Helix Piercing Pain, Healing Time, And Aftercare Tips

Helix Piercing Pain, Healing Time, And Aftercare Tips

Piercings are a bold, edgy, or cool way to accessorize one’s body. Different piercings located in different areas of the body have diverse fashion statements or symbolic meanings. The way they suddenly gained popularity amongst the youth is rather intriguing. The choices of jewelry also used on these different piercings are also interesting, to say the least.

The helix piercing is however the topic of interest here. It stands out amongst the other ear piercings and you have come across this because you have taken an interest in it.

A helix piercing is a piercing located on the upper cartilage of the ear, it could also be known as a cartilage piercing. Helix piercings come in four other types such as; double helix piercing, forward helix piercing, forward double helix piercing, and triple forward helix piercing.

Piercings may appear as pleasing to persons who admire a certain aesthetic, but since it involves parts of the body coming in contact with needles that create what can first of all be likened to a wound, it results in pain and has to go through a healing process to become a comfortable part of one’s self.

A helix piercing just like others undergoes three processes before the body completely adapts to its presence on the skin without complications. These processes are pain, healing time, and aftercare. Below is detailed information discussing the piercing pain, healing time, and aftercare for helix piercings.

Helix Piercing Guide

Helix Piercing Pain

The helix piercing might seem rather complicated because of the area being pierced, but surprisingly it is not one of the most painful places to get pierced on the body. Instead, the helix piercing is of the least painful piercings to get, it ranks on the lower pain scale and might cause just a little discomfort for people with high pain tolerance.

However, if your pain tolerance is relatively low, it may sting during the piercing and the early stages of the hearing process. That never stopped anyone from getting a helix piercing, did it?

It is impossible to accurately measure the pain that persons are likely to feel after getting a helix piercing, as people’s experiences and tolerance levels will vary often. But there will certainly be some sort of discomfort from the first contact with the ear where the needle is piercing the helix.

A forward helix piercing would definitely cause mode discomfort or pain when being done because of its location at the front of the curve that defines the helix area. The forward helix is more delicate and likely to sting more in the piercing process and during the healing time as well.

It is important to note that the pain from piercings is a natural reaction from the body making contact with a sharp object and that proper healing and aftercare allows for a smooth transition to a normal piercing where jewelry can easily be removed and replaced.

Helix Piercing Guide

Helix Piercing Healing Time

A helix piercing’s healing time is certainly one of the longest healing duration in comparison to other body piercings. The ear cartilage is unique because of the low blood flow in that area, and this is what elongates the healing time for a helix piercing.

It takes a helix piercing three to six months to heal normally. However, this is just an estimated time based on other people’s experiences after getting one done. Persons may take as long as a year to completely heal and that may be as a result of complications that arose during the healing phase from sores, bumps, to bacterial infections, or simply more sensitive skin.

As long as a healthy aftercare routine is adopted by the recently pierced person, the helix will heal normally. Helix piercings heal on the outside first then heal on the inside, so when the skin on the outside seems normal you will still have to patiently wait for the inside of the helix to heal as well. 

Helix Piercing Aftercare Tips

For a healthy piercing, the aftercare must be seen as the most important process involved in getting a helix piercing. You can only enjoy a perfectly healthy and fully healed piercing and following through with aftercare is the only way to make sure of that.

The piercing has to be soaked in saline solution, in some cases, a special saline solution for piercings might be given to you at the salon after your piercing. In other cases, you can improvise by using saltwater diluted at home. The saltwater or saline solution should be used to clean the helix piercing twice daily with properly washed or sanitized hands.

Do not fiddle with your jewelry while your helix piercing is still healing, it may allow bacteria into the piercing or damage the piercing in the worst-case scenario. Any sort of fondling or touching the piercing is strongly advised against, as the piercing is just like a fresh cut and is prone to contract bacterial infections.

Avoid sleeping on the side of your face where your piercing is located, this will cause sweat, sores, pain, discomfort, infections, and might stretch the piercing.

Your sheets and pillowcase might contain bacteria and complicate your healing process with infections. Most importantly not laying on your helix piercing while asleep encourages blood circulation which stimulates healing.

Activities that expose your piercing to a lot of water such as swimming should be put off for the first few weeks into the healing and aftercare of your helix piercing. When the piercing is still an open wound, this is a dangerous sport as it exposes it to bacteria.

In Summary

For several persons, piercings are completely normal and they have mastered the art of tolerating the pain, following through with the aftercare, and properly monitoring their piercings till it heals perfectly.

For others, this is not the case as they are new to these processes that accompany the decision to get a piercing.

Continue reading:

Related Posts