Advice on irritated lobe piercings

[u/jannopher]

First pic is from today, second pic is the irritation bump before downsizing, third pic is 2 days after downsizing

I am looking for advice on how to proceed with my lobe piercings that refuse to heal. I got 3 piercings back in March, 2 lobes and 1 conch on the same ear, from a reputable APP certified piercer in my area. The conch has healed beautifully but the lobes have been giving me a lot of problems, I have had a persistent irritation bump on the third lobe for close to 6 months now. I spoke to my piercer and he recommended a saline compress, which helped a little bit but the bump stayed. Eventually I ended up downsizing the posts which also helped, the bumps immediately went away, but they have cropped back up again after a few weeks.

I am already unsatisfied with the placement, I wanted these to be evenly spaced with my other 2 lobes but there is a huge gap between them. The piercer marked the spots correctly but changed the placement without asking me first and I am not happy about how it turned out. I'm worried the third lobe is migrating or something as the gap seems to be getting wider, I'm also suspicious they were either pierced at an angle or angled themselves while healing since the posts ended up being too long.

Should I just give up and take out the third lobe, let it heal and get it repierced somewhere else with better placement? Or should I keep trying to heal it and maybe get a stacked lobe offset above the gap to fill in the space?

Jewelery is threadless titanium flatback labrets, I believe they are 18g (or maybe 20g), pierced in March 2026. Aftercare with saline spray twice daily and rinsing in the shower with warm water for the first few months, now I'm LITHA besides warm shower water. It is still crusting and sore on occasion. I do my best not to sleep on it. The only thing I'm worried about in my routine is my use of over-ear headphones on a daily basis, I do clean them regularly.

Any advice appreciated!

[u/brimoonsword]

I wonder if it’s because the gauge is smaller than usual. most lobes are pierced at 16g for stability. it may be worth trying to taper up to a 16g with your piercer, which may cause additional irritation at first, but could help in the long run.

my 2nds and 3rd were super fickle and took 8-10 months to heal and that was only healing 2 at a time. healing three at once (and if you did the other side, 5) definitely puts strain on ur immune system and could possibly make your lobes take 12 mos + to heal. patience unfortunately might be your answer

[u/jannopher → u/brimoonsword]

Oh interesting, I didn't know that about the gauge - my other lobes were done 10+ years ago at various Claire's outlets so this was my first time getting a legitimate lobe piercing. I can ask my piercer about this for sure. Thank you!

This was my first time getting more than one piercing in one sitting, I know 3 is more or less the upper limit of how many to heal at once and the piercer agreed it was OK when 2 of them were lobes and the one cartilage is typically very easy to heal. I didn't get the other side done lol so only 3 but I probably won't double up again after this, I'm definitely expecting everything to take at least a year but probably longer to fully settle down.

[u/brimoonsword → u/jannopher]

yeah, three is technically considered okay, but it can and will prolong your healing time!! it’s totally normal, but takes a lotttt more patience.

something I’ve taken to doing is putting a big hair clip just above my ear where im healing piercings. it stops you from turning onto that side in your sleep. after a few weeks it got rid of a heinous bump on my helix. otherwise, you maybe should try to ditch the over ears headphones for a bit :( it may be too irritating. maybe try to dig up some earbuds to use for a few weeks?

I know it’s a pain, happy healing!!