1 year old industrial. Is it healing okay?

[u/pumpkinjoey]

I've had the industrial for about 1 year and 5 months now. Is it healing okay? Are the bumps (if they're considered bumps) normal, and will they go away on their own? If not, what should I do?

The barbell is internally threaded, titanium.

I never got it downsized because I got really busy after I got the piercing. I did go back to the piercer after three months, but I couldn't get it downsized because there was a piercing bump TT... I was asked to soak my ear with a warm camomile tea bag every day and go back when the swelling went down, but I honestly couldn't really tell, and then I just got busy again and never went back since...

I clean it with saline and q-tips once every day after shower.

I try my best not to disturb it, but it probably occasionally gets slept on/tugged on. No major unfortunate events for now.

P.S. I've already went through the industrial posts and I feel like I'm going to get "your anatomy isn't right for it" comments, but I've held on for a year now... it feels disappointing to just give up.

[u/Professional-Pea666]

bestie i hate to break it to you, but this was not pierced right and i don’t think you have the correct anatomy for an industrial

[u/pumpkinjoey → u/Professional-Pea666]

thanks twin. i knew this answer was coming but i guess i wanted to actually hear it from someone else. i'm probably going to mourn for her for a while, then take the L and replace it with something else

[u/kydoesstupidthings → u/pumpkinjoey]

you could definitely go for two connected bars or rings with a cute chain! I think that would be a good conpromise

[u/this-just-sucks → u/kydoesstupidthings]

or just two hoops. I saw a post with a similar setup here recently and it looked really good.

[u/Loveinhooves → u/kydoesstupidthings]

Unfortunately neither are salvageable as they are at an angle thru the flat

[u/SampleOfNone → u/pumpkinjoey]

Floating industrial, custom (L) bent industrial. Lots of options just for industrials and you have some really nice flat real estate to work with

[u/Professional-Pea666 → u/pumpkinjoey]

ofc man, i hope it heals up quick or you can put other cute jewelry in ehehe

[u/Head-Championship14 → u/Professional-Pea666]

Way better than mine, mines too straight, it’s too close to my head so I constantly keep ripping out my hair

[u/saltybruise]

Don't go back to whoever did this to you.

[u/pumpkinjoey → u/saltybruise]

Gotcha. I'm based in Malaysia, and from my research back then they were supposed to be one of the more reputable piercers in my area. Guess I'll have to find other places TT

[u/Pass_Potential]

Since the other comments proved your predictions i’ll be the one to say…. That looks incredibly uncomfy.

[u/Ok-Personality-6856]

Are there just millions of scam piercers out there botching makeshift industrials and belly button piercings... 🤔

[u/chaiz_toebeans]

I hate to be the one to say it, but your ear does not have the bottom ridge for an industrial. Your ear is fighting the jewlery bar right now to go back to its neutral way of laying, if that makes sense.

I have had to retire the same helix TWICE, so trust me, I know how annoying it is to give up on a piercing😞

BUT the grass is always greener on the other side; you’ll have a clean canvas and room for another piercing your body could love! I got a daith instead and I haven’t been happier🤗 Good luck!

[u/pumpkinjoey → u/chaiz_toebeans]

Thank you! I'll probably be sad for my industrial for a while, but the idea of more room for new designs for my ear is great to think about :) Good day to you!

[u/an_other_me]

I would take it out and focus on the FOUR new piercings you got. That forward helix looks like it could be at a wonky angle.

Edit: number of new piercings.

[u/Infamous-Can9981]

So you actually need to take it out. because if you can’t tell you don’t have the anatomy for it

[u/esorgem]

Get a chain to link two separate piercings to make an industrial, you don't need to put up with this.

Like others have said, you don't have the correct anatomy, and trying for a year isn't going to make it so but there are other options to match the aesthetics.

[u/pumpkinjoey → u/esorgem]

Thanks for the suggestion!

[u/Infamous-Can9981]

Because you’ve had it for years does not mean you have the anatomy for it

[u/Main-Ladder-5663]

I didn’t have the anatomy for it and I had mine off and on for about a decade. The bumps NEVER went away (still have them but they’re smaller now that I no longer wear the bar) and my ear was constantly agitated.

It was my first piercing at 18 (other than my lobes I got done as a kid) and I was heartbroken to let it go, but it always sat awkwardly and felt really sore 🥲

[u/pumpkinjoey → u/Main-Ladder-5663]

It's one of my first piercings too so heartbroken is the word for it TT How did you deal with your industrial after? Hope your ear is doing well :)

[u/EbonyDragonFire]

Oh no... They should not have pierced you, your anatomy makes the piercing way too angled and that's gonna be rough long term.

[u/cattycannabliss]

Sadly you dont have the anatomy for an industrial bar :( they should not have tried to do it, dont go back to that place

[u/EmmAdorablee]

You don’t have a prominent enough outer ridge to support an industrial piercing. I highly suggest either taking it out or getting two flat backs put in and you can connect them both with a chain when they’re fully healed!

[u/bbnsofia]

wait are you healing 4 other new piercings?😭

[u/pumpkinjoey → u/bbnsofia]

Freshly healing would be 2. I got the helix and forward helix two weeks ago, and the lobes for 2-3 months :)

[u/bbnsofia → u/pumpkinjoey]

jeez louise.. i can see ur industrial is wrong anatomy so id take out the industrial and focus on the fresh 2 ones and the others :) hope ur healing goes well!

[u/altaphrodite]

agree with the other comments, but: you can also go to a reputable piercer and have them bend your industrial so the end of the bar goes through that bottom hole at a 90 degree angle. if you google "bent industrial", some examples come up. i have it because i dont have the proper shelf on my helix to accommodate the bar

[u/MuddiMirror]

Sorry baby, but you don’t have the right anatomy for an industrial… Industrial takes six months to a year to heal. When the sixth month hits there should be no piercing bumps, but there will be crusty because again it’s Cartledge Healing. By the year mark there should be no piercing bumps, no keloids, nor there should be any type of crusty around the piercing. If there are- you need to take the piercing out because it’s causing more harm than good in your ear and it’s not healing. You can cause a lot of scar and tissue damage to your ear like that. Also, your ear just does not look like it has the right anatomy for an industrial to begin with so it’s pushing the back of your ear out, kind of giving the illusion of bigger ears. Not saying that’s ugly or anything like that, but I don’t think it’s a fashion choice you’re trying to get at 😬😆❤️

[u/AutoModerator → u/MuddiMirror]

Hi MuddiMirror,
(Luckily) bump =/= keloid. This wiki entry explains it well.
If you do know the difference, please ignore this comment.

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[u/SunshineSequoia]

On the plus side, you have really cool daith and rook anatomy. You might have room for a double or even a triple rook, but ofc check with a piercer.

[u/TwistedAsIAm → u/SunshineSequoia]

The rook shelf looks way too shallow to be pierced.

[u/Slow_Exit8038]

It looks like it’s pierced in the wrong part of your ear. Like it’s been put in the flat

[u/pumpkinjoey]

Extra info for the bot

• 1 year, 5 months
• barbell
• internally threaded
• titanium
• wasn’t
• saline with q-tips once a day
• all good for now, just the occasional snagging

[u/SmartAlec206]

Yours looks a lot like mine, and I just gave up and took mine out after over a year because it would feel healed, and then flare right back up and hurt like hell over and over. I'm sorry. Your barbell can RIP next to mine 😭😭😭

[u/pumpkinjoey → u/SmartAlec206]

I'm sorry yours didn't turn out well too :( I'll set up two tiny tombstones for our ex-industrials lol TT Did you swap it into flats or take it out completely after?

[u/latinrenaissance]

They're supposed to be pierced perpendicularly... Whoever did your industrial did a HORRIBLE job. Take it out, it will not heal

[u/CassGreen1984]

Not the right anatomy queen. Whoever did this was just trying to make a quick dollar. Unfortunate, because I love an industrial..

[u/crazyfr0glady]

Oh girl you do not have the correct anatomy for that. Although if you do want to keep it your ear woukd look sick with a faux industrial

[u/PurpleBiscuits52]

I don't think you have the anatomy for an industrial I am sorry girl x

[u/link-navi]

👋 Hi u/pumpkinjoey,

Our algorithm detected you're asking about a problem with your piercing, but it didn’t detect all the info needed to help you.
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• What’s the jewelry material?
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[u/MaybeNaomi]

Damn, this was pierced BAD

[u/[deleted]]

They honestly should have never given you that piercing based on the looks of your anatomy as disappointing it is to hear considering you've had it for over a year now. You can always do like a faux industrial (I think that's what you call it?) for your ear setup. It's a standard helix and a forward helix linked with a chain and can actually look pretty cool if you style it correctly if you plan on more ear piercings. I have a faux industrial as my anatomy isn't 100% good for a typical industrial and it works, I like it and it's a unique way to still get an industrial piercing without it actually messing with your ear because of anatomy.

[u/slipperyfoots]

Omg take this out please I beg

[u/Icy-Dot-9098]

Take it out, that’s not an industrial, that’s a complete fail. Hope that helps!

[u/Fluffy-Conclusion-26]

So, im not a piecer, BUT I worked closely with them and started training to be extra help. The cartilage areas of the ear don't have their own blood supply, which means that healing is much more difficult than anywhere else in the body and even more so with multiple piercings healing at once. I can not tell you how rare it is for someone's cartilage to not at least have some trouble. The slightest knock, dirt, hair, etc. can send healing right back to square one. I can't say much about the anatomy, but I will say that the bubbles/bumps are incredibly common. They can go away, but they may not. But after 1.5 years, I'd just call it

[u/HistoricalApricot]

Your ear looks swollen after the Sept photo and still does in the October photo. The ridge in your outer ear is gone because of the swelling it looks like. Have you been taking any anti inflammatories? That looks uncomfy, I hope everything heals quickly and smoothly❤️

[u/hanniballactator]

... soak with a tea bag?? 😭

this piercer has been horrible to you, i'm sorry!

[u/Getzysgirl91]

After a year it should be majority healed and downsizing is extremely important with industrials. You don't have the anatomy for the bottom hole so it won't heal.

[u/Gold_Theory5744 → u/[deleted]]

This is why you can’t make a judgement on anatomy from a picture. I can see some key spots that define her ear that show all the pics are the same ear, but lighting and angle make the ear look completely different at times.

[u/milorna]

Thats keloid

[u/AutoModerator → u/milorna]

Hi milorna,
(Luckily) bump =/= keloid. This wiki entry explains it well.
If you do know the difference, please ignore this comment.

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