The most popular piercing in the world!
Even though the earlobe piercing has become a real cultural tradition, it is still a true piercing, which means it needs time to heal.
Want to know everything about lobe piercing healing time?
Duration, things to avoid, cleaning, when to stop the aftercare, and changing your jewelry: we put together this short guide so you get a complete picture of what to expect!
Table of Contents
How Long Does a Lobe Piercing Take to Heal?
It is usually the fastest piercing of all to heal!
The great thing about the lobe piercing is that it is one of the quickest to recover. Because it goes through soft tissue that has a good blood supply, the healing process kicks in right away.
On top of that, apart from at night when they can rub against your pillow, the lobes are a fairly independent area of the body, so nothing really interferes with the healing.
As a general rule:
A lobe piercing takes between 4 and 6 weeks to heal!
It depends on the person, of course. It can sometimes stretch to 8 weeks, for example, but in most cases, after just one short month, the lobe is already healed.
Lobe Piercing Healing: Mistakes to Avoid
Even though a lobe piercing heals quickly and fairly easily, you still need to be careful during this healing phase. Some habits can actually slow down the healing.
Here are a few tips that can help:
❌ Do not get your lobes pierced at a jewelry store. Between hygiene rules that are rarely respected and piercing guns that are more traumatic to the tissue than needles, the conditions are far from ideal.
❌ Avoid touching your piercing as much as possible, it is the number one cause of infection. Your fingers are rarely clean, so you transfer germs and bacteria that can be harmful during the healing phase.
❌ Never tighten your piercing balls too hard. They will not fall off as easily as you might think, and more importantly, air needs to circulate around your piercing to help it heal.
❌ Try your best to keep your lobe piercing away from products like shampoo, hairspray, and so on. Do not use alcohol to disinfect it either!
❌ Never remove your temporary medical jewelry before healing is complete.
✅ Change your pillowcases at least once a week!
How to Clean a Lobe Piercing the Right Way
Cleaning your piercing properly is essential: it is what helps shorten this healing phase as much as possible!
Here is how to do it:
👉 Wash your hands properly with soap.
👉 Dry them with a clean towel.
👉 Apply saline solution to the piercing area.
👉 Remember to treat both the front and the back of your lobe.
👉 Gently clean it with a cotton swab or a compress.
👉 Finally, take the chance to lightly rotate the jewelry.
These steps should be done twice a day for the first 15 days.
Saline solution is antiseptic and helps kill germs to prevent infections. But once 15 days have passed, you normally no longer need this solution. You can then switch to a standard cleaning of your earlobes, once a day, with a mild antibacterial soap, for example.
Keep rotating your piercing, though!
What to Do If Your Lobe Piercing Gets Infected
Whether it happens during the first few days or later in the healing process, a small infection can sometimes appear. It is not necessarily serious, and there is no need to worry right away!
If your lobe piercing gets infected:
👉 Do two care sessions a day with an antiseptic solution.
👉 After two days, you should already notice an improvement!
If that is not the case, or if your infection gets worse, contact your piercer, who will guide you on the steps to follow.
When Can You Stop the Aftercare?
A lobe piercing can quickly feel healed and fully recovered. Many people therefore start to gradually stop their regular care after 4 weeks.
We still recommend waiting 6 weeks before stopping!
Even though after 6 weeks you will no longer need to clean your piercing so carefully, that does not mean you should stop caring for it entirely!
Even after healing, it is recommended to:
✅ Clean your jewelry at least once a month.
✅ Disinfect your jewelry every time you change it.
Also make sure you never go too long with nothing in. Even once healed, earlobes can close very quickly, sometimes in less than a day! And if that happens, you will have to start every step over from the beginning.
When Can You Change Your Lobe Jewelry?
This is obviously the moment everyone waits for so eagerly!
Even though the temporary medical studs placed during the piercing are never that bad, it is normal to want to wear the jewelry you truly love as soon as possible, in the style you like best.
For the earlobe, you need to wait 6 weeks!
That is usually enough time, especially when no infection has slowed down the healing. After 6 weeks, you can finally remove your piercing studs and put in new earrings!
Conclusion
👍 Fairly painless and quick to heal!
The earlobe piercing may heal quickly, but you still need to take care of it, not skip any steps, and clean it well every day.
And if you look after it properly, after just 6 weeks you can swap out your temporary studs for the jewelry you have been wanting for so long!
