"A piercing becoming permanent, where jewelry can be removed for hours or days, is never guaranteed." And that means there's always a chance that your piercing can close when you remove jewelry for an extended period of time.
When it realizes that it can't be removed, it begins the fistula growing and strengthening process. This takes several months and even years for some piercings. For ear piercings, this fistula process won't happen until a minimum of six months after the initial piercings.
It Takes 12 Months for a Piercing to Completely Heal
While you can wear fashion earrings after the initial 6-12 weeks healing period, the wound is still not completely healed. The skin has closed up, but still needs some time to fully rebuild its natural defences and skin flexibility.
Most likely no. If you're going to not wear earrings at all for years, then the holes can just minimalize that it will be impossible to put a ring in, but they won't completely close.
The formation of this fistula means your body has adapted to having the piercing. As a result, it will often stop trying to close the hole. Often, once you have a lobe piercing for three to four years, the lobe piercing may never fully close on its own.
"While nose piercings won't leave a big, gaping hole, all piercings leave scars."
Ear piercings can stretch over time, especially with the repeated and frequent wear of heavy earrings that pull and elongate the skin tissues in the region. A once tiny hole can become a very large hole - either via intentional body art modification or unwanted stretching of the earlobe over time.
Procedure. Elliptical excision – a deep excision that removes the piercing hole more completely. The resulting wound requires stitches which can be either dissolvable or non-dissolvable depending on the site of removal. The treatment takes about 20-30 minutes.
Nose. Nose piercings are notoriously hard healers, as they are a very sensitive area due to the nerves that run though. They take at least 12 weeks before being able to be changed, and even then, may need more time.
You'll know your ear is healed once any discharge, swelling, redness, flaking, or soreness stops. In general, your piercing should continue to feel better with time and a consistent aftercare routine!
If you get an infection, your healing will slow down. If your jewellery is too tight, your piercing cannot breathe effectively. If you pierced with a gun and your body is not as good as some of us in healing, likely that they will not ever heal at all. This is true especially in cartilage piercings.
After an extended period of time, the piercing will most likely remain permanent especially if you have worn earrings. Having said that if you once again remove the earrings, the piercing hole may eventually close up.
An infected ear piercing can also develop years after a person got the original piercing. Usually, the infections are minor, and people can treat them at home without complications. Touching the piercing too often with dirty hands or not cleaning the area can lead to infections.
Earring holes can start to smell due to a buildup of sweat, dirt, and bacteria. To prevent this, clean your earrings regularly with soap and water. Additionally, switch out your earrings every few days to give your ears a break and reduce the bacteria that builds up around the hole.
Typically, a new piercing tends to close within six to 12 weeks, depending on various factors such as the type of piercing as well as the person's immune system. Cartilage piercings, such as those on the helixes, septum, and the nostril area, will take several months to close up without jewelry.
Good and semi-obvious news! If you realize right away that your new notch is not for you, it's likely to close on its own. “When you get a piercing, it takes four to six weeks for it to heal up, after which time the hole can be permanent,” says New York dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, MD.
Keep the jewelry in place. Most piercings heal within about six weeks, but some might take several months or longer to heal. To maintain the piercing, leave the jewelry in place during this time, even at night, to keep the hole from closing.
Closed Holes
When left unattended, the holes will eventually close over with the formation of new skin. The mark of the puncture may still be visible, however for several years. This can be treated with topical scar cream to reduce its prominence over time.
No matter what it looks like, though, a dermal piercing isn't permanent; your skin will eventually grow in such a way that pushes the anchor up to the surface and out. Whether this happens right as it heals or years later is up to your body and how you care for it.
Surface piercings have the highest rejection rate. Surface piercings such as microdermals as well as eyebrow piercings and navel piercings reject the most because they are closest to the surface of the skin.
As earlobes age, they lose elastin and collagen just as out skin does. This causes them to become thinner, wrinkled or creased. If you have pierced ears, aging is often most apparent around the piercing and can lead to difficulty wearing earrings. Earrings droop forward and refuse to stay in place.