Luckily there is a myriad of methods you can use to treat these bothersome bumps. Which are medically known as keloids.

This is what you’re going to be learning about today. Even if you don’t currently have this problem, it’s still worth learning about. You never know when a bump is going to start popping up on you or your friend’s helix piercing!

Try some of these methods of treatment. One of them will work for you. I guarantee you!

Salt Water Soak

One of the most versatile solutions to any and every piercing related problems!

Saline solution is powerful stuff. It’s stupidly easy to make. You probably have the two ingredients already.

All you need to do is stir a quarter of a teaspoon of sea salt or rock salt into a glass of warm water.

You then take a cotton pad and soak it in the salty liquid.

Apply the salty liquid to your piercing and the bump and let the salt work its magic!

Not much else needs to be said about this one. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve given you guys these instructions now. It will come in handy though!

Note: If you want to give that little bit of extra care, invest in the EasyPiercing Saline Solution. It is worth your money!

Tea Tree Oil

Pure tea tree oil is a naturally potent anti-bacterial substance. It is often used to treat acne and other forms of mild infection.

If you intend on using this method of treatment, make sure you use 100% pure tea tree oil. Any other ingredients could worsen the problem and may irritate your skin even more!

All you need to do is apply the oil directly to the affected area using a cotton swab (q-tip).

If your skin is sensitive, dilute the oil with water.

Chamomile Salt Soak

Most of us have used chamomile to soothe and relax our body and mind before bed.

Chamomile is a versatile herb. The soothing properties are not limited to the mind and muscles. It is also soothing and calming to the skin.

Simply brew yourself a cup of chamomile. Except you will not be adding a sweetener as you usually would. Instead you will be adding a quarter of a teaspoon of sea salt or rock salt! This will soothe your skin and fight infection as the same time! You will definitely see the benefits.

Apply the brew to your skin using a cotton swab three times a day. You will start to see results within a couple of weeks!

Aspirin

Aspirin is known for its health benefits. It is also said that it can be used to treat keloids.

A simple yet effective treatment you should definitely try!

1. All you need to do is crush up an aspirin tablet. Mix it in with a small amount of water to form a paste.
2. Apply the paste to the bump on your piercing.
3. Then just wash it off using a sea salt soak.

The anti-inflammatory properties of aspirin should have your keloid reducing in size in no time!

Honey

Honey is a powerful antiseptic. Infections don’t stand a chance once you add honey to your arsenal! It is also great for use on sensitive skin due to the fact that it is natural and gentle.

All you need to do here is apply a dab of honey to the bump 3 times a day.

You could even try adding some honey to your chamomile and sea salt brew (see recipe above) for that extra antiseptic kick!

Lemon Juice

Lemons. Natures way of keeping everything fresh!

Not everyone has success with this method, but some people swear by it!

Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into a cup. Dilute it with 50% water.

Apply it to your piercing using a q-tip.

Monitor your results over the course of two or three weeks. If you see a difference, keep it up. If not, try something else!

Preventing Bumps!

As with anything else in life, prevention is always better than cure!

Instead of going through all the hassle of treating a keloid bump, why not prevent yourself from getting one altogether?

Wear the Right Jewelry

First off, consider what material your jewelry is made of. Avoid steel. This includes the highest quality surgical grade stainless steel. Stick to titanium as it causes less irritation and is much more suited to use in the skin.

make sure jewelry fits properly. Also, wear the right style of ring or barbell for your piercing. Read more about this here.

Avoid earrings with butterfly backs!

NEVER Get Pierced With a Gun!

Piercing guns unsafe. End of story!

Getting pierced with a gun can shatter cartilage. This is because a gun uses brute force to pierce the skin. This is bound to cause problems down the line. Particularly if you are prone to getting keloids!

Needles are much safer. Any certified piercer who is worthy of getting pierced by will only use needles.

Be Nice to Your Piercing and it Will be Nice to You!

You may think I’m stating the obvious. I’m often shocked by how some people treat their piercings though. Without even realising they are doing anything wrong!

Here’s some tips:

• Do not let the jewelry get caught in clothes or hair.
• Don’t let it get bumped or knocked about.
• Cleanse it thoroughly during the healing period.
• Do not cleanse using alcohol or other strong chemicals.

To Sum Up!

Cartilage piercings are stylish and suit everyone. They make for a unique and fun way of decorating the ear.

Dont let the risk of bumps put you off of getting one done. Keep in mind that keloids can easily be prevented. Also, some people are more prone than others. If you have never had a keloid before, chances are you will never get one.

I hope you found this article helpful!

Do you get keloids on your piercings? If so, how do you treat them and what works best? Join in the conversation below by leaving a comment.

A piercing blowout is a reaction stretched ears may have when you stretch your ears improperly. It results in a flap of sore and unsightly skin hanging from the back of your ear lobe.

What Causes a Piercing Blowout?

A piercing blowout can occur when you are stretching your ears and you try to size up before your ear is fully ready. This causes the skin of your lobe to react in such a way that when you push the taper through, the unhealed skin gets pushed through with it.

To put it simply, the main two reasons you may experience this problem is either a) you did not wait long enough between stretches or b) you skipped too many gauge sizes, so for example you may have jumped from 12G to 6G.

If you suspect that you may have a ear stretching blowout, stick around as I will be giving you some tips to help you correct this problem. The earlier you start treating it, the better it will heal!

How to Treat a Piercing Blowout at Home

In order to help your blown out piercing as quickly and painlessly as possible, you need to follow these tips listed below. You should be able to heal your piercing nearly completely within 3 or 4 weeks.

Downsize Immediately!

As soon as you notice that your piercing has become blown out you need to size right back down. You may even want to shrink two gauges sizes. For example, go from 6G to 8G or even 10G.

The sooner you do this, the better you will heal up. If you leave it too long, your blowout may heal and remain blown out looking permanently. There is really not much you can do if you allow this to happen.

Whether your blowout is fresh or healed, try using the tips below. These tips were all recommended by experts.

Cleanse your piercing thoroughly

A blown out piercing needs to be kept very clean. This will stop it from getting infected and speed up the healing process. You should cleanse twice a day using either of  the following methods.

Use Piercing Aftercare Products

The best way of cleansing any piercing is using a professional piercing aftercare solution. The product you use should be alcohol free and suitable for sensitive skin. You do not want to be using anything too strong a this may worsen the irritation.

If you have had any piercings done professionally, your piercer should have supplied you with a quality aftercare solution. Failing that, they should have at least given you some advice on which product you should be using.

If you do not own any piercing aftercare products, check out the selection on my website by clicking here. Alternately you could buy a complete aftercare set. Check out my #1 recommendation right here.

Use Saline Solution

If you have absolutely no way of getting hold of any piercing aftercare products, use saline solution. This is another highly effective way of keeping your piercings sterile and killing off any bacteria.

To make your own saline solution all you need to do is stir a quarter of a teaspoon of sea salt or rock salt into a glass of luke warm water. If you cannot get hold of rock salt or sea salt, just use half a teaspoon of table salt.

All you need to do is apply the salty water to your piercing. Make sure to thoroughly soak the piercing. You could either dip the piercing in the water directly or use a cotton pad.

Massage the Affected Area

Try massaging your ears daily using oils. The best oils to use would be coconut oil, jojoba oil or vitamin E oil.

Massaging the area will increase blood flow, which helps the body heal. This will also prevent the skin from getting too dry and cracking, which would be very sore and possibly cause even more problems.

Massaging the area may be sore if your blowout is very fresh, but you must persist if you want your piercing to heal up properly. I would suggest you do this up to 3 times a day until you feel the skin has healed up significantly.

What to Avoid

There are certain things you should avoid all together when your piercing is blown out. In fact you should still avoid the following even if your piercing seems perfectly healthy right now, if not you may end up with a blown out piercing!

Avoid the following at all costs:

• Strong chemicals such as alcohol and hydrogen peroxide.
• Ointments and other topical solutions. Unless specifically made for piercings or recommended by a professional piercer.
• Stretching your ear any further before it is healed up completely.
• Waiting too long to treat the problem.
• Touching your piercing with dirty hands.

To Conclude

Follow this guide and within about 3 or 4 weeks your piercing should be back to normal. If not, I would seriously recommend you consult with your piercer or doctor. The only guaranteed way to get rid of a blowout is to have it surgically removed.

Be patient as healing can take time. Make sure you keep the piercing and the skin around the affected area very clean and sterile to prevent any complications such as infection.

If you need any advice or have suggestions for treatment of a piercing blowout, leave a comment below and I will  get back to you as soon as I get a chance!

– Hannah

Founder of Pro Piercing Kits

I also feel this a very important topic which needs to be covered, particularly with the popularity of piercings growing so rapidly in teenagers.

For many people, including my younger self, getting piercing is a spur of the moment decision with very little thought put into it. This needs to change because at the end of the day a piercing is a wound!

Please, anyone who is thinking of getting pierced or know someone who is, read this article first so you know the body piercing health risks. You need to know what you are getting your self into.

Getting a body piercing treated as a big decision!

What Are the Risks of Body Piercing?

There are certain risks you put your body through when you get any piercing done. This is even more true when you self-pierce or get pierced by a non-professional piercer.

The health risks of piercings are as follows:

Infection at site of piercing

The main risk of body piercing is getting a bacterial infection on the skin around the piercing. If left untreated, the infection could spread and turn into an abscess – a build of puss underneath the skin.

This could potentially lead to septicaemia (blood poisoning) which can be fatal. Even if there is no visible abscess, blood poisoning can still occur. This can be fatal!

These risks are slightly higher in oral piercings such as tongue or lip piercings. Make sure to practice good oral hygiene in order to prevent this from happening.

Severe bleeding

Whenever you get a needle poked through your skin there is always a risk that you strike a blood vessel.

This particularly applies to the tongue. Another good reason to get your piercing done by a certified piercer.

Scarring

All piercings are going to leave a small mark if you remove them. Although if your piercing gets infected you will be left with a much worse scar than if you look after your piercing and it heals smoothly.

Certain people are prone to getting keloid scars. These people are more likely to get scarring at the site of the piercing. If your skin has a tendency to form keloids, you should be sure to tell your piercer before they perform the piercing.

Hepatitis C or B or HIV

If you are pierced with unclean equipment, you are at risk of contracting a bloodborne virus such as Hepatitis C or B or even HIV.

Even if you are pierced by a professional, you should make sure they autoclave (a form of sterilization) all of their equipment before they pierce you.

Allergic reaction to jewelry

Some people get allergic reactions to certain types of jewelry, usually the lower quality materials.

Steel, including top quality stainless steel, jewelry has been found to contain trace amounts of nickel, a type of metal that many people are sensitive to.

To lower your risk of having an allergic reaction to your jewelry, you should wear titanium, BioPlast/BioFlex, silver or gold jewelry and always avoid steel if you have sensitive skin or are at risk of reacting to nickel for any other reason.

Nerve damage

You may have heard the rumour that certain piercings can result in paralysis.

Well, this is partly true in the sense that nerves can get damaged and result in loss of feeling and movement (yes, paralysis) in the respective part of the body which has been pierced.

Again, avoid this problem by making sure your piercer really knows what they are doing!

Tetanus

Another problem which is usually a result of using unsterilised equipment.

Avoid this problem altogether by making sure your piercer sterilizes all their equipment before using it, even if it is fresh out of the pack!

Risks of Specific Piercings

Oral Piercings

Piercings in or around the mouth are at higher risk of infection than some other piercings as the mouth is a breeding ground for bacteria.

There is also a risk of damage to the teeth, particularly if you wear ill-fitted jewelry.

Tongue piercings may also affect your speech.

Genital Piercings

Nerves around the genital area can be damaged when pierce, resulting in loss of sexual feeling  or pain during sex. You may also experience difficulty and/or pain when urinating.

Conclusion

As you can see, body piercings are risky business which should be taken very seriously.

You can prevent the majority of these problems by simply getting your piercing done by a professional who absolutely knows what they are doing!

You should also follow a strict aftercare routine during the healing period of your piercing.

Be safe and clean about your piercings and you should experience no such problems!

Spread the word on this important topic and share this article with your friends and family!

“Is my piercing infected?” and “What should I use to treat my infected piercing?”

Well, seeing as so many people experience the problem of an infected piercing, I figured I should write a post for you guys on how to care for an infected piercing.

Anyone who has piercings could benefit from knowing about infection.

That way, if you do ever happen to get an infection on any of your piercings (hopefully you won’t though), at least you will know what to do!

So, why do piercings get infected?

There are a few ways I could answer this question as there is more than one possible cause for an infected piercing.

Let’s go over some of the main ones.

The main causes for an infected piercing are:

• 

  Lack of aftercare in a new piercing. Not cleaning often enough or thoroughly enough

• Sensitive skin reacting to the jewelry you are wearing. For instance, many people are sensitive to jewelry which contains nickel. Nickel is often found in lower quality jewelry and also in steel.
• A bit of dirt may have got stuck in between the jewelry and the skin. For oral piercings this could be a bit of food.
• Getting pierced with a piercing gun.
• Over-cleaning of a piercing.
• Infection is more likely if you done the piercing yourself.

As you can see, most of these causes are due to not taking proper care of the piercing or wearing the wrong jewelry. Therefore, infection is easier to prevent than it is to cure.

Prevent piercing infection

It is always good practice to take the necessary steps in order to prevent piercing infection.

If your piercing was recently done you should be sure to cleanse it thoroughly twice a day. You could clean your piercing using saline solution (warm salty water) or you could purchase a professional cleansing solution here.

If your piercing is already healed up you should still be cleansing it fairly frequently, say once a week or more if you feel it needs it.

You should also be cleaning your body jewelry whenever you change it. This includes cleaning new jewelry before wearing it.

Another suggestion I would like to make is that you refrain from wearing cheap jewelry. If you have sensitive skin you may even want to avoid wearing stainless steel, as I said it has been known to contain traces of nickel which can cause irritation.

Get yourself some titanium, BioPlast, gold or silver jewelry. You can find a large variety in the jewelry pages on this site.

>> Best Selection of Quality Body Jewelry <<

What are the symptoms of an infected piercing?

When a piercing is healing it is common to experience some soreness, redness and swelling.

If these symptoms do not get any better or worsen this may be a sign that your piercing is getting infected.

Symptoms may vary slightly between different piercings. Each person may also experience the symptoms differently.

Some of the symptoms you should look out for are:

• Severe swelling with soreness and redness
• Discharge with a foul smell and/or unusual colour such as grey, yellow, green or brown
• Fever like symptoms. Nausea and vomiting, chills, headache, dizziness.
• Piercing radiates heat.
• Sharp pains whilst touching the area.
• Excessive non-stop bleeding

If you notice one or more of these symptoms you probably have an infection and should take action immediately.

What to do if your piercing is infected

If you suspect that your piercing has gotten infected, you should not ignore it and expect it to go away. Infections can spread, make you very sick and do long-term damage to your health. They can even be fatal!

I must warn you that you must not remove the jewelry from the infected piercing. This would allow the piercing to close up and cause the skin to heal over the infection – so the infection would be growing under your skin, on the inside of your body. This could turn in to an abscess.

Cleanse your piercing

You should continue cleansing your piercing as you usually would.

Continue dong what you’re doing, just take extra care doing it!

I would recommend you cleanse with saline solution or a professional piercing aftercare solution or spray.

Aftercare procedures vary slightly for different piercings, particularly whilst infected so you may want to look up the specific instructions for the piercing you’ve got. Just remember that what you read online is not medical advice.

Use a warm compress

A cotton pad soaked in warm salty water is your best bet.

Just hold it on the affected area with moderate pressure. This will encourage blood-flow and help fluids drain from the area.

See your piercer

Infection should be taken seriously so you should see your piercer as soon as possible.

If this is not possible or if you pierced yourself, book an appointment with your doctor.

For severe a infection you may be prescribed anti-biotics. For a mild infection you will be given specific instructions on what you should do in order to clear the infection.

You must not put this off – the longer you leave it the worse it could get. You could end up with a nasty scar and a myriad of other nasty side-effects.

Conclusion

If you have the slightest suspicion that your piercing is getting infected, you should be sure to take action straight away.

Assess your symptoms, keep it clean and most importantly go and see your piercer or doctor.

Better still, keep your piercing clean and wear quality jewelry and you may not have to go through any of this.

I hope you have learnt something from reading this article. Let me know your thoughts on this matter by leaving a comment.

Also, help spread the word and make your pierced friends aware of infection in piercings by sharing this post (the share buttons are at the top of the post).

Keloids often form around nose, cartilage and belly button piercings but can occur on any part of the body.

This article is mainly going to be focusing on how to get rid of a keloid on a nose piercing but these treatments can be used on any part of the body.

Keep in mind that keloids are a type of scar so they may never disappear completely. Although by using the following methods you will be able to get these scars to fade to the point where they are barely visible!

How to tell if you have a keloid

Keloids are not harmful to your overall health they can be unsightly and can cause some discomfort and itching.

The symptoms of a keloid are:

• Area of red or pink skin around or next to the piercing
• Lumpy or rigid area of skin
• Scar tissue which grows over time
• Itchy patches of skin around the piercing

Keloids are frequently confused with hypertrophic scarring, which is a temporary flaw on the skin. For more information on the various types of growths and scars which fform on piercings, check out this article.

In order to determine exactly which one of these issues you are dealing with you should pay a visit to your piercer or your doctor.

Note: Wash your hands before touching your jewelry, piercing or the skin in the surrounding area.

Treatment for keloids on your piercings

First off, you should book an appointment to see a dermatologist if you are concerned about this skin flaw. Keloids are usually benign but if it continues growing in size, your doctor may need to test you for skin cancer (don’t worry the likelihood is very low).

If your keloid is very large and/or noticeable you may want to get it surgically removed. This is a common procedure done by many dermatologists.

Don’t attempt to do any surgery on yourself in an attempt to remove the scar – the risks are far too high and you would just leave yourself with an even worse scar than before!

In the mean-time there are certain home remedies you can try out in order to help your keloid to fade.

Some of the best home remedies for keloids are as follows:

Saline Solution

If you have read any of my other posts then you will know that I am a huge fan of using saline solution on piercings.

Watch this video for some tips on using saline solution on keloids:

If your piercing is not on a flat area of skin (such as nose or ear), just apply the saline solution using a cotton pad soaked in saline solution.

Aloe Gel

The natural gel like substance from the aloe leaf is renowned for being great for all sorts of skin conditions. This is due to it’s soothing properties and high vitamin content.

Aloe can help regenerate and revitalize skin so works wonders on all types of scars. It prevents excess collagen from forming in the area which is one of the main causes of keloids.

All you need to do is smother the healing piercing with aloe gel after each time you cleanse.

This is more of a prevention than a cure – for those of you who are genetically prone to keloids.

Lemon Juice

Warning: Do not put the lemon juice in or on your piercing. Make sure the lemon juice is only on the keloid itself.

Lemons have exfoliating and skin bleaching properties which makes them a great home remedy for any type of scarring, including keloids. The high amount of vitamin C really helps the skin to heal.

Obviously this will be much more effective on mild keloids rather than really big noticeable ones.

All you need to do is bath your keloid in lemon juice for five minutes. You could use a Q-tip or cotton pad to apply it to your skin.

After about 15 minutes wash the lemon juice off using running water.

Honey

Warning: Do not allow honey to get in or on the jewelry or piercing itself.

Fresh organic honey is another effective home remedy for various skin problems, including keloids. Honey heals and moisturises the skin very well.

Another common cause for keloids is dry skin so using honey is great for preventing keloids or stopping them from worsening, to a certain degree it may even help them to fade a bit!

Just apply the honey to the affected area and massage it in. Do this twice a day.

Rinse off after massaging thoroughly as honey is extremely sticky and may cause dirt to stick to you.

Lavender Essential Oil

Lavender essential oil has skin regeneration properties too so it also effective for use on keloids and other scars.

Massage the lavender oil into the scar for about 15 minutes to receive full benefit of  this treatment.

Be careful if you have sensitive skin as lavender oil is actually very strong. Dilute it using olive oil before massaging into your skin.

Do not get lavender oil in or on your piercing or jewelry.

Prevention

Most of the methods I showed you above are more effective for preventing keloids rather than “curing” them.

If you are susceptible to keloids you should take extra good care if you decide to get a piercing. Keep your piercing and your jewelry clean!

As I always say:

“Prevention is better than cure”

Conclusion

The fact is some people get keloids and others don’t. It all depends on your DNA and genetics.

If you notice any of the symptoms of a keloid you should go and see your piercer or doctor to confirm that it is a keloid you are dealing with. It could just be hypertrophic scarring.

Try the home remedies and see if they make any difference.

If you see no changes, go see a dermatologist or just cover it up with clothing and make-up! A keloid is not dangeous to your health and won’t much of a difference to your life at all really!

If you know of any other effective home remedies for keloids (specifically on piercings) or have any input to make on this topic, do leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading.

Hannah.

Piercing rejection is caused by the body perceiving the jewelry in your piercing as a foreign object and a possible threat to your health.

As a result this causes your skin to kill the tissue on top of the piercing in an effort to push the perceived thread out, this is known as piercing migration.

If this happens to you, it may cause pain and discomfort around the piercing area and in the long run you will be left with an unsightly scar.

The good news: it is possible to prevent piercing rejection!

Here’s some tips:

How to stop a piercing from rejecting

Prevention is better than cure

The same rule applies when it comes to preventing piercing rejection.

Here are some steps you can take to prevent your piercings from rejecting:

Choose your piercer wisely

When you get a piercing done you should make sure you go to a piercer you can trust to do a good job.

Ask them about their qualifications and experience.

Check their portfolio. Be sure to look at how successfully they can do piercing which are prone to rejection such as dermal, belly button and eyebrow piercings. Old piercings and fresh piercings – how did they turn out?

Assess the piercing you want for risk of rejection

Certain types of piercing are more likely to reject than others.

The piercings with the highest rate of rejection are the ones which are only held in by a thin layer of skin. Such as microdermal piercings and surface piercings, including the belly button and eyebrow.

If you do happen to get a high risk piercing done, you should opt for the largest possible gauge size. The average size a professional will use is 14G or 16G.

You should also get the piercer to check the piercing is at a sufficient depth in your skin.

Tell your piercer you are worried about your piercing rejecting. Any good piercer should know what to do to help prevent it!

Wear the right jewelry

One common cause of rejection is wearing the wrong type of jewelry.

For example wearing heavy jewelry with a small gauge size is more likely to cause migration than higher quality body jewelry which is specially designed so that the size and weight balance out.

You should also choose titanium over steel as the body is more likely to accept titanium as safe. Glass is also a good option.

Cleanse frequently

If your piercing is freshly done, you should be cleansing twice a day!

You can either use saline solution or anti-bacterial soap. If you really want to be sure your piercing is getting a good cleansing, you should purchase yourself a piercing aftercare product or kit.

Even if you’ve had your piercing for a while, it is still good practice to cleanse it once a week. You should also clean your jewelry each time you clean your piercing.

Know the piercing rejection symptoms

To know for sure if your piercing is rejecting, you should keep your eyes peeled for the following symptoms:

• Sore, red and sensitive
• The hole appears bigger
• Skin on top of piercing is looking thinner than usual
• jewelry hanging differently in the hole

If you spot any of these symptoms, keep an eye on in for a few days. If the symptoms persist or worsen you should go and see your piercer so they can tell you what is going on and what can be done.

What to do if your piercing is rejecting

Once your body has started to reject a piercing, there is not really much you can do to reverse or even stop it.

If you have a piercing which has already started rejecting what you should go and see your piercer.

They will remove the jewelry in order to prevent scarring and other complications you could experience. You should not try to remove the jewelry yourself as it could cause the infection to get sealed inside the skin and turn into a cyst.

Repiercing

Many people fear that if one piecing rejects then that means that all of the future piercing they get will reject too.

Well, you’ll be glad to hear that this is not the case.

Follow the above steps next time you get a piercing to be sure that your piercing does not reject.

If you are considering getting a piercing on a part of your body where you’ve experienced rejection before, you should take extra care to take all the precautions.

You might be better off just getting a lower risk piercing, such as some form of cartilage piercing.

Conclusion

It’s not only fresh piercings that can start rejecting. I know people who have had piercings which are well healed and over a year old start rejecting on them!

Some people’s immune systems are just naturally more sensitive so they are more prone to piercing rejection.

If you carefully select your piercer, your jewelry and the actual piercing you get, you will drastically lower the chance of your piercing getting rejected by your body!

If you have ever had a piercing reject on you or if you have any tips on how to stop a piercing from rejecting, let us know by leaving a comment.