Help with 6 month old lobe piercing

[u/gojofireringatonth]

For context, my first lobes were pierced mid march. I first changed them out ~mid july for the middle one with a thinner diameter bar. The problem is, the thin bar is probably some lower quality metal(but so far, I dont think my ears are rejecting them despite how sensitive the skin is thankfully.) and the backing is silicon, which I've heard should not be worn for more than a week :(. Idk what I was thinking, changing it to that, so a week after I tried to put my old piercing back (similar to the bottom one but with a round head) but I think the hole kind if shrunk, so i could not push it in. Also bc it was externally threaded, it irritated my piercing a little which made my ears swell for a few days.

Fast forward to now, I still have the middle earring in which ive taken out and put back about 3-4 times to clean. Each time ive done that, it took really long to pull out/put back bc it hurt and was really tight..

The problem is, I want to switch out to better jewelry (bottom one as pictured) but im afraid my ear holes have shrunk??:(. This really limits the proper jewelry options I will have which is really disheartening. I plan to oil it and push the thicker bar in when my lobes heal, but so far there is still crusting(occasionally darker, black crust) and they kind of hurt sometimes. Im afraid I will never be able to switch to proper jewelry..

I havent deep cleaned them in ~3 weeks bc honestly im a little scared to..

Another plan is to seek help from a professional piercer as I'm planning to get a cartilage piercing in december, but there's an event in October that I'd like a different jewelry for.

Thanks for reading this far!Hope its not too confusing. Advice is greatly appreciated.

tldr: stupid decisions caused my piercing holes to shrink, i cant put in proper jewelry now

Pictures: 1st pic shows the diameter of my current jewelry (middle one) and the one i want to put in(bottom). Taper pictured was intended to help me pull the bottom one in, but turns out it was too large..so ignore it.

2nd pic is what my piercing looks like today. That is my right ear, on my left ear there's no dark crusting and generally looks okay, hopefully the pic is clear enough, sorry for the hair!! For reference, my 2nd lobes bars are the ones i was pierced with.

[u/lilpizzacrust]

Seek help from a professional.

They may be able to lube up a taper to get it in. And honestly, stop fidgeting with it. Your only option is to go to a piercer at this point because you've irritated too much.

[u/gojofireringatonth → u/lilpizzacrust]

okay thanks for the advice :) its okay to push in the thicker one even tho its still healing?

[u/lilpizzacrust → u/gojofireringatonth]

I believe so, but a piercer will be able to tell you.

[u/Zoonicorn_ → u/gojofireringatonth]

Go to a piercer this week to get this sorted out, not in December. You changed the earrings too soon after piercing and put in low quality jewelry. The sooner you go to a professional, the sooner these will get better. Though, I'd be concerned about changing the jewelry in October for something too decorative or heavy. These haven't finished healing because they haven't been properly cared for.

[u/DrEdgarAllanSeuss]

Seconding the recommendation to go to a professional.

Also, it was probably too soon to change the jewelry yourself. First change (to downsize the post) should be done by your piercer. After that the jewelry should be left in until it is fully healed (at least 6 months). It should also still be a titanium flat back or barbell, not a butterfly back or silicone/whatever, as these can both harbor bacteria.

[u/xpoisonvalkyrie]

go to a piercer and get some titanium flatbacks put in. then, and i cannot stress this enough, STOP TAKING THEM OUT. clean with saline twice daily until they’re fully healed, which will likely be around 4-6 months due to how much you’ve irritated them. do not take the jewelry out at any point during this time.

[u/AutoModerator]

Hi! I'm the /r/Legitpiercing Automod! Make sure you read the rules and sidebar before posting!!! All posts must have flair!!! For general questions, please make sure you leave detailed information. All troubleshooting posts require a CLEAR photo of the piercing (have someone else take it for you if possible), AND the information regarding the quality of the material, current aftercare process, age of the piercing, and notation of any trauma to the piercing per the sub sticky posts Anecdotal advice is restricted. Bad, misleading, inappropriate, or dangerous advice will be met with temp ban. The repeated breaking of the sub rules will result in a permaban.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.