Are you tired of your piercing and do you want to retire it? And how long does it take for your piercing to close up completely? Read our blog post, in which we will tell you more about closing up and caring for your closed up piercing.
Why close up a piercing?
There are many reasons for closing up your piercing. Sometimes it is no longer convenient because of your work, or you have started exercising intensively and your piercings are in the way while practicing this sport. Whatever the reason may be why you choose to remove your piercings, closing up often takes some time and a certain approach that can differ per piercing.
How long does it take?
The time it takes for a piercing to close up depends on a number of things. The age of your piercing is important here. The older the piercing, the more difficult it will be to close up. The size is also important, because larger piercings close up less quickly than smaller piercings. The location is also important. A well-healed cartilage piercing will not close as quickly as, for example, a tongue piercing or lip piercing. The softer the tissue, the better your chances of closing. For example, lips, tongue and nipples are a lot softer than a nose piercing or helix piercing. These body parts also have a lot better blood supply, which also helps to restore the skin around your piercing. In addition, it can also vary greatly from person to person; some piercings close faster than others. How quickly your piercing closes is therefore certainly not an easy question to answer. But in most cases, a little patience will get you a long way.
Closing various piercings
The speed at which your piercing closes can vary per piercing. For example, a newly placed helix piercing usually closes quite quickly. If your helix piercing or other cartilage piercing has been in place for a while and has healed well, this can take quite a while. Closing a septum piercing also varies quite a bit. An older septum piercing may never close completely, while a younger septum piercing will close without too many problems. Fortunately, you generally can't see the hole in a septum piercing, so you don't have to worry about that. Piercings that are placed through soft tissue have the greatest chance of closing completely again. Think of the closing of your tongue piercing, lip piercing, nipple piercing or genital piercings.
In some cases, it is possible that your piercing will not close at all and you will be left with a fairly visible hole. In such a case, you can visit a specialist who can close the hole with a small surgical procedure. You can ask a doctor or specialist clinic for this, but there are also piercing shops that can help you further with this.
Caring for your retired piercing
Before you remove your piercing jewelry, it is important that your piercing is not irritated or inflamed. This can be difficult if you want to get rid of an annoying helix piercing, but if you remove your piercing jewelry while there is a chance of infection, the infection can become trapped because the piercing closes up. This can cause a lot of misery. If you have any doubts, always contact your piercer or GP before removing the jewelry.
Once your jewelry is out of your piercing, you can wash the piercing thoroughly with a mild piercing soap (for example the green bottle from Easypiercing). After that, it is best to leave the piercing alone as much as possible. If you want to close up an older piercing and help it close up a bit, you can massage your piercing every day with jojoba oil, for example. This stimulates blood circulation and can help your skin recover.
In general, you don't have to do much else, except just wait and see if your piercing closes up properly.
Reopening a closed piercing
Did you take out your piercing, but still regret it? Then in some cases you can try to open the piercing. Always do this with the help of an insertion pin and piercing lubricant and do not just fiddle with a needle or piercing jewelry in the piercing hole! You can damage the fistula (the piece of healed skin around your piercing) and easily get an infection. You can order an insertion pin and lubricant from our shop. Do you not dare to do it yourself? Then go to your piercer, they can often help you on your way. Treat your piercing as a fresh piercing for the first few days afterwards and keep the piercing clean. If everything went well, you can enjoy your piercing as usual again quite quickly!
Why close up a piercing?
There are many reasons for closing up your piercing. Sometimes it is no longer convenient because of your work, or you have started exercising intensively and your piercings are in the way while practicing this sport. Whatever the reason may be why you choose to remove your piercings, closing up often takes some time and a certain approach that can differ per piercing.
How long does it take?
The time it takes for a piercing to close up depends on a number of things. The age of your piercing is important here. The older the piercing, the more difficult it will be to close up. The size is also important, because larger piercings close up less quickly than smaller piercings. The location is also important. A well-healed cartilage piercing will not close as quickly as, for example, a tongue piercing or lip piercing. The softer the tissue, the better your chances of closing. For example, lips, tongue and nipples are a lot softer than a nose piercing or helix piercing. These body parts also have a lot better blood supply, which also helps to restore the skin around your piercing. In addition, it can also vary greatly from person to person; some piercings close faster than others. How quickly your piercing closes is therefore certainly not an easy question to answer. But in most cases, a little patience will get you a long way.
Closing various piercings
The speed at which your piercing closes can vary per piercing. For example, a newly placed helix piercing usually closes quite quickly. If your helix piercing or other cartilage piercing has been in place for a while and has healed well, this can take quite a while. Closing a septum piercing also varies quite a bit. An older septum piercing may never close completely, while a younger septum piercing will close without too many problems. Fortunately, you generally can't see the hole in a septum piercing, so you don't have to worry about that. Piercings that are placed through soft tissue have the greatest chance of closing completely again. Think of the closing of your tongue piercing, lip piercing, nipple piercing or genital piercings.
In some cases, it is possible that your piercing will not close at all and you will be left with a fairly visible hole. In such a case, you can visit a specialist who can close the hole with a small surgical procedure. You can ask a doctor or specialist clinic for this, but there are also piercing shops that can help you further with this.
Caring for your retired piercing
Before you remove your piercing jewelry, it is important that your piercing is not irritated or inflamed. This can be difficult if you want to get rid of an annoying helix piercing, but if you remove your piercing jewelry while there is a chance of infection, the infection can become trapped because the piercing closes up. This can cause a lot of misery. If you have any doubts, always contact your piercer or GP before removing the jewelry.
Once your jewelry is out of your piercing, you can wash the piercing thoroughly with a mild piercing soap (for example the green bottle from Easypiercing). After that, it is best to leave the piercing alone as much as possible. If you want to close up an older piercing and help it close up a bit, you can massage your piercing every day with jojoba oil, for example. This stimulates blood circulation and can help your skin recover.
In general, you don't have to do much else, except just wait and see if your piercing closes up properly.
Reopening a closed piercing
Did you take out your piercing, but still regret it? Then in some cases you can try to open the piercing. Always do this with the help of an insertion pin and piercing lubricant and do not just fiddle with a needle or piercing jewelry in the piercing hole! You can damage the fistula (the piece of healed skin around your piercing) and easily get an infection. You can order an insertion pin and lubricant from our shop. Do you not dare to do it yourself? Then go to your piercer, they can often help you on your way. Treat your piercing as a fresh piercing for the first few days afterwards and keep the piercing clean. If everything went well, you can enjoy your piercing as usual again quite quickly!
