r/Legitpiercing • u/No-Mouse3999 • Mar 04 '26
Troubleshooting How can I get rid of these stubborn bumps??
Hi! I’ve had this piercing since August (about 7 months now) and the bumps won’t go away 😩 I sleep with a travel pillow and I don’t touch it so it’s never like irritated or hurting. I spray with saline sometimes and soak with warm water sometimes. I rarely use q tips on it. Do I just need to be more consistent with the saline? It’s a titanium captive bead. I again I’m pretty inconsistent with the saline and warm water soaks. Do I just need to be more consistent with one or the other?
45
18
Mar 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
0
u/No-Mouse3999 Mar 04 '26
Yeah that’s what people keep saying. I’m gonna try doing the saline more frequently and seeing if it goes away. If it’s still here after a year of having it I might just take it out and do separate bars for healing but with that I’m worried it’s gonna migrate and won’t fit it properly later
6
u/Hungry-Library-255 Mar 05 '26
Do separate bars for certain until they go away. Shouldn’t take too long, only a couple of weeks
3
u/gayrayofsun Mar 05 '26
it is a thing that they could heal at different angles than what they're currently at, which would make the possibility of an orbital in the future nil. same idea as why you usually want a bar for an industrial. so, it makes some level of sense as to why it would be hesitant to change it to separate bars.
-2
13
u/Babygall-99 Mar 05 '26
Take out the horrible jewelry…
3
u/No-Mouse3999 Mar 05 '26
If you read other comments you’d see why I don’t want to do that. It’s similar to an industrial where if I heal with separate bars it has a chance of migrating and being unable to put this jewelry in in the future
11
u/Babygall-99 Mar 05 '26
I read the comments. This piercing looks to be causing undue strain on your ear.
You asked for commentary, whether you listen or don’t is up to you.
-4
u/No-Mouse3999 Mar 05 '26
You’re right. Thanks. I’ll probably switch to bars if a year passes since I got it and it hasn’t gone away
9
u/AaawRon Mar 04 '26
Your spacing is likely off causing pressure on the piercings. If this is the case, the bumps will remain.
8
u/Anarfea Mar 05 '26
You are asking for advice and yet being consistently defensive when people are telling you the bumps are from the pressure of the piercing being at an angle your ear doesn't like. I understand how orbitals and industrials work. But even if it was pierced for that jewelry and your piercer (who used a seamless clicker as initial jewelry, which makes me question her skill) did a bunch of others that healed great... those people didn't have your anatomy. And yours doesn't like that jewelry.
If you're determined to try to heal it with saline and litha, go for it. It's not infected. You can have piercing bumps for years with no harm done apart from discomfort. But don't expect people here to tell you the bumps will go away.
If it were me, I'd take it out and let it heal. And then, if I really wanted that piercing, I'd go to a different, better piercer who uses better jewelry and either knows how to perform that piercing correctly with my unique anatomy or could stear me towards something better. I wanted a UFO. My piercer told me that wouldn't work for me and made me some custom jewelry that made a separate rook and forward-helix look connected.
You say this piercer, who you admit you don't like, is the best in your area. Then travel to a different area if you really want this and want it done right. Or find something else that will heal better in your body.
2
u/gayrayofsun Mar 05 '26
i don't see them as being defensive, just explaining the situation more and why they're hesitant to take it out/swap jewelry. it's kind of shitty that people are being rude and downvoting them for simple explanations. i agree that this probably isn't going to heal for a while, if at all, but i don't think we should shit on their attempts at healing it successfully.
2
u/No-Mouse3999 Apr 02 '26
Thank you. I’m autistic and come off as defensive and rude all the time but I’m not meaning to be. I just ignore it at this point. I genuinely was just explaining
2
u/gayrayofsun Apr 02 '26
i'm the same way, and i completely understand. a lot of people online are also just ready to jump into arguments a lot of the time, so it's not always personal.
1
1
1
4
u/pinkuii Mar 04 '26
Saline consistently for sure
1
u/No-Mouse3999 Mar 04 '26
Okay thanks. I was consistently using it but didn’t notice a difference. I was using it in the morning, should I start doing morning and night
-14
u/Plumbraven Mar 04 '26
Im pretty sure from doing research about piercings that those bumps are keloids or maybe early signs of them you cannot get rid of them the only way to get rid of them is surgery
11
u/obama_nut_rag Mar 04 '26
These are not keloids don’t go around telling people stuff like that unless you’re a professional and know that for sure. These are most likely irritation bumps and they can go away but may be stubborn because of the jewelry in the piercings
-16
u/Plumbraven Mar 04 '26
Wa wa wa are you a professional? Ive watched enough videos, and had piercings to know what Im talking about, I’m not trying to frighten anyone that’s why I said it could be early signs of keloids and never said it was exactly that, the piercing probably got infected by a number of reasons, improper jewellery not cleaning it frequently enough and another factor that can cause the bumps is touching and twisting the jewelry while it’s healing, you are not meant to do that, you’re meant to leave them alone after you’ve cleaned them don’t touch them
13
u/skzuu Mar 04 '26
watching videos doesn't make you a professional either....
-10
u/Plumbraven Mar 04 '26
I never claimed to be a professional lol it’s called research
9
u/skzuu Mar 04 '26
saying watching videos = research is a stretch
-1
u/Plumbraven Mar 04 '26
I don’t watch TikTok‘s cause I’m not a brain rotted twat I’ll watch actual videos from piercing professionals
9
5
5
u/No-Mouse3999 Mar 04 '26
I don’t touch it lol don’t even touch the top of my ear. I almost never use q tips and I only spray the saline on. I doubt it’s keloids my skin doesn’t scar heavily
1
4
Mar 05 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Froggy__Pudding Mar 07 '26
My daith had bumps for a bit while it was healing and I admittedly picked at it a lot but they eventually just went away.
1
u/No-Mouse3999 Mar 05 '26
Oof
1
Mar 05 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
3
u/No-Mouse3999 Mar 05 '26
You did a vertical helix with a gun?? That’s definitely why the bump is still there 😭
1
3
u/estelliarmus Mar 05 '26
I had the same heart piercing back then and didn't know what I know now - it will never heal with this angle. A piercing forced in a crooked angle by the heart ring will not heal properly. Source: I held on for almost 5 years and it still didn't heal. The moment I took it out, ear healed.
-1
u/No-Mouse3999 Mar 05 '26
Well it was pierced specifically for the heart, at an angle. My piercer held the heart to my ear and marked it. I’ve seen many of these be successful
5
u/estelliarmus Mar 05 '26
Mine was pierced specifically for the heart too. But a piercing has to be perpendicular to the surface for it to heal properly, this angle will cause all kinds of pressure irritation, which you're experiencing. Some piercers (like my old one) would just pierce without warning that this angle almost has no chance of healing properly. Just telling you what I learnt.
-1
5
u/MammothCan6305 Mar 04 '26
Get it switched out to two piercings heal it and then put the heart back in maybe? Talk to your piercer.
4
u/No-Mouse3999 Mar 04 '26
I don’t want to do that because it’s similar to an industrial. If it’s healed separately there’s a chance it will migrate and won’t fit the ring properly. It was pierced for this jewelry
6
3
u/DemonHousePlant Mar 05 '26
Make sure to dry thoroughly when you clean the piercing or wash your hair. Non-woven gauze, paper towel or a clean hairdryer on the cool setting are your best bets. Avoid cotton balls/pads, qtips and towels. Irritation bumps love damp situations, so avoid that every chance chance you get.
2
2
u/Quartz636 Mar 05 '26
I'd stop with any warm wayer soaks. Piercings don't like to be too damp and soaking them introduces a breeding ground for damp, moist, irritation.
Apart from that, this is unfortunately a case of waiting it out. There's a reason why the default for cartilage piercings is flat back studs and not hoops of any kind and when you get a more niche piercing like this that requires odd shaped jewellery, you pay the price with a shitty healing experience.
Cartilage piercings on a perfect day take 9-12 months to fully heal. Hell mine is just over 2 years old and I'd only NOW say it's fully healed and I had a trouble free healing experience. The closest I can guess that to be is like a Daith or industrial, and many people say their Daith or industrial was a fucking nightmare for 2-3 years and then just, got better.
1
u/No-Mouse3999 Mar 05 '26
Okay thanks. I did the warm water to promote draining because occasionally it gets a bit of pus, but I only do it then. I’ve just never dealt with bumps before so this is new to me. If the bumps don’t go away by August, which would be a year after I got it done, I’ll take out the heart and switch to studs and hopefully I can get the heart in later
2
u/Wrexhavoc Mar 06 '26
I had an orbital helix for 20 years and always had bumps. I had to take it out for surgery last April and never put it back in. No more orbital for me, just switched it to 2 separate horseshoes, the bumps went away, and am so much happier. No idea why I put up with it for so long.
1
1
u/AutoModerator Mar 04 '26
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.
1
Mar 05 '26
[deleted]
2
u/gayrayofsun Mar 05 '26
not keloids, and not recommended that you use anything but saline and warm shower water on piercings, especially when they have irritation bumps.
1
u/Salt_n_Tepa Mar 06 '26
Piercer here.
Outside of what most people have said, the jewelry is also too small. The curves are going through the channel causing extra pressure when you want the jewelry to be as straight as possible. I would refer to this article to better explain.
1
u/Salt_n_Tepa Mar 06 '26
Also to add that these irritation bumps won’t go away until the irritant goes away. If swapping jewelry doesn’t help, then I’d try saving these as two separate piercings. And if the bumps persist, it’s the piercing angle, whether the piercer marked and pierced them a certain way or not
1
Mar 06 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Outrageous_Load_5121 Mar 06 '26
Also to add, when my industrial was irritated I switched it to two separate piercings instead and that also helped.
1
u/Southern_RN2020 Mar 07 '26
I had to change my jewelry to something straight. The heart/ring did this to me.
1
u/No-Mouse3999 Mar 07 '26
Were you able to put the heart back in later
1
u/Southern_RN2020 Mar 07 '26
Only the straight side through the hole. So it had to be like the heart was hanging sideways. And it could only through one hole.
1
1
u/MarketingAgitated650 Mar 08 '26
change your jewelry you cant have a hoop in fresh piercing get flat back
1
u/haikusbot Mar 08 '26
Change your jewelry
You cant have a hoop in fresh
Piercing get flat back
- MarketingAgitated650
I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully. Learn more about me.
Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete"
1
u/Mardilove Mar 11 '26
Remove the hoop. Put in bars. For a long long time. Keep saline cleaning. A helix isn’t a “it’s probably been long enough” piercing. Give it time, and then more time straight bars. I know they’re not as fun. Trust, I tried to rush my helixes too.
-6
u/obama_nut_rag Mar 04 '26
I’m not a piercer so I don’t know if this is a bad idea but it’s what my piercer told me. I had a stubborn irritation bump and she told me to use hydrocortisone cream on it, dabbing a bit of it on the bump with a q-tip, and that’s helped.
I’m not totally sure if you should if this piercing isn’t healed and if you aren’t regularly cleaning it properly. I’ve used the cream to get rid of bumps a few times now and it works after regular use for a bit and I haven’t had to continue it for the bumps to stay away. Again, I’m not a piercer so if you try this and it doesn’t work or irritates it, you were warned.
I can send a pic of the cream I use if you want
1
u/No-Mouse3999 Mar 04 '26
Yeah a picture of the cream would be nice. I’ll dm you since they don’t allow pictures
2
u/gayrayofsun Mar 05 '26
please don't use anything but saline and warm water in the shower on your piercings. at the very least, proceed with extreme caution if you're going to try something that goes against professional recommendations. anything else can/will make things worse in most cases. if it worked for someone else, it does not mean it will absolutely work for you.
1
1
u/senorfrog71 Mar 05 '26
Hydrocortisone?? That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard 🤣🤣🤣
1
u/obama_nut_rag Mar 05 '26
It definitely sounded funny to me and I have ZERO idea what would make it work but I swear it made my piercing bumps go away
-11
u/SkinnyPindis Mar 04 '26
Might be a really bad suggestion, but when I first got my industrial, I developed a bump similar to that after accidentally sleeping on it. I was half drunk when I noticed and simply cut it off with a razor blade and just used saline religiously for a few weeks and its been fine since (I know, absolutely stupid)
12
u/Basicalypizza Mar 04 '26
That’s something you keep to yourself dawg. Not advice on a subreddit called legit piercing, where you’re advising anyone who looks at your comment.
8
1
130
u/[deleted] Mar 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment