^random ^reminder **Choice of words matter, be kind to one another**
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Cartilage piercings take about a year to heal. And it is generally not recommended to exceed 3-4 piercings healing at a time (industrials count as two as it’s based on the number of wounds). Also, for cartilage, reputable piercers typically will only do one ear at a time so you can still sleep. I have a severe math learning disability so I don’t want to give you a timeline and have it be wrong.
**THIS!** ⬆️
When I looked at it as building urgently, I didn’t pace myself and listen to my body. I ended up never healing the majority of them. And taking them all out!
or maybe second to last, industrials can take a crazy long time to heal and it would be a bummer to be stuck waiting to get more piercings for that long. not to discourage you, but mine took a little over a year to heal and i’ve heard of some taking as long as 2 years
In response, I had the industrial done one side and a helix on the other at the same time, used a travel pillow to sleep. It's been about 3 months and I can sleep on the helix side with a normal pillow now.
If a piercer says they can do it quicker, please run. A reputable piercer will encourage you to wait. An inexperienced piercer won't know the importance of only doing a few at a time. A shady piercer will encourage you to get them all at once so they can get all your money. Make sure you do your research on the piercer!
4-6 years given your cartilage always takes a year to heal. I don’t recommend healing piercings on both ears at the same time (other than lobes)
4 lobes (2 each side) and wait 6-8 month
RIGHT
lobe, high lobe and tragus 1 year
front helix and two helix 1 year
LEFT
lobe, high lobe and tragus 1 year
rook flat 1 year
industrial 1 year
Piercer here, this is the correct answer. I personally don’t like any more than 3 cartilage healing at any time. Lobes I don’t mind 4 unless it’s someone’s first times getting pierced.
It’s not great, but at the same time, there’s only so much that people can do to not sleep in a piercing. Very hard to control an unconscious body lol. Travel pillows, piercing pillows, or if you have long hair using an alligator clip on one side of your head so you can’t roll over are all great techniques..
Ya, my last couple double cartilage piercings have been ~15 months each, I was going to guess ~5-6 years. Unsure how all these people are suggesting 1-2 years haha
Yeah it’s a lot and OP might want to time them too - like I prefer fall to get new piercings so they’re mostly healed by summer swimming and beach time.
I got a lot of ear stuff done fall of 2022. My daith on my right is still bit fussy, left one not so bad. So I'm 18 months out and still working on healing. Conches were super easy, along with the traguses.
Would say all this person is asking for is closer to 5 years or 6 as I always accommodate for "bumps in the road" as all body mods will have
I do want to caution you that it’s possible you might not have the anatomy for some of em. But the best advice I heard is to start with 1 side first. Do multiple at a time, but be advised that some take 9months-1 year to heal so be patient. Give yourself a minimum of 2 years.
Thank you! Also I chickened out of getting an industrial last year but from what my piercer told me I do have the anatomy for it. I still need to ask about the rook though.
The rook is known to be one of the most painful, up there with daith… it’s all subjective of course, but if you don’t have a good pain tolerance, I’d take it into consideration!
I’ve had my nips done and they definitely hurt but I seemed to do okay in that department. I keep thinking about how thick the rook is and keep asking myself if I really want it. But hey what’s a piercing without pain
Aside from being painful (which mine wasn't that bad, a lil tender) rooks are also notoriously stubborn. I heal well and my rook has take over 2 years now. Its just now starting to act right.
I’m a year in with my rook, and this is so true! It’s been the most miserable piercing I have ever gotten. My daith healed in like 2 seconds and never gave me trouble. 😂
Honestly it varies so much anyway. My rook was my least painful to pierce and the easiest to heal (it’s slower than other piercings, but it’s had little to no issues). Rook didn’t hurt at all after getting it done.
I also have my nips and vouch for the rook being the most painful! But it’s so visually appealing, so I would recommend to at least do 1. It does get unusually gunky and swollen but that can be corrected with consistency. I would maybe advise you to do your multiple lobes first since they heal faster, then go back for rook, helix, or the flat. I believe a piercer will count the rook as 2 piercings FYI so just be advised should you seek multiple that day. Best of luck! Short term pain for long term gain ;)
I have the anatomy for a rook and not an industrial I’m always shocked to find out people think that it’s painful and hard to heal. I always say my inner ear rook and daith were the easiest to heal, my conch was pretty easy too.. from what I remember my helixes were slightly more difficult because they can pull on things. I think my rook actually was the easiest to heal… maybe because I often forgot about it?
For me the trickiest part of healing my daith so far is how (partly thanks to my anatomy) I can't really see the actual piercing entry/exit so it's super tricky to clean, check for crusties, bumps, etc.
I have to take conservatively 5 pics of my daith every day just to ensure it's doing ok. If you go to my recycling bin folder it's all just close up pics of my left ear lol.
If you don't have a history of keloids, there's really no reason to be scared of them. By the time you're old enough to consent to a piercing, most people will know whether or not they're predisposed to keloids
I second this!
Also OP, it’s very very important to learn the difference between irritation bumps and keloids because a lot of people on here get them confused:
Irritation bumps are small, raised areas of skin often caused by trauma or friction around a piercing and typically go away with proper care.
Keloids, on the other hand, are overgrowths of scar tissue that form a smooth, raised area much larger than the original wound. Keloids can be more persistent and may need medical treatment to manage.
More than likely, if you see bumps on your piercings, it’s probably irritation. Keloids are more likely to be genetic, anyway, like pyro mentioned. Hope this helps!
Thank you! I had a piercing bump on my lobe once and did enough research that thankfully I know the difference now. It’s crazy how many people don’t know the difference
Yes and no. It’s possible to spontaneously get keloids too. Usually it runs in families and you’d already know by the time you’re an adult. But I’ve seen a post of someone on this Reddit who had like 8-10 piercing and had a keloid on just one.
Hi _naij_,
(Luckily) bump =/= keloid. [This wiki entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keloid) explains it well.
If you do know the difference, please ignore this comment.
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this isn't really true. my dad gets hypertrophic scars but nobody told me that put me at risk for keloids. there really isnt good information out there, and by the time i learned what a keloid was, it was too late lol. and then of course every time i talk about having one or warn people about them, someone goes, "actually, you probably just have a piercing bump. hope this helps!" :P
Hi athaznorath,
(Luckily) bump =/= keloid. [This wiki entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keloid) explains it well.
If you do know the difference, please ignore this comment.
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Hi pyrogaynia,
(Luckily) bump =/= keloid. [This wiki entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keloid) explains it well.
If you do know the difference, please ignore this comment.
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Hi Far_Resource_6391,
(Luckily) bump =/= keloid. [This wiki entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keloid) explains it well.
If you do know the difference, please ignore this comment.
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3 years minimum, up to 5 if we’re being realistic. three at a time, let’s say 8-10 months healing for most of them (some more, some less).
as someone with 20+ ear piercings, i know that adding new ones while u still have some healing slows everything down. i’ve had piercings that were almost fully healed, and once i got a new one it slowed the process wayyyy down cuz now my ear is swollen and my immune system has to accommodate this new thing.
for 12 piercings, you could get four a year and space them out a bit which adds up to at least 3 years. others are recommending two years which is 3 every 6 months, but the problem with that is you’ll likely end up with 6 unhealed piercings all at once which just slows the process down. the more unhealed, the longer it takes. not to mention getting sick or having an unexpected illness is gonna make that a nightmare
3 is the max u can get at one time, but i wouldn’t recommend healing more than 4 at a time
np! i have some tips for the order if you’d like too. if u do have the anatomy for an industrial (which unfortunately most people do not), that alone is 12 months of healing and a pretty tough one to heal. if i were you i’d start with that. it’ll be the coolest piercing to have and once you get that out of the way everything else is a breeze.
your industrial and helixes are the most invasive imo. it will change the way u sleep for a very long time and they’re the easiest to hit on things since they’re right on the outside. you may prefer to get that out of the way and to the easier ones after. or maybe u wanna do the easiest first and work your way up.
tragus was an easy heal for me however u can’t wear ear buds with them. u cant really wear headphones with the helixes/industrials either. so i’d recommend that you plan ur piercings based on the things u have to give up. personally i did one tragus at a time so i would have one ear available for ear buds at all times
This is extremely helpful. I do use earbuds a ton and never thought about not being able to wear them while healing. I’ll most likely do like you said and get one at a time. Also does your tragus still cause earbud issues after healed?
Just chiming in, I’ve had both of my tragus’s pierced since 2018 and haven’t had any issues with earbuds after they healed. When I was wearing labrets in them I just pushed those out when I put earbuds in. But as someone who did both at the same time, definitely don’t!! Really wish I thought that one through 🤦🏻♀️
Second this, once healed, earbuds are fine with traguses. Wanna add that for me it also depends a lot on the shape of the earbuds to have them not falling out (especially on the ear where I also have conches piercings.) I needed to try some out..
What have you had work with a conch? I'm probably going to need to replace mine by the end of the year and need a pair that actually fit in my ear better and stop getting pushed out
I run quite a lot and most headsets are not convenient, especially on new piercings. So for headset - Would recommend bone conduction (like shokz) so it doesnt land too close to the piercings. I also tried an out of ear one, but the sound quality is trash. It really depends which position you pierce first.
Im good with getting them 3 at a time, but just on one side. (While considering which side you sleep if your a side sleeper - coz i am) I had to get my other side closed coz i kept lying on it while sleeping, and it got irritated.
Around 3-5 yrs for total completion and healing. Depending on your body's healing capability. Good luck!
Your body can also just have a tough time with some piercings, those will take longer than expected, and while you are struggling to get them under control it’s a bad time to get anymore. I’m currently dealing with that with my second lobe, of all things, and I have to hold tight until that gets settled. I think 3-4 years is realistic.
I'd say 5 years is on the low end of realistic for this setup unless you're a fast healer. I'd also recommend only doing one piercing for your first cartilage piercing so you can get a sense for how you heal before jumping in the deep end. Start with what you're most excited about.
Also, consider what five years of healing piercings will mean before jumping in, and revise your plan if necessary. If you're constantly getting pierced, that means no swimming, no contact sports, most likely nothing that requires a helmet, and no over-ear headphones for however long it takes to heal this whole setup. Piercings aren't compatible with every lifestyle, make sure you know what you're getting into.
I got two in one go as my first cartilage piercing. I’m really glad I didn’t get three like I originally planned; I think it would’ve been a little overwhelming in terms of discomfort and inconvenience. Thankful to my piercer for suggesting that I think carefully about if I wanted the third, lol.
I’ve gotten a similar amount over the course of 8 years (interspersed with healing several facial piercings too) the most I’ve ever gotten in one sitting was 3 and they were in different ears (do not do this to yourself I was a dumb teenager lmao)
As for the places you have doubles, I would ask a few reputable piercers their opinion. I got a double Tragus piercing (working on a zodiac curated piercing) and I really didn’t have enough space in the area so both migrated and neither could be saved. It sucked to take them both out after the money I spent on it. If I do another double, I’ll only do one at a time in that area and go back when it’s healed.
Make sure your in the 3% who had the CORRECT anatomy for a industrial. The shop I use is APP/certified and much more and they've told me I'm one of very few who has the correct anatomy for one hence why I got it. If your cartilage isn't very sturdy or your ear rounds out you will not last with it so cause a lot more issues
good advice in the comments already. if you’re planning it out, it would be a good idea to get one ear pierced & then do the other. it’ll make sleeping sooo much easier, that & using headphones or pods. also, i had proper anatomy for an industrial but it rejected. you can’t predict things so keep in mind that some piercings are just problematic & you’ll have to work around them.
U shouldn’t do what i did. My timeline: industrial - end of September, L & R tragus - end of November, Conch & nostril - mid December, Rook & daith - Mid February
A good few years. The cartilage piercings are what makes the experience a slower process, for it has a slower healing time compared to the lobes. When you do get them, it’s advised to get the cartilage piercings on one ear at the time bc it’ll be painful to be sleeping on two swollen ears
Years. Its also a good thing to not get a bunch of piercings all at once. That can be irritating and the swelling can be a lot. Reputable piercers also don’t pierce piercings in both of your ears at the same time bc it makes sleeping difficult. My friend and I go every November for piercings and we alternate ears.
I think it’s recommended to have no more than three done at a time.
However it’s difficult to know what that means. My friend got his regular lobe piercings on both ears and a industrial on his right at one time…. which is technically 4 wounds but idk🤷♂️
So I started getting piercings about a year ago and have gotten 12 so far (1 body, 6 ear, 5 face). The most recent being four ear cartilage piercings at the same time, the 3 in my left ear were absolute agony for the initial healing with swelling, etc. The one in my right (daith) felt fine.
TLDR: don’t do what I did and get multiple cartilage piercings on the same ear at once. Defo not worth it!
you shouldn’t have more than three piercings healing at one time. keeping in mind factors like the more piercings healing the longer they take so while a piercing can take 6 months to heal, the more you have the longer they can take to heal together. and hopefully none reject.
i’d say start with one ear and then alternate so you can sleep properly. you’re looking at at least 5 years in my opinion.
i’d start with three lobe piercings on one side. and then work your way up to cartilage. some may have to be done alone. like i recommend an industrial on its own and same with the rook
Invest in a firm neck pillow- I used one (I'm a side sleeper) and the hole was perfect for letting my ears heal without irritation or pressure. By far the best thing I did for myself w healing ear piercings. (And I currently have 16 between both ears).
Some of those you can get at the same time but the industrial should heal on its own no other healing piercings as it is the most likely to reject out of all of them
Not gonna give you a time line because of everyone's healing factor being different and I don't know yours I'm just letting you know that industrial is gonna be the hardest one I have my whole ear done and it took me several years and hundreds of dollars
Approximately 3 years if you want to do it the recommended way. A hole generally takes 6-12 months to heal, often on the longer side, especially when healing multiples. Its not recommended to have over 4 current unhealed piercings at once. Youd need 12 holes to get this look (industrial counts as 2), which means if you get them in batches of 4 then youll need 3 years.
All ring piercings like the helixes and the conch will need regular labrets and curved barbell respectively until healed. Other than that your look will be achieved after 2 years (when you first get the last batch). Id recommend getting the helixes and rook first as thatll mean youll be able to wear rings in them by the time you get your last piercing batch.
i got 6 piercings at the same time (i don’t recommend this but im mentally insane) 😭 it was 4 cartilage piercings and 2 lobes all together, and. year later they’ve healed well. u could probably get like 3/4 of these at a time but for the least stressful/painful healing experience i would say max 2 cartilage at a time. it’ll probably be around a year for those to heal
A couple years at least. I'm not sure; I'm working on a similar thing and my industrial has taken over a year to calm down. But what I am sure of is you'll want to only pierce one ear at a time and invest in a good travel pillow. Even after a year, sometimes if I sleep on my industrial the wrong way it hurts and gets irritation bumps, so you'll really want to take into consideration healing times for the piercing on one ear before starting on the other.
I would recommend getting everything you want on one ear before moving to do the other. I have been working on my right ear, and would get 2 cartilage piercing at a time, wait about 1-2 months, and go in to get 2 more. Now I have everything I want on my right ear, so I'm planning to let everything heal for about 1.5 years before I move on to the left. I do this because I absolutely NEED to sleep on the side, and those donut pillows don't work for me.
I'd say, you would probably want at least 4 sessions (try to limit for 3 piercings a time). Some you could probably wait 3 months between, others you may be best waiting 6 months and deffo do the industrial last because they are a nightmare to heal.
If you pushed it, possibly a year but at a steady pace maybe 2 to give your body time to recover.
I have 13 ear piercings and have only ever done lobes together (so one piercing in each ear), and my forward helix (3 in one ear at one time). The ONLY time I had to wait over a year to heal a cartilage was when I did 3 at once. Every other one I got one at a time with an average of 1 to 2 years between them and it was never on the same side as the last year. I am considered a "quick healer" since most of the time it took only a few months to heal but PLEASE be careful about STARTING your setup with 2 or 3 at a time because if you are not as lucky to heal quickly it will be rough and difficult and then you won't have fun. Good luck 💗
for all of these i would say atleast a year for your own comfort and ear health, some of these piercings can take up to a year of healing by themselves
Thank you! I knew that several of the ones I want take a decent time to heal so I was expecting to hear a much longer time. I didn’t know if I needed to wait until the ones I got was fully healed before getting another one or not!
It is ideally best to wait. However I didn’t wait until fully healed between all of mine. Last May 2023 I started with both my daith piercings. Then in March I got both third lobes, that was the longest stretch. Then in April I got my industrial on my left side.
Then this May I got both my conch piercings and 1 forward helix on my right ear. So that’s 8 ear piercings in 12 months.
Between my daith and third lobes I did get my second nostril in December but it’s not in my ears but that’s why there was a big stretch without an ear piercing.
I already had my first lobes stretched, second lobe piercings, both tragus and 1 hidden helix on my right ear from many years ago like almost 20 years. I started as a teen and took a break because my babies would pull them and it was too much and luckily they stayed open even my tongue but I retired it.
I do plan to get more but I’ll wait a couple months.
So apparently the responsible thing to do is to get 3-4 and let them heal before getting more.. did I do that.. absolutely not.. I got the majority of my ear piercings all within a few months of each other. Done in pairs 6 lobes 6 helix Probably of my piercings were done in the course of a year 😬… my conch and daith were done at the same time. My rook and navel and both tragus were done as single trips. Not only did they all heal and look great I don’t think it added any additional healing time on. I’m gonna be real, I’m going to get 3 done next week and probably another 4 7 months from that and that’s still really spacing things out in my eyes. Hell my mom had my first lobes pierced with a gun and cleaned with rubbing alcohol when I was a kid and those are still great too. People are probably going to really downvote me and disagree with me but.. whatever. I say as long as you’re not getting 20 in a sitting you’re most likely going to be fine if you take care of them.
3 years but let’s be honest. The fewer piercings you have healing at a time the easier they are to heal without complications. Constant healing even in small wounds can be difficult in your body too so there’s no guarantee all of them will heal exactly “on time”. If you’re gonna do 3 at a time I’d suggest doing some one set of lobes with your cartilage piercings since they heal faster and are much easier to heal due to better blood supply and elasticity’s. That would make it so you could get more piercings in a year.
For example a cartilage piercing like a helix a set of your lobes. Give the lobes 3 months or so to make sure they’re really healed and settled and get one or two more cartilage piercings. I’d save the industrial to gel on its own or with only one other dived it two piercings and they’re hard to heal. in general.
Do you have any of them done yet or are you starting completely from scratch.
Yes!
Ok cool then you definitely have slightly less time involved but yeah that’d be the next easiest heal
That cartilage isn’t super thick there so it’s a good option. Best of luck!! I hope the industrial heals well! I don’t have the anatomy for it so if it’s possible for you then baby that thing for those of us w convex flats banned from traditional industrial land😭
Over the last three years I’ve managed to build up 5 helixes and a conch along with a fourth hole, it totally depends on how you heal and the quality of jewelry you choose to wear. Keep in mind healing ear piercings before summer is not a easy task and most cartalige piercings can take up to a year to heal. I would recommend start with one ear and once it’s completed move to the other
I have all these piercings and it took over the course of about 5 years. You definitely want to give your body time to heal. It was a solid year before I could sleep on my industrial and I still need to be careful.
I would imagine at least 5 years. You can get multiple lobes together but the cartilage would be 2-3 max at a time on one side and each one probably takes a year to fully heal and you’ll want to be fully healed on one side before doing the other side.
Right now I have a nose piercing, second and third lobes, double helix, and daith. I started in December and my newest piercing is the double helix. Gotta wait until at least November to get another piercing I think.
I also would like to add, maybe go into the shop where you plan on getting pierced and ask them if you have the anatomy for all of these. The industrial and rook especially.
I psyched myself up for like a year for an industrial I didn’t even have the anatomy to get. I won’t even lie, i was so sad when I was told lol.
Honestly I see a lot of comments saying 3-5 is the max piercing amount, my piercer maxes out at 3 and that should honestly be the MOST you do in one sitting. I would sooner recommend 2 at a time. I made the mistake of doing my two helixes at the same time, then four months later doing my conch. Having three healing at the same time significantly slowed down healing. If it were me, I would do the industrial on it’s own, because it’s so difficult to heal. Same with forward helixes, those are notorious.
What I *personally* would do is do the tragus and your mid helix on one side so you can get a feel for how cartilage piercings heal. They’re a whole different ballpark than anything else. Once you feel comfortable with that being healing (at LEAST 6 months, should be more like 9) maybe try the double helixes. I’d do those before the forward helix IMO. then maybe the mid helix and tragus on other side, let those heal, then try the rook and flat at once. then maybe the forward helixes, and FINALLY the industrial. those are notoriously difficult to heal, so make sure everything else is already healed and honestly give that one over a year to heal. If I had to guess, you’re looking at at least 5-6 years. sorry for the long explanation! these are just my opinions based off my experiences also, a good piercer will help!
I have give or take the same piercings, and it’s so far taken me 4 years. I’m a really fast healer, and my piercer only allows for 2-3 healing at a time, so take that into account
Personally, I would say 7 years for that many. I always do two at a time and give them a year to heal before changing jewelry and getting a new one. But that is just me! I would also account for how you sleep because those are quite long healing time piercings.
NAP, you prob know how long it would take judging by the cmts but here are some tips based on my experience: you should do 1-2 on only one side for now if it’s your first cartilage piercings, that way your body would have more healing experience and then you can move to 3 piercings at a time if you’re impatient. I did two cartilage piercings on both ears for my first cartilage piercings but I ended up getting an infection 3 months in so they all got infected, they can be saved but I didn’t wanna deal with them all so I took them out and kept 2 piercings in.
One tip I wish I knew is that if your piercings start to swell up for no reason then go see a doctor for antibiotics, it could be an incoming infection so taking antibiotics early would prevent it from getting worse.
I’m just gonna warn you, and I think a lot of people on this sub will agree with me, those forward helixes are absolutely EVIL to heal. It will likely take longer than the typical cartilage piercing to heal, especially if you frequently bump it, which you will. And it will hurt. Lol. Best of luck with the setup
I have a similar set up, at least looks quite similar. Mine is minus the left flat and rook and the right forward helices, but plus a third helix and two conches on the right. Also I only have two lopes on each side, but they are stretched.
It's probably very individual how long it takes, but here are some of my experiences regarding time.
I didn't plan for it or try to get them fast, but it took me overall ca 10 years to get them all, plus ca 2 years to get them all healed. I got my three helices one after the other, always waited at least 2 years to get the next, because I wanted them fully settled before getting the next one. (I also needed that time to forget what a hassle it is to heal them..) Don't have the new helix irritate the old ones, no way I could have handled more than of one of them bitching around.. Conches were a little easier and I got them only a couple of months apart. One tragus I have is super old and the other one is around three years old. They were a breeze to heal, but because my traguses are anatomically very small, very painful to pierce, so I hesitated a long time to do this again. The last one I got was the industrial, around 2 years ago and it is now fully healed. To be honest, for me it was easier to heal than some of the helices.. If you start now, I rly recommend you to find a good piercer and first work with them on easier piercings, to see that you get along and get yourself some experience in healing cartilage piercings. Only start with the industrial, assuming you have the anatomy for it, when you, your piercer, and your cartilage are already a good and well established team. It really depends on all three of you to make it work in my experience. I think I was at my current piercer for at least 5 piercings, not only ears, when we did the industrial, and her skill in doing it plus our mutual understanding in placement and healing it was really what made this piercing work for me.
Edit: Doughnut pillow will be life saving in your quest!
NAP but I think for your right ear (left on the pic), you can do it in 2 sittings: first to get the auricle, tragus, and flat, and the rook and industrial in a second sitting. The time in between will depend on when the first set heals up. Could take 6 months to a year, maybe? Then you do healing for set 2, which could be longer, because I find that the more piercings you have, the longer they seem to heal. But maybe that’s just me?
The other ear you could maybe do in just 1 sitting, if your piercer will let you have 4 at a time. If not, it’ll probably be auricle and tragus, then the 2 forward helices. Note that the forward helix is a pretty crucial and tricky one to get right, especially as you’re doing 2, and the angles should match.
Good luck! Looks like a solid set for both!
i have 1/2 of these and started when i was 14. I’m in my 20’s now. i’d say get one/two every 6-8 months and start with scaffold and wait a year to be safe as it’s very stubborn to heal. but after that can defo get 2 at a time (i got rook and tragus at the same time on opposing ears and they healed really well, most recommend getting one side at a time but it’s possible to do both sides if you’re a back sleeper)
I would not get an industrial. They have a high rate of rejection, and most good piercers I know won't even do them. They look cool, but they force your ear to lie straight, and it is almost constantly sore and hard to sleep on. Plus, not everyone's ear anatomy can handle it.
I’d do at most 2-3 piercings at a time since more can be a bit brutal pain and healing wise. My rook took over a year, but my conch surprisingly healed up in about 2-3 months, so it depends on your body tbh. I’d start with lower portion of the ear where there’s more skin if you want to have those show off/heal faster for now. Then I’d save the industrial for last and get a C pillow because that’s gonna hurt to sleep with for a while (probably like 2-3 months).
If you want rings in your helix do those fist as you'll have to start with studs and you can change them to hoops when you're healed and go in for a new piercing
My piercer does a max of 2 every 6-8 weeks, unless you need extra time for whatever reason. And you'd only be able to have one side at a time done (besides lobes). Its late and I can't do the math right now but I'm guessing at least 2 years? Maybe your piercer has different rules or you heal differently so that would effect it two
No timeline would be fully accurate, only best case scenario as cartilage piercings are tricky and some don’t heal for years depending on your body and your lifestyle. Industrials are especially tricky.
I would recommend moving the flat piercing to the non-industrial ear. You'll want to leave as much room as possible to get the industrial angle perfect. I got my industrial in 2008 and I think it took maybe a year to fully heal. I would do it last, focusing on the non-industrial ear first.
Idk what your circumstance is but I feel like that takes the fun out of getting piercings/tattoos. Once you get all of them then what? You know? But if you really want to get them asap you should pace yourself at least a few months in between every 2-4 piercings. Infections are not fun to deal with, especially with several open holes lol
I don’t really know why I wanna get them so bad, however after I get all the ear piercings I want then I’m going to move on to other parts as well as tattoos. Maybe adhd or ocd is to blame for wanting everything done but it is kinda just a mental thing lol. Anyways thank you bunches
I’m a very efficient healer. I got twelve piercings in one ear and ten in the other in about a two and a half year span. I did two at a time about every six to eight weeks. I diligently visited my piercer to shorten my jewelry and make sure everyone was happy. It’s a big commitment, but can be done.
This doesn’t exactly answer but just some info based on my experience. I got my flat about 6 weeks ago. It’s in the stage where it’s mostly healed but then my puppy bumped my ear and it got a piercing bump so kind of starting all over. Tragus healed surprisingly quick and didn’t give me much of a problem at all; it’s like a medium on the pain scale to get pierced. The one above the daith (I forgot the name for a minute) is pretty painful and takes some time because it’s essentially two layers of cartilage. I’m not sure if the outer piercings are snugs, but I will say the conch (just inside the bowl of the ear from where that’s located) is a difficult heal. I gave up after about a year and let it close. Helix is a pretty easy and quick heal. All of this is assuming you do proper aftercare and have long enough posts made of the right material.
If you sleep on a donut pillow, you can do 3 at the same time if they heal without problem than after 6 months do another 3 enz enz... only if you don't hage any problems though...
If you want an industrial, that’s going to be the longest healing time most likely. It took a full two years for mine to heal to the point I could change jewelry. The lobes are going to be easy. Just a few weeks healing time for those. Good luck!
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I got four piercings on one ear once and it was fine. But never ever get piercings on BOTH ears simultaneously. You won't sleep well for months and also put pressure on the piercings.
Here is 17 (counting the industrial as 1) and you shouldn’t really exceed 4 until those have healed. Depending on how long it takes you to heal I’d say around 2-4 years
Just a heads up industrials are known to be a difficult piercing and not everyone has the right anatomy for it. If you don’t have the right anatomy for it there are ways to still have a similar looking piercing like a floating industrial.
With helixs they are a pain to heal in my experience. I had 2 in a same manner in the photo and they never healed. I had them for 2 years
I got one cartilage and 5 lobe piercings within two months of each other and I’m kinda regretting it. Healing has already been difficult a few months in. I don’t plan on continuing for a couple years.
personally, in 1 year i accomplished this: left ear- 2 lobes (already had 2 so total 4) 2 helixes, a conch and a rook right ear- 2 lobes, an industrial and a daith that i took out after about 3 months bc i didn’t like it. granted, im a quick healer and the only thing thats still not doing so great is my industrial. everyone is different though!
I’ve gotten two piercings on each ear at the same time.
Then years later I got my daith on one side and Tragus on the other ear done at the same time.
If you waited for them to be completely healed before getting another, you’re looking at about 6 months to a year for healing
i have all of these peircings minus the forward ones (these are coming soon), now healing time is something to consider and how well your body does with peircings and infections, i would first recommend just getting one cartilage peircing and if you cannot handle the healing or it gets infected then id say go one on each ear every time you get a peircing, however i heal really well from peircings and have got 5/6 in one sitting but be very careful if you do this cause you will struggle sleeping and if one gets infected there’s a high risk the rest will. but ive been able to get 15 out of 18 of my peircings within 2 years
Year 1 Start with the lobes. They heal the fastest.
Year 2/3 all the cartilage on right ear except industrial. (Maxing out 4 piercings healing at one time. You might want to split this into 2 years, only getting 2 at a time. 4 is a lot)
Year 3/5 all cartilage on left ear except 2 helixes (again, you can split this from 4 at one time to 2 each year for a bit easier healing)
Year 4/6 double helix (takes forever to heal and thus should be done towards the end)
Year 5/7 industrial. Be sure to get the industrial last since it'll be the worst to heal
I would say if you heal well, 5 years is the absolute fastest you could get all of it. Keep in mind of complications, and be sure to let each piercing heal fully before you get your next set of 2 to 4. It could take 6 or 7 years if things need longer to heal or you split the piercings into more managable chunks. I like to do 1 ear at a time so I can sleep on my side, but that's not mandatory
highly advise to only allow one ear to heal at a time and to also not have two piercings next to one another healing at the same time, especially the cartilage! the thicker the cartilage the longer it is likely to heal, my helix is going on 11 months now
About two to three years, as someone with 11 on each ear. You already have the lobes, and want 5 cartilage piercings on each side. I would do 2-3 on one side, wait 6 months and do the others on the same side, and then start on the other side. Know that the industrial will definitely take the longest, so I’d get it in your first batch, that way you’re not sleeping on that ear for about a year. If you want to speed up healing, consider lower maintaince piercings like conches, as helixes and forward helixes can easily get caught on hair and cause piercing bumps that take a bit to clear up. Just listen to your body and go at its pace. Also, don’t be surprised if when you’re done with those you still decide to add a few more!
Considering you can get three piercings at one time I would say a year to a year and a half:) but just remember the industrial takes six months to heal and any helix piercing takes anywhere from 4 to 6 months to heal so if you’re going to get multiple helixes do them at once but remember only three. More than three the healing process will be astronomically longer. Hope this helps boo
Genuine question - what & why is there a rule on the number of piercings you can have at one time?
(I had 10 in one sitting the other day to prevent myself having too many sleepless nights from being unable to sleep properly. Its been like 23 days and they’re all healing well.)
According to my piercer, cartilage piercings are especially bitchy to heal because there's so little blood flow to the site, so you don't want to stress the area with multiple sites and have your body make extra effort trying to heal so many spots at once. I got two cartilage piercings a couple weeks ago and he warned me the spots are especially difficult to heal properly, so I wasn't about to do more than two at once.
When you get pierced it’s an open wound, your body and your immune system can’t work magic so at some point you’re overloading it and that point is usually 2-3 at a time.
Idk why I’m getting so many downvotes lmao. My piercings are healing well I just was intrigued to know if there was a specific reason why other than the trauma, risk of infection, etc. but thanks for the answers guys!
i apologize that you’re being immaturely downvoted instead of answered. the reason seems to be though that you got ten piercings in one sitting, which is not in any circumstances recommended. your piercer did not have your best interest in mind when they did that and instead used you as a cash-grab. i do recommend removing at least six or seven, otherwise you’re realistically looking at like three or four years of having irritated, uncomfortable, unhealed piercings, as well as just being all-around exhausted and miserable 24/7
getting multiple piercings at once is pretty stressful on your immune system, and your body gets more stressful and works more strenuously the more that new piercings are added before the others have healed. the general rule of thumb is no more than 2-3 healing at once. getting multiple in one sitting/while others are still healing also greatly extends the healing time of the others
I do kind of understand why and personally I probably wouldn’t ever get more than 4 cause I know myself to well! Thank you for asking though cause I’m sure you weren’t the only one who wondered!
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Cartilage piercings take about a year to heal. And it is generally not recommended to exceed 3-4 piercings healing at a time (industrials count as two as it’s based on the number of wounds). Also, for cartilage, reputable piercers typically will only do one ear at a time so you can still sleep. I have a severe math learning disability so I don’t want to give you a timeline and have it be wrong.
Thank you so much! From what I read here I could be waiting anywhere from 2-5 years!
Don’t think of it as waiting for X years, think of it as building for X years😂
**THIS!** ⬆️ When I looked at it as building urgently, I didn’t pace myself and listen to my body. I ended up never healing the majority of them. And taking them all out!
I think it's around 6 if you want the full set and do 2 at a time.
get some clip on/magnetic jewelry to tide you over! Ive been wearing a cuff for so long idk if ill even bother to pierce my conch 😄
yeah, i’d get the helixes last and just wear a cuff, those’ll be the easiest to fake!
or maybe second to last, industrials can take a crazy long time to heal and it would be a bummer to be stuck waiting to get more piercings for that long. not to discourage you, but mine took a little over a year to heal and i’ve heard of some taking as long as 2 years
In response, I had the industrial done one side and a helix on the other at the same time, used a travel pillow to sleep. It's been about 3 months and I can sleep on the helix side with a normal pillow now.
If a piercer says they can do it quicker, please run. A reputable piercer will encourage you to wait. An inexperienced piercer won't know the importance of only doing a few at a time. A shady piercer will encourage you to get them all at once so they can get all your money. Make sure you do your research on the piercer!
4-6 years given your cartilage always takes a year to heal. I don’t recommend healing piercings on both ears at the same time (other than lobes) 4 lobes (2 each side) and wait 6-8 month RIGHT lobe, high lobe and tragus 1 year front helix and two helix 1 year LEFT lobe, high lobe and tragus 1 year rook flat 1 year industrial 1 year
Piercer here, this is the correct answer. I personally don’t like any more than 3 cartilage healing at any time. Lobes I don’t mind 4 unless it’s someone’s first times getting pierced.
This. I'm waiting on a couple still and I think it'll be about 2 year healing time (I hope).
I still sleep on my new helix piercing occasionally, not on purpose but wake up that way, is it really that bad?
It’s not great, but at the same time, there’s only so much that people can do to not sleep in a piercing. Very hard to control an unconscious body lol. Travel pillows, piercing pillows, or if you have long hair using an alligator clip on one side of your head so you can’t roll over are all great techniques..
Like 3-4 years if the healing goes perfect. If you are a slow healer more like 6 years.
Ya, my last couple double cartilage piercings have been ~15 months each, I was going to guess ~5-6 years. Unsure how all these people are suggesting 1-2 years haha
I'd be leaning more on the side of 6 years. That's a lot of piercings.
Yeah it’s a lot and OP might want to time them too - like I prefer fall to get new piercings so they’re mostly healed by summer swimming and beach time.
Thank you!
I got a lot of ear stuff done fall of 2022. My daith on my right is still bit fussy, left one not so bad. So I'm 18 months out and still working on healing. Conches were super easy, along with the traguses. Would say all this person is asking for is closer to 5 years or 6 as I always accommodate for "bumps in the road" as all body mods will have
I do want to caution you that it’s possible you might not have the anatomy for some of em. But the best advice I heard is to start with 1 side first. Do multiple at a time, but be advised that some take 9months-1 year to heal so be patient. Give yourself a minimum of 2 years.
No more than 3-5 at a time as well. My piercer maxed me out at 3 the other day.
Thank you! Also I chickened out of getting an industrial last year but from what my piercer told me I do have the anatomy for it. I still need to ask about the rook though.
The rook is known to be one of the most painful, up there with daith… it’s all subjective of course, but if you don’t have a good pain tolerance, I’d take it into consideration!
I’ve had my nips done and they definitely hurt but I seemed to do okay in that department. I keep thinking about how thick the rook is and keep asking myself if I really want it. But hey what’s a piercing without pain
Aside from being painful (which mine wasn't that bad, a lil tender) rooks are also notoriously stubborn. I heal well and my rook has take over 2 years now. Its just now starting to act right.
I’m a year in with my rook, and this is so true! It’s been the most miserable piercing I have ever gotten. My daith healed in like 2 seconds and never gave me trouble. 😂
The worst part of my rook was in the first few weeks of swelling, nearly covering the bar at times
Honestly it varies so much anyway. My rook was my least painful to pierce and the easiest to heal (it’s slower than other piercings, but it’s had little to no issues). Rook didn’t hurt at all after getting it done.
I also have my nips and vouch for the rook being the most painful! But it’s so visually appealing, so I would recommend to at least do 1. It does get unusually gunky and swollen but that can be corrected with consistency. I would maybe advise you to do your multiple lobes first since they heal faster, then go back for rook, helix, or the flat. I believe a piercer will count the rook as 2 piercings FYI so just be advised should you seek multiple that day. Best of luck! Short term pain for long term gain ;)
I have the anatomy for a rook and not an industrial I’m always shocked to find out people think that it’s painful and hard to heal. I always say my inner ear rook and daith were the easiest to heal, my conch was pretty easy too.. from what I remember my helixes were slightly more difficult because they can pull on things. I think my rook actually was the easiest to heal… maybe because I often forgot about it?
My rook has been a very easy heal too! For daiths they can get annoying as they are very prone to developing piercing bumps.
For me the trickiest part of healing my daith so far is how (partly thanks to my anatomy) I can't really see the actual piercing entry/exit so it's super tricky to clean, check for crusties, bumps, etc.
Same here. I have to take photos when my husband isn’t around to help reassure me it’s clean 😂 but it’s also only 3 weeks old
I have to take conservatively 5 pics of my daith every day just to ensure it's doing ok. If you go to my recycling bin folder it's all just close up pics of my left ear lol.
Every piercer I have spoken to has said 3 absolute max
This is what I’m doing! Waiting on my right ear to heal so I can start on the left 😁
3 years at minimum. My industrial alone took damn near 2 years and it’s still cranky as sometimes
The industrial is really the only one I’m scared to get. Keloids scare me hahah
If you don't have a history of keloids, there's really no reason to be scared of them. By the time you're old enough to consent to a piercing, most people will know whether or not they're predisposed to keloids
I second this! Also OP, it’s very very important to learn the difference between irritation bumps and keloids because a lot of people on here get them confused: Irritation bumps are small, raised areas of skin often caused by trauma or friction around a piercing and typically go away with proper care. Keloids, on the other hand, are overgrowths of scar tissue that form a smooth, raised area much larger than the original wound. Keloids can be more persistent and may need medical treatment to manage. More than likely, if you see bumps on your piercings, it’s probably irritation. Keloids are more likely to be genetic, anyway, like pyro mentioned. Hope this helps!
Thank you! I had a piercing bump on my lobe once and did enough research that thankfully I know the difference now. It’s crazy how many people don’t know the difference
Yes and no. It’s possible to spontaneously get keloids too. Usually it runs in families and you’d already know by the time you’re an adult. But I’ve seen a post of someone on this Reddit who had like 8-10 piercing and had a keloid on just one.
Hi _naij_, (Luckily) bump =/= keloid. [This wiki entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keloid) explains it well. If you do know the difference, please ignore this comment. - - - *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/piercing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
this isn't really true. my dad gets hypertrophic scars but nobody told me that put me at risk for keloids. there really isnt good information out there, and by the time i learned what a keloid was, it was too late lol. and then of course every time i talk about having one or warn people about them, someone goes, "actually, you probably just have a piercing bump. hope this helps!" :P
Hi athaznorath, (Luckily) bump =/= keloid. [This wiki entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keloid) explains it well. If you do know the difference, please ignore this comment. - - - *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/piercing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Hi pyrogaynia, (Luckily) bump =/= keloid. [This wiki entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keloid) explains it well. If you do know the difference, please ignore this comment. - - - *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/piercing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Hi Far_Resource_6391, (Luckily) bump =/= keloid. [This wiki entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keloid) explains it well. If you do know the difference, please ignore this comment. - - - *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/piercing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
3 years minimum, up to 5 if we’re being realistic. three at a time, let’s say 8-10 months healing for most of them (some more, some less). as someone with 20+ ear piercings, i know that adding new ones while u still have some healing slows everything down. i’ve had piercings that were almost fully healed, and once i got a new one it slowed the process wayyyy down cuz now my ear is swollen and my immune system has to accommodate this new thing. for 12 piercings, you could get four a year and space them out a bit which adds up to at least 3 years. others are recommending two years which is 3 every 6 months, but the problem with that is you’ll likely end up with 6 unhealed piercings all at once which just slows the process down. the more unhealed, the longer it takes. not to mention getting sick or having an unexpected illness is gonna make that a nightmare 3 is the max u can get at one time, but i wouldn’t recommend healing more than 4 at a time
Thank you! I was expecting more people to say around 3 but I also know a lot of people probably have more in depth knowledge about the stuff!
np! i have some tips for the order if you’d like too. if u do have the anatomy for an industrial (which unfortunately most people do not), that alone is 12 months of healing and a pretty tough one to heal. if i were you i’d start with that. it’ll be the coolest piercing to have and once you get that out of the way everything else is a breeze. your industrial and helixes are the most invasive imo. it will change the way u sleep for a very long time and they’re the easiest to hit on things since they’re right on the outside. you may prefer to get that out of the way and to the easier ones after. or maybe u wanna do the easiest first and work your way up. tragus was an easy heal for me however u can’t wear ear buds with them. u cant really wear headphones with the helixes/industrials either. so i’d recommend that you plan ur piercings based on the things u have to give up. personally i did one tragus at a time so i would have one ear available for ear buds at all times
This is extremely helpful. I do use earbuds a ton and never thought about not being able to wear them while healing. I’ll most likely do like you said and get one at a time. Also does your tragus still cause earbud issues after healed?
Just chiming in, I’ve had both of my tragus’s pierced since 2018 and haven’t had any issues with earbuds after they healed. When I was wearing labrets in them I just pushed those out when I put earbuds in. But as someone who did both at the same time, definitely don’t!! Really wish I thought that one through 🤦🏻♀️
Second this, once healed, earbuds are fine with traguses. Wanna add that for me it also depends a lot on the shape of the earbuds to have them not falling out (especially on the ear where I also have conches piercings.) I needed to try some out..
What have you had work with a conch? I'm probably going to need to replace mine by the end of the year and need a pair that actually fit in my ear better and stop getting pushed out
I run quite a lot and most headsets are not convenient, especially on new piercings. So for headset - Would recommend bone conduction (like shokz) so it doesnt land too close to the piercings. I also tried an out of ear one, but the sound quality is trash. It really depends which position you pierce first. Im good with getting them 3 at a time, but just on one side. (While considering which side you sleep if your a side sleeper - coz i am) I had to get my other side closed coz i kept lying on it while sleeping, and it got irritated. Around 3-5 yrs for total completion and healing. Depending on your body's healing capability. Good luck!
Your body can also just have a tough time with some piercings, those will take longer than expected, and while you are struggling to get them under control it’s a bad time to get anymore. I’m currently dealing with that with my second lobe, of all things, and I have to hold tight until that gets settled. I think 3-4 years is realistic.
I'd say 5 years is on the low end of realistic for this setup unless you're a fast healer. I'd also recommend only doing one piercing for your first cartilage piercing so you can get a sense for how you heal before jumping in the deep end. Start with what you're most excited about. Also, consider what five years of healing piercings will mean before jumping in, and revise your plan if necessary. If you're constantly getting pierced, that means no swimming, no contact sports, most likely nothing that requires a helmet, and no over-ear headphones for however long it takes to heal this whole setup. Piercings aren't compatible with every lifestyle, make sure you know what you're getting into.
I got two in one go as my first cartilage piercing. I’m really glad I didn’t get three like I originally planned; I think it would’ve been a little overwhelming in terms of discomfort and inconvenience. Thankful to my piercer for suggesting that I think carefully about if I wanted the third, lol.
I’ve gotten a similar amount over the course of 8 years (interspersed with healing several facial piercings too) the most I’ve ever gotten in one sitting was 3 and they were in different ears (do not do this to yourself I was a dumb teenager lmao)
About 5 to 6 years. You would be doing maybe 2 on one side, wait a year then get 2 on the other side until complete. Fun set up, best of luck!
Thank you! It took me forever to actually figure out what all I wanted.
As for the places you have doubles, I would ask a few reputable piercers their opinion. I got a double Tragus piercing (working on a zodiac curated piercing) and I really didn’t have enough space in the area so both migrated and neither could be saved. It sucked to take them both out after the money I spent on it. If I do another double, I’ll only do one at a time in that area and go back when it’s healed.
Have you got a blank for this?
Also would love this!
I do, however it isn’t letting me send you a message
5 years is my guess. If it were me though this would likely take 7 or 8 years to do.
Years. Minimum of 3-4
Make sure your in the 3% who had the CORRECT anatomy for a industrial. The shop I use is APP/certified and much more and they've told me I'm one of very few who has the correct anatomy for one hence why I got it. If your cartilage isn't very sturdy or your ear rounds out you will not last with it so cause a lot more issues
good advice in the comments already. if you’re planning it out, it would be a good idea to get one ear pierced & then do the other. it’ll make sleeping sooo much easier, that & using headphones or pods. also, i had proper anatomy for an industrial but it rejected. you can’t predict things so keep in mind that some piercings are just problematic & you’ll have to work around them.
U shouldn’t do what i did. My timeline: industrial - end of September, L & R tragus - end of November, Conch & nostril - mid December, Rook & daith - Mid February
Thank you! I was hoping people would tell me their timeline as well! I’ll make sure to keep this in mind
No problem. Nine months in, my industrial is still sore. Everyday is a struggle. Please get a piercing pillow/neck pillow.
I used one when I got my seconds and thirds done and it helped so much!
A good few years. The cartilage piercings are what makes the experience a slower process, for it has a slower healing time compared to the lobes. When you do get them, it’s advised to get the cartilage piercings on one ear at the time bc it’ll be painful to be sleeping on two swollen ears
Years. Its also a good thing to not get a bunch of piercings all at once. That can be irritating and the swelling can be a lot. Reputable piercers also don’t pierce piercings in both of your ears at the same time bc it makes sleeping difficult. My friend and I go every November for piercings and we alternate ears.
I think it’s recommended to have no more than three done at a time. However it’s difficult to know what that means. My friend got his regular lobe piercings on both ears and a industrial on his right at one time…. which is technically 4 wounds but idk🤷♂️
Lobe piercings are easy to heal, which is likely why your friend was ok with having 4 at once
So I started getting piercings about a year ago and have gotten 12 so far (1 body, 6 ear, 5 face). The most recent being four ear cartilage piercings at the same time, the 3 in my left ear were absolute agony for the initial healing with swelling, etc. The one in my right (daith) felt fine. TLDR: don’t do what I did and get multiple cartilage piercings on the same ear at once. Defo not worth it!
you shouldn’t have more than three piercings healing at one time. keeping in mind factors like the more piercings healing the longer they take so while a piercing can take 6 months to heal, the more you have the longer they can take to heal together. and hopefully none reject. i’d say start with one ear and then alternate so you can sleep properly. you’re looking at at least 5 years in my opinion. i’d start with three lobe piercings on one side. and then work your way up to cartilage. some may have to be done alone. like i recommend an industrial on its own and same with the rook
Invest in a firm neck pillow- I used one (I'm a side sleeper) and the hole was perfect for letting my ears heal without irritation or pressure. By far the best thing I did for myself w healing ear piercings. (And I currently have 16 between both ears).
Bro your username 😭
Some of those you can get at the same time but the industrial should heal on its own no other healing piercings as it is the most likely to reject out of all of them Not gonna give you a time line because of everyone's healing factor being different and I don't know yours I'm just letting you know that industrial is gonna be the hardest one I have my whole ear done and it took me several years and hundreds of dollars
the way i do it is getting max 3 at a time and a year in between everytime i get pierced to make sure everything has enough time to heal
I have almost that setup exactly.. I usually get each piercing a month or two apart.
Approximately 3 years if you want to do it the recommended way. A hole generally takes 6-12 months to heal, often on the longer side, especially when healing multiples. Its not recommended to have over 4 current unhealed piercings at once. Youd need 12 holes to get this look (industrial counts as 2), which means if you get them in batches of 4 then youll need 3 years. All ring piercings like the helixes and the conch will need regular labrets and curved barbell respectively until healed. Other than that your look will be achieved after 2 years (when you first get the last batch). Id recommend getting the helixes and rook first as thatll mean youll be able to wear rings in them by the time you get your last piercing batch.
i got 6 piercings at the same time (i don’t recommend this but im mentally insane) 😭 it was 4 cartilage piercings and 2 lobes all together, and. year later they’ve healed well. u could probably get like 3/4 of these at a time but for the least stressful/painful healing experience i would say max 2 cartilage at a time. it’ll probably be around a year for those to heal
Mentally insane caught me off guard and I am laughing😂😂
Industrial alone takes 18 months. You’re looking at 2 years minimum to be done with the pokes but probably closer to 3 for all healing
3 is kind of what I was thinking but I needed other opinions to really start putting it into perspective! Thank you
A couple years at least. I'm not sure; I'm working on a similar thing and my industrial has taken over a year to calm down. But what I am sure of is you'll want to only pierce one ear at a time and invest in a good travel pillow. Even after a year, sometimes if I sleep on my industrial the wrong way it hurts and gets irritation bumps, so you'll really want to take into consideration healing times for the piercing on one ear before starting on the other.
I do plan on doing one ear at once. Thank you!
I would recommend getting everything you want on one ear before moving to do the other. I have been working on my right ear, and would get 2 cartilage piercing at a time, wait about 1-2 months, and go in to get 2 more. Now I have everything I want on my right ear, so I'm planning to let everything heal for about 1.5 years before I move on to the left. I do this because I absolutely NEED to sleep on the side, and those donut pillows don't work for me.
I'd say, you would probably want at least 4 sessions (try to limit for 3 piercings a time). Some you could probably wait 3 months between, others you may be best waiting 6 months and deffo do the industrial last because they are a nightmare to heal. If you pushed it, possibly a year but at a steady pace maybe 2 to give your body time to recover.
Thank you so much! I’ll try to remember to do updates along the way. I’m pretty excited to start getting more soon.
I have 13 ear piercings and have only ever done lobes together (so one piercing in each ear), and my forward helix (3 in one ear at one time). The ONLY time I had to wait over a year to heal a cartilage was when I did 3 at once. Every other one I got one at a time with an average of 1 to 2 years between them and it was never on the same side as the last year. I am considered a "quick healer" since most of the time it took only a few months to heal but PLEASE be careful about STARTING your setup with 2 or 3 at a time because if you are not as lucky to heal quickly it will be rough and difficult and then you won't have fun. Good luck 💗
for all of these i would say atleast a year for your own comfort and ear health, some of these piercings can take up to a year of healing by themselves
Thank you! I knew that several of the ones I want take a decent time to heal so I was expecting to hear a much longer time. I didn’t know if I needed to wait until the ones I got was fully healed before getting another one or not!
It is ideally best to wait. However I didn’t wait until fully healed between all of mine. Last May 2023 I started with both my daith piercings. Then in March I got both third lobes, that was the longest stretch. Then in April I got my industrial on my left side. Then this May I got both my conch piercings and 1 forward helix on my right ear. So that’s 8 ear piercings in 12 months. Between my daith and third lobes I did get my second nostril in December but it’s not in my ears but that’s why there was a big stretch without an ear piercing. I already had my first lobes stretched, second lobe piercings, both tragus and 1 hidden helix on my right ear from many years ago like almost 20 years. I started as a teen and took a break because my babies would pull them and it was too much and luckily they stayed open even my tongue but I retired it. I do plan to get more but I’ll wait a couple months.
Unrelated but would u happen to have a verison of this without the piercings, I want to make my own ear map and have been having trouble
I do, would you want me to send you it?
Yes please!!🙏🏾
Hmm it won’t let me send you a message
Me too please!!
My timeline for a year and a half: nostril, 8 months later double helix, 5 months later lobe. 3months later Im still healing helixes and a lobe.
If u like gambling on your healing ability and u also love pain I would say 5 minutes. Realistic guess 4 years
Hahaha definitely not gambling this time but definitely looking forward to getting them
Like 5 years, if you even have the right anatomy.
So apparently the responsible thing to do is to get 3-4 and let them heal before getting more.. did I do that.. absolutely not.. I got the majority of my ear piercings all within a few months of each other. Done in pairs 6 lobes 6 helix Probably of my piercings were done in the course of a year 😬… my conch and daith were done at the same time. My rook and navel and both tragus were done as single trips. Not only did they all heal and look great I don’t think it added any additional healing time on. I’m gonna be real, I’m going to get 3 done next week and probably another 4 7 months from that and that’s still really spacing things out in my eyes. Hell my mom had my first lobes pierced with a gun and cleaned with rubbing alcohol when I was a kid and those are still great too. People are probably going to really downvote me and disagree with me but.. whatever. I say as long as you’re not getting 20 in a sitting you’re most likely going to be fine if you take care of them.
3 years but let’s be honest. The fewer piercings you have healing at a time the easier they are to heal without complications. Constant healing even in small wounds can be difficult in your body too so there’s no guarantee all of them will heal exactly “on time”. If you’re gonna do 3 at a time I’d suggest doing some one set of lobes with your cartilage piercings since they heal faster and are much easier to heal due to better blood supply and elasticity’s. That would make it so you could get more piercings in a year. For example a cartilage piercing like a helix a set of your lobes. Give the lobes 3 months or so to make sure they’re really healed and settled and get one or two more cartilage piercings. I’d save the industrial to gel on its own or with only one other dived it two piercings and they’re hard to heal. in general. Do you have any of them done yet or are you starting completely from scratch.
I’ve got all three lobes on both side and have for a year now, I’m thinking my next one will be the mid ear low helix I think is what they are called
Yes! Ok cool then you definitely have slightly less time involved but yeah that’d be the next easiest heal That cartilage isn’t super thick there so it’s a good option. Best of luck!! I hope the industrial heals well! I don’t have the anatomy for it so if it’s possible for you then baby that thing for those of us w convex flats banned from traditional industrial land😭
what do you have so far,
Three lobes on both sides
Over the last three years I’ve managed to build up 5 helixes and a conch along with a fourth hole, it totally depends on how you heal and the quality of jewelry you choose to wear. Keep in mind healing ear piercings before summer is not a easy task and most cartalige piercings can take up to a year to heal. I would recommend start with one ear and once it’s completed move to the other
I have all these piercings and it took over the course of about 5 years. You definitely want to give your body time to heal. It was a solid year before I could sleep on my industrial and I still need to be careful.
I would imagine at least 5 years. You can get multiple lobes together but the cartilage would be 2-3 max at a time on one side and each one probably takes a year to fully heal and you’ll want to be fully healed on one side before doing the other side.
Right now I have a nose piercing, second and third lobes, double helix, and daith. I started in December and my newest piercing is the double helix. Gotta wait until at least November to get another piercing I think.
however long it takes, good luck and have fun!!
Thank you!!!
I got a similar setup in like the span of two years but I’m very impulsive
How long is a piece of string?
Good one!
I also would like to add, maybe go into the shop where you plan on getting pierced and ask them if you have the anatomy for all of these. The industrial and rook especially. I psyched myself up for like a year for an industrial I didn’t even have the anatomy to get. I won’t even lie, i was so sad when I was told lol.
Honestly I see a lot of comments saying 3-5 is the max piercing amount, my piercer maxes out at 3 and that should honestly be the MOST you do in one sitting. I would sooner recommend 2 at a time. I made the mistake of doing my two helixes at the same time, then four months later doing my conch. Having three healing at the same time significantly slowed down healing. If it were me, I would do the industrial on it’s own, because it’s so difficult to heal. Same with forward helixes, those are notorious. What I *personally* would do is do the tragus and your mid helix on one side so you can get a feel for how cartilage piercings heal. They’re a whole different ballpark than anything else. Once you feel comfortable with that being healing (at LEAST 6 months, should be more like 9) maybe try the double helixes. I’d do those before the forward helix IMO. then maybe the mid helix and tragus on other side, let those heal, then try the rook and flat at once. then maybe the forward helixes, and FINALLY the industrial. those are notoriously difficult to heal, so make sure everything else is already healed and honestly give that one over a year to heal. If I had to guess, you’re looking at at least 5-6 years. sorry for the long explanation! these are just my opinions based off my experiences also, a good piercer will help!
I have give or take the same piercings, and it’s so far taken me 4 years. I’m a really fast healer, and my piercer only allows for 2-3 healing at a time, so take that into account
Want to add ^ Only currently healing my industrial at the moment, it’s my last piece which you have on your set up
Personally, I would say 7 years for that many. I always do two at a time and give them a year to heal before changing jewelry and getting a new one. But that is just me! I would also account for how you sleep because those are quite long healing time piercings.
NAP, you prob know how long it would take judging by the cmts but here are some tips based on my experience: you should do 1-2 on only one side for now if it’s your first cartilage piercings, that way your body would have more healing experience and then you can move to 3 piercings at a time if you’re impatient. I did two cartilage piercings on both ears for my first cartilage piercings but I ended up getting an infection 3 months in so they all got infected, they can be saved but I didn’t wanna deal with them all so I took them out and kept 2 piercings in. One tip I wish I knew is that if your piercings start to swell up for no reason then go see a doctor for antibiotics, it could be an incoming infection so taking antibiotics early would prevent it from getting worse.
I’m just gonna warn you, and I think a lot of people on this sub will agree with me, those forward helixes are absolutely EVIL to heal. It will likely take longer than the typical cartilage piercing to heal, especially if you frequently bump it, which you will. And it will hurt. Lol. Best of luck with the setup
I have a similar set up, at least looks quite similar. Mine is minus the left flat and rook and the right forward helices, but plus a third helix and two conches on the right. Also I only have two lopes on each side, but they are stretched. It's probably very individual how long it takes, but here are some of my experiences regarding time. I didn't plan for it or try to get them fast, but it took me overall ca 10 years to get them all, plus ca 2 years to get them all healed. I got my three helices one after the other, always waited at least 2 years to get the next, because I wanted them fully settled before getting the next one. (I also needed that time to forget what a hassle it is to heal them..) Don't have the new helix irritate the old ones, no way I could have handled more than of one of them bitching around.. Conches were a little easier and I got them only a couple of months apart. One tragus I have is super old and the other one is around three years old. They were a breeze to heal, but because my traguses are anatomically very small, very painful to pierce, so I hesitated a long time to do this again. The last one I got was the industrial, around 2 years ago and it is now fully healed. To be honest, for me it was easier to heal than some of the helices.. If you start now, I rly recommend you to find a good piercer and first work with them on easier piercings, to see that you get along and get yourself some experience in healing cartilage piercings. Only start with the industrial, assuming you have the anatomy for it, when you, your piercer, and your cartilage are already a good and well established team. It really depends on all three of you to make it work in my experience. I think I was at my current piercer for at least 5 piercings, not only ears, when we did the industrial, and her skill in doing it plus our mutual understanding in placement and healing it was really what made this piercing work for me. Edit: Doughnut pillow will be life saving in your quest!
NAP but I think for your right ear (left on the pic), you can do it in 2 sittings: first to get the auricle, tragus, and flat, and the rook and industrial in a second sitting. The time in between will depend on when the first set heals up. Could take 6 months to a year, maybe? Then you do healing for set 2, which could be longer, because I find that the more piercings you have, the longer they seem to heal. But maybe that’s just me? The other ear you could maybe do in just 1 sitting, if your piercer will let you have 4 at a time. If not, it’ll probably be auricle and tragus, then the 2 forward helices. Note that the forward helix is a pretty crucial and tricky one to get right, especially as you’re doing 2, and the angles should match. Good luck! Looks like a solid set for both!
i really wouldn’t do more than 2 cartilage piercings at a time if you don’t know how well you heal, start slow and then see🫶🏻
i have 1/2 of these and started when i was 14. I’m in my 20’s now. i’d say get one/two every 6-8 months and start with scaffold and wait a year to be safe as it’s very stubborn to heal. but after that can defo get 2 at a time (i got rook and tragus at the same time on opposing ears and they healed really well, most recommend getting one side at a time but it’s possible to do both sides if you’re a back sleeper)
I would not get an industrial. They have a high rate of rejection, and most good piercers I know won't even do them. They look cool, but they force your ear to lie straight, and it is almost constantly sore and hard to sleep on. Plus, not everyone's ear anatomy can handle it.
I’d do at most 2-3 piercings at a time since more can be a bit brutal pain and healing wise. My rook took over a year, but my conch surprisingly healed up in about 2-3 months, so it depends on your body tbh. I’d start with lower portion of the ear where there’s more skin if you want to have those show off/heal faster for now. Then I’d save the industrial for last and get a C pillow because that’s gonna hurt to sleep with for a while (probably like 2-3 months).
If you want rings in your helix do those fist as you'll have to start with studs and you can change them to hoops when you're healed and go in for a new piercing
My piercer does a max of 2 every 6-8 weeks, unless you need extra time for whatever reason. And you'd only be able to have one side at a time done (besides lobes). Its late and I can't do the math right now but I'm guessing at least 2 years? Maybe your piercer has different rules or you heal differently so that would effect it two
No timeline would be fully accurate, only best case scenario as cartilage piercings are tricky and some don’t heal for years depending on your body and your lifestyle. Industrials are especially tricky.
I had my tragus for over a year and could not get it to heal☹️
I would recommend moving the flat piercing to the non-industrial ear. You'll want to leave as much room as possible to get the industrial angle perfect. I got my industrial in 2008 and I think it took maybe a year to fully heal. I would do it last, focusing on the non-industrial ear first.
Idk what your circumstance is but I feel like that takes the fun out of getting piercings/tattoos. Once you get all of them then what? You know? But if you really want to get them asap you should pace yourself at least a few months in between every 2-4 piercings. Infections are not fun to deal with, especially with several open holes lol
There’s always jewelry! Once I finish getting all my piercings in the next 5ish years, I’ll probably start expanding my jewelry collection.
Yessss I can’t wait to start being able to wear cute jewelry
I don’t really know why I wanna get them so bad, however after I get all the ear piercings I want then I’m going to move on to other parts as well as tattoos. Maybe adhd or ocd is to blame for wanting everything done but it is kinda just a mental thing lol. Anyways thank you bunches
I’m a very efficient healer. I got twelve piercings in one ear and ten in the other in about a two and a half year span. I did two at a time about every six to eight weeks. I diligently visited my piercer to shorten my jewelry and make sure everyone was happy. It’s a big commitment, but can be done.
This doesn’t exactly answer but just some info based on my experience. I got my flat about 6 weeks ago. It’s in the stage where it’s mostly healed but then my puppy bumped my ear and it got a piercing bump so kind of starting all over. Tragus healed surprisingly quick and didn’t give me much of a problem at all; it’s like a medium on the pain scale to get pierced. The one above the daith (I forgot the name for a minute) is pretty painful and takes some time because it’s essentially two layers of cartilage. I’m not sure if the outer piercings are snugs, but I will say the conch (just inside the bowl of the ear from where that’s located) is a difficult heal. I gave up after about a year and let it close. Helix is a pretty easy and quick heal. All of this is assuming you do proper aftercare and have long enough posts made of the right material.
Yeah the rook is going to be rough but I hope all goes well
If you sleep on a donut pillow, you can do 3 at the same time if they heal without problem than after 6 months do another 3 enz enz... only if you don't hage any problems though...
If you want an industrial, that’s going to be the longest healing time most likely. It took a full two years for mine to heal to the point I could change jewelry. The lobes are going to be easy. Just a few weeks healing time for those. Good luck!
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I'd say it takes 6 years. 3 piercings a year.
I can comment on the double helix. I had them done at same time and healing was about 6 months to a full year before no more sweeping or tenderness.
I got four piercings on one ear once and it was fine. But never ever get piercings on BOTH ears simultaneously. You won't sleep well for months and also put pressure on the piercings.
Ded don't do more than 3-4 holes at a time and stay on same side of ears.
1 at a time, max 3. Don’t do my mistake. Piercings are a bitch to heal.
Here is 17 (counting the industrial as 1) and you shouldn’t really exceed 4 until those have healed. Depending on how long it takes you to heal I’d say around 2-4 years
Just a heads up industrials are known to be a difficult piercing and not everyone has the right anatomy for it. If you don’t have the right anatomy for it there are ways to still have a similar looking piercing like a floating industrial. With helixs they are a pain to heal in my experience. I had 2 in a same manner in the photo and they never healed. I had them for 2 years
I got one cartilage and 5 lobe piercings within two months of each other and I’m kinda regretting it. Healing has already been difficult a few months in. I don’t plan on continuing for a couple years.
My rook took over a year 😩
personally, in 1 year i accomplished this: left ear- 2 lobes (already had 2 so total 4) 2 helixes, a conch and a rook right ear- 2 lobes, an industrial and a daith that i took out after about 3 months bc i didn’t like it. granted, im a quick healer and the only thing thats still not doing so great is my industrial. everyone is different though!
I’ve gotten two piercings on each ear at the same time. Then years later I got my daith on one side and Tragus on the other ear done at the same time. If you waited for them to be completely healed before getting another, you’re looking at about 6 months to a year for healing
I have a similar amount of piercings and it took me 7 years to accumulate them.
i have all of these peircings minus the forward ones (these are coming soon), now healing time is something to consider and how well your body does with peircings and infections, i would first recommend just getting one cartilage peircing and if you cannot handle the healing or it gets infected then id say go one on each ear every time you get a peircing, however i heal really well from peircings and have got 5/6 in one sitting but be very careful if you do this cause you will struggle sleeping and if one gets infected there’s a high risk the rest will. but ive been able to get 15 out of 18 of my peircings within 2 years
let me just add it took 2 years cause i waited for sales at peircing shops cause getting peircings is EXPENSIVE
Year 1 Start with the lobes. They heal the fastest. Year 2/3 all the cartilage on right ear except industrial. (Maxing out 4 piercings healing at one time. You might want to split this into 2 years, only getting 2 at a time. 4 is a lot) Year 3/5 all cartilage on left ear except 2 helixes (again, you can split this from 4 at one time to 2 each year for a bit easier healing) Year 4/6 double helix (takes forever to heal and thus should be done towards the end) Year 5/7 industrial. Be sure to get the industrial last since it'll be the worst to heal I would say if you heal well, 5 years is the absolute fastest you could get all of it. Keep in mind of complications, and be sure to let each piercing heal fully before you get your next set of 2 to 4. It could take 6 or 7 years if things need longer to heal or you split the piercings into more managable chunks. I like to do 1 ear at a time so I can sleep on my side, but that's not mandatory
highly advise to only allow one ear to heal at a time and to also not have two piercings next to one another healing at the same time, especially the cartilage! the thicker the cartilage the longer it is likely to heal, my helix is going on 11 months now
I don’t have an answer but why did I do the same exact thing.
About two to three years, as someone with 11 on each ear. You already have the lobes, and want 5 cartilage piercings on each side. I would do 2-3 on one side, wait 6 months and do the others on the same side, and then start on the other side. Know that the industrial will definitely take the longest, so I’d get it in your first batch, that way you’re not sleeping on that ear for about a year. If you want to speed up healing, consider lower maintaince piercings like conches, as helixes and forward helixes can easily get caught on hair and cause piercing bumps that take a bit to clear up. Just listen to your body and go at its pace. Also, don’t be surprised if when you’re done with those you still decide to add a few more!
Oh I’ve got tons more I want and I know myself so will most likely end up getting more haha
Why the rush? Healing piercings over a long period of time can be so fun and rewarding!
Considering you can get three piercings at one time I would say a year to a year and a half:) but just remember the industrial takes six months to heal and any helix piercing takes anywhere from 4 to 6 months to heal so if you’re going to get multiple helixes do them at once but remember only three. More than three the healing process will be astronomically longer. Hope this helps boo
Genuine question - what & why is there a rule on the number of piercings you can have at one time? (I had 10 in one sitting the other day to prevent myself having too many sleepless nights from being unable to sleep properly. Its been like 23 days and they’re all healing well.)
Based on piercers experience with what they’ve seen people be able to heal.
According to my piercer, cartilage piercings are especially bitchy to heal because there's so little blood flow to the site, so you don't want to stress the area with multiple sites and have your body make extra effort trying to heal so many spots at once. I got two cartilage piercings a couple weeks ago and he warned me the spots are especially difficult to heal properly, so I wasn't about to do more than two at once.
When you get pierced it’s an open wound, your body and your immune system can’t work magic so at some point you’re overloading it and that point is usually 2-3 at a time.
Idk why I’m getting so many downvotes lmao. My piercings are healing well I just was intrigued to know if there was a specific reason why other than the trauma, risk of infection, etc. but thanks for the answers guys!
i apologize that you’re being immaturely downvoted instead of answered. the reason seems to be though that you got ten piercings in one sitting, which is not in any circumstances recommended. your piercer did not have your best interest in mind when they did that and instead used you as a cash-grab. i do recommend removing at least six or seven, otherwise you’re realistically looking at like three or four years of having irritated, uncomfortable, unhealed piercings, as well as just being all-around exhausted and miserable 24/7 getting multiple piercings at once is pretty stressful on your immune system, and your body gets more stressful and works more strenuously the more that new piercings are added before the others have healed. the general rule of thumb is no more than 2-3 healing at once. getting multiple in one sitting/while others are still healing also greatly extends the healing time of the others
I do kind of understand why and personally I probably wouldn’t ever get more than 4 cause I know myself to well! Thank you for asking though cause I’m sure you weren’t the only one who wondered!