violet02]

I took all of my extra piercings out before the wedding including the ones in my upper ear with a ring like that in it (and one with a stud). I took them out a few months ahead of time. The hole hasn't grown back in (I have yet to put it back in and it's been months) and it didn't show in any of the photos. It looked much better than having anything in there. I wouldn't put a stud in there. I used to wear a stud in mine and it does stick out. If you're worried about it growing back in then talk to a piercer but in my experience it wasn't a problem If you take it out a bit ahead of time it has a chance to kind of 'settle' and look less obvious.

 

[cammy85]

I''ve used retainers before for sports, but I don''t remember them being ''invisible.''


Violet - That''s what I''m terrified about - My hole closing up. I would love to take it out and just let it ''settle'' like you said, I guess I can test it out. I''ve got two months to go, so I figure I can take it out now, see what happens in a day, then a couple days, then keep trying it out to see if I can find a good timeline for me to be without it without having a weird hole in my ear.

I''m still really anxious about the ''what if the hole closes.'' I guess we''ll just have to see.

I should have just worn my hair down!

 

[violet02]

I haven''t tried to put anything in my ear lately so who knows it may have closed up. But I think at least one of them is still open. I''ve had mine a long time though. If they were to close up why not jut get them re-pierced later? I don''t think you''ll have a problem though.

 

[cammy85]

I''ve had mine for around 10 years. If it closes up, I probably wouldn''t get it repierced, but I''d surely be disappointed. Eh, if all I have to sacrifice is a cartilage piercing to marry my wonderful FI, I figure I will have still come out ahead!

 

[elrohwen]

I''ve had many cartilage piercings in my day (4 holes in my ears) and I had to take them all out for my job (no jewelry allowed in manufacturing plants). I think some looked a little weird because the cartilage was a bit misshapen after healing, but the simple ring had healed very cleanly and you couldn''t even tell. Even if you have a weird cartilage bump (which is common) if you take the ring out early enough the bump will go down a lot in a few months. I don''t think anyone will be able to tell unless they''re looking for it. If you can''t get the earring back in yourself after your wedding day, a good piercing shop can always do it for you (usually for free).
I hope this helps!

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 1/12/2009 5:03:21 PM
Author: cammy85
I've had mine for around 10 years. If it closes up, I probably wouldn't get it repierced, but I'd surely be disappointed. Eh, if all I have to sacrifice is a cartilage piercing to marry my wonderful FI, I figure I will have still come out ahead!

I wanted to add that I absolutely don't think it will close up if you've had it for 10 years. I had my piercings out for over a year and a piercing shop was able to pop them right back in. There was a little pain and swelling because the holes weren't used to earrings anymore, but they certainly hadn't closed. I've been told (not sure if this is true) that once cartilage has fully healed, it will never completely re-close the hole. That fits with my experience at least.

And I would absolutely recommend having a professional put them back in. I tried it myself and it's really difficult because you can't see what you're doing and end up causing more pain than anything. A professional can put it back in just a few seconds which causes way less discomfort than fiddling with it yourself for 20 minutes. Take it from someone who has done the fiddling for 20 minutes unsuccessfully

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 1/12/2009 6:29:56 PM
Author: elrohwen
I've had many cartilage piercings in my day (4 holes in my ears) and I had to take them all out for my job (no jewelry allowed in manufacturing plants). I think some looked a little weird because the cartilage was a bit misshapen after healing, but the simple ring had healed very cleanly and you couldn't even tell. Even if you have a weird cartilage bump (which is common) if you take the ring out early enough the bump will go down a lot in a few months. I don't think anyone will be able to tell unless they're looking for it. If you can't get the earring back in yourself after your wedding day, a good piercing shop can always do it for you (usually for free).

I hope this helps!

Ditto this! I took my cartilage piercings out years ago but I bet I could still get an earring in if I tried. I would definitely take it out for the wedding.

ETA I used a retainer in my nose right after it got pierced and you could still see it, so I would definitely just wear nothing.

 

[Haven]

I have seven piercings in each ear, from the bottom of the lobe all the way up to the top of my cartilege. I took them out about ten years ago, and the holes were all still open when I put them all back in last year.

I wouldn''t worry about it closing.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

One suggestion is if you take it out, dab a little bit of foundation over the hole - that might cover it up.

 

[kmci]

I always have a small stud in mine, but with the back bent over a bit tighter than 90degrees so its like a nose stud. It is really unobtrusive, and just has a small bit of the post at the back, and I tiny silver ball on front. You could do it with a little gemstone nose ring, or just plain.

 

[cammy85]

Thanks for all your replies! I feel a little better that I could leave it out and it won''t just vacuum shut in 10 minutes haha. The foundation tip is fantatic, I wonder if that would work, couldn''t hurt to try!