With so many various types of ear piercings available, it’s easy to become completely overwhelmed. You’ve come to the correct place if you’ve been thinking about having a helix piercing for some time or if this is the first time you’ve heard of it.
Whenever you picture a cartilage piercing, you generally think of the hugely popular helix piercing. The helix piercing, which is located in the top cartilage of the ear, is often confused with other piercing styles, such as auricle as well as conch cartilage piercings. So, continue reading to figure out all you need to know about it.
1. What is a Helix Piercing?
A helix piercing is any piercing performed to the top cartilage of the ear; nevertheless, there are many types of helix piercings. Because your top cartilage provides a large playroom for piercings, you should consider carefully where you would like your helix piercing to be placed before seeing your piercer. Your piercer can offer advice, but the key determining element of a helix piercing site is your desire, thus it’s ultimately up to you.
2. What are the Different Kinds of Helix Piercings?
As if there weren’t already enough possibilities to customize the helix piercing, the higher cartilage provides ample area for helix piercing modifications. A basic helix piercing is performed in the outside upper cartilage; however, you may also obtain forward backward, double, and triple helix piercings.
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Single Forward Helix Piercing:
A forward helix is located in the top cartilage of your ear, just before it turns and connects with your temple. Forward helix cartilage studs with tiny charms or diamonds are popular. It looks fantastic when coupled with other helix-piercing types to form a chain of jewelry that lines the outside of the ear. The double triple front helix piercings are also possible.
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Double or Triple Helix Piercing:
The piercing of either a double, triple, or even quadrupled helix is also fairly common. These varieties, as the name suggests, consist of several helices piercing along the ear. While the conventional helix method entails piercing the top outer cartilage once, dual and tripled helix piercings are when you get three or more piercings located in the same place, right above each other.
This is primarily a concern about the number of piercings you have within the same ear. Some people enjoy combining several helix piercings with the upper lobe, auricle, and single forward helix piercings to form a lengthy chain of jewelry that runs the length of the ear.
There is no limit to the number of piercings you may have along your tissue; just make sure that there is sufficient space between the jewelry to securely alter your jewelry while preserving the health of the ear. If you desire several piercings, it’s best to have them one at a time such that you only need to heal one at a time.
3. How to Prepare for Helix Piercing?
3.1 Choose a Piercing Shop:
One of the initial steps is to locate a reputable piercing store. Whatever experience you have with prior earrings, a helix is a step up. You desire to have your cartilage piercings done by a professional. Inadequate training might result in infection, injury, or an unsightly piercing. Do not use a piercing pistol to penetrate your helix.
3.2 Consider Some Jewelry Designs:
We’ll go into more depth about this later, but for now, keep a few thoughts in mind about the trends and styles that fit you best. When you pick a Piercing business, you receive the benefit that all piercings receive from a professional store.
3.3 Eat and Drink Plenty of Water:
You don’t want to go to a piercing while you’re hungry. Have a nutritious meal at least 2 hours before your helix piercing. This maintains your blood sugar stable and prevents dizziness, lightheadedness, or fainting. To maintain safety and sterility, carry separately wrapped food, such as a juice box.
3.4 Avoiding Medications, Painkillers, and Alcohol Before Piercing:
It’s tempting for a nervous pierce to calm themselves with such a beverage before the needle. But consuming alcohol before such a perforation is not a good idea. It causes profuse bleeding and bruising because it thins the blood. Also, consuming alcohol in the system raises your risk of edema, infection, and discomfort. It’s advisable to avoid drinking in the days following a piercing.
Medications and pain relievers might also have an impact on the piercing. As a result, you should prevent them as well. If you are using prescription medications, you should speak with your doctor. If you’re taking antibiotics, it’s better to wait until your prescription is ended. If you’re unwell, reschedule your piercing.
3.5 Relax and Stay Calm:
It’s normal to be nervous before getting a piercing but try to remain calm. Maintaining a calm demeanor lowers your limbs, making the piercing simpler for both you and the piercer.
You have a lot of options, starting with what you’re doing right now. Studying your piercing might help you relax. You can enter with confidence and awareness of what is going to occur. It’s an excellent approach to gaining mental control.
4. How Much Does a Helix Piercing Cost?
Your helix piercing will most likely cost between $40 and $50. If you visit a retailer with a perforation machine, the price will most likely be approximately $20; nevertheless, this is not suggested.
With any piercing, you should never visit a piercer who employs a piercing gun. Never, never, ever, ever use a piercing gun for cartilage piercings. Blunt force injuries to the cartilage cause problems like cauliflower ear. A piercing pistol operates by piercing the skin with jewelry, which is the definition of blunt force.
You can enter with confidence and awareness of what is going to occur. It’s an excellent approach to gaining mental control. Also, piercing guns harbor more germs than needles. You must utilize a needle if you want the cartilage to repair nicely.
5. Can Conventional Earrings be Worn in a Helix Piercing?
Any earring may be worn in a helix perforation as much as the length and size are correct. The actual size of the studs you pick is crucial since normal gauges for helix perforations are 16 to 18 gauge, and typical lengths are 3/16′′, 1/4′′, 5/16′′, and 4/8″.
Yet, if the artist used a needle rather than a gun, the ear piercing could be the exact length of a helix puncture. (If you’re unsure, remember that the larger the gauge size, the smaller the gap.) Nonetheless, labret studs are the finest helix studs for a fresh piercing. They feature a straight post with a flat back. They’re comfortable to wear both during the day and at bedtime while the puncture recovers.
6. How do I Pick a Good Helix Jewelry?
For your first helix piercing, you’ll require jewelry. Therefore, it is good to consider what body jewelry you might wish to wear once the piercing heals. It’s all about healing with your initial helix necklace. You want a piercing that will not bother it. You also want jewelry that will not readily catch or move. A band, for example, is a bad choice for first jewelry since it moves a lot, aggravating a new piercing, and it is caught on a brush.
But, once your piercing has healed completely, you will have more alternatives. You can be more daring with your jewelry selection. This is the time you may use a ring instead of a barbell or stud. It’s a good idea to go in not just with the jewelry you want the piercer to place that day, but also with a concept of what sort of piercing jewelry you want afterward.
There are a few typical jewelry styles to consider and both are safe for first use.
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Simple Stud:
A simple stud is just a charming, understated way to dress up your helix piercing. Tiny jewels adorn the front of your ear, sparkling without being overpowering. You may also express yourself with wonderfully charming charms.
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Captive Bead Rings:
Captive bead rings look great in the helix piercing as well. The hoop and bead combo blends the best of each. You can select a plain metal bead or a beautiful bead such as opals, Baltic amber, or indeed the pearl
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Helix Hoop Earrings:
Helix hoop earrings are one of the most popular types of helix jewelry. Seamless hoops are ideal for a clean, uncluttered appearance. Many people who have many ear piercings choose this design because it complements the surrounding jewelry without disturbing the ears. Clickers and segment rings, which are a bit simpler to place into the ear, also provide a smooth look.
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Curved and Round Barbells:
Curved and round barbells are also excellent choices for helix piercings. These styles appear to be popular among folks who wear many bead jewelry types in their ears.
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Ear Cuffs:
Only cartilage piercings have ear cuffs. They similarly loop around the ear as hoops, although they are frequently thicker and more elaborate.
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Cartilage Shields:
Cartilage shields are bigger pieces of jewelry that usually serve as the focal point of your ear jewelry. These beautiful pieces hang from the side of your ear, protecting a huge section of your cartilage.
7. How Painful is it to Get Helix Piercings?
Cartilage piercings are often not painful. It depends depend on the exact site of the helix puncture, but you should just feel a minor pinch. The piercing procedure is rapid because the tissue in the helix pierce location is very thin.
You will experience throbbing, swelling, and minor bleeding for the first few days following the piercing. These symptoms are typical in moderation. See a medical practitioner if you have a lot of them.
Cartilage piercings are prone to issues such as cartilage lumps, so keep an eye on your piercing while it heals and avoids adjusting the jewelry. Tissue recovers differently than smooth skin and is readily injured throughout the healing process.
8. How Long Does a Helix Piercing Take to Heal?
Cartilage piercing ings heal more slowly than other types of piercings. Anticipate a 3 to 6-month recovery period. Because everyone is different and the helix heals at various rates, you should consult with your piercer before altering your jewelry or discontinuing aftercare methods.
It’s also here that cartilage and lobe piercings differ significantly. While a lobe piercing may heal in about 1 month, a helix hole may take a little longer. Sadly, because everyone is different, it’s difficult to offer a precise recovery time. Anticipate the piercing to hurt, get red, and maybe enlarge or bleed (initially).
9. How Should I Take Care of my Jewelry?
9.1 Proper Cleaning:
Keeping the area surrounding the helix earrings clean, like with other piercings, is the most critical strategy to avoid infection. Take caution when cleaning. Similar to any other healing piercing, a saline bath or soak should be used 2 – 3 times each day.
9.2 Saline Bath/Soak:
Similar to any other healing piercing, a saline bath or soak should be used 2 – 3 times each day. Put a brine cotton ball against your incision and keep it motionless for 3 – 5 minutes. When the soak is finished, gently pat the skin dry with a clean towel.
9.3 Precaution from Infection:
While cleaning a helix piercing, take additional caution not to twist the jewelry too much.
While you may be tempted to start toying with your latest arrival, wait until the perforation has recovered before twisting or changing the jewelry, as this might hinder normal healing and potentially lead to infection. Shifting the jewelry might harm the surrounding skin, resulting in rough scars.
10. What is the Best Helix Piercing Aftercare?
Due to the risks of difficulties while mending, the helix piercing necessitates specific precautions to ignore situations like cartilage lumps or scarring. These are a few things to consider as you heal.
10.1 Make Sure the Piercing is Dry:
Every new piercing should avoid moisture, but cartilage piercings are especially vulnerable. Bacteria are attracted to wetness, so if you don’t properly dry the hole after it has been introduced to fluids, it may become infected. Cartilage infections can result in cartilage lumps that are difficult to remove once they emerge.
10.2 Avoid Moving the Jewelry:
Cartilage damage is more visible than skin injury in other places of the body. Whereas any piercing can cause skin irritation from excessive jewelry movement, tissue piercings are less merciful. Take additional care not to disturb the jewelry when disinfecting your new helix piercing. Make every effort to avoid sleeping on the jewelry. and avoid wearing caps or other headgear that could touch or disturb the jewelry while it heals.
10.3 Use Clean Pillows:
You don’t want to understand how much germs, clogged pores, and other icky stuff is in your pillows. Consider our word for it: you should consider purchasing a new cushion to use while recuperating. Moreover, to guarantee hygiene, replace your pillowcase every night. If you don’t want to wash your pillowcases every night, you can wrap your cushion with a clean t-shirt.
11. Why Shouldn’t You Get a Helix Piercing?
When it comes to helix piercing, we’ve discussed extensively cartilage lumps and associated scarring. One of the lumps to be careful of is keloids. Keloid scars can occur everywhere that cartilage has been injured, however, they are more common in cases of cartilage injury. These are mostly hereditary conditions, and if you get one, it needs to be medically removed, and you will almost certainly always have a scar.
If you are susceptible to keloids genetically, then this piercing is not suitable for you. Make cautious to visit a doctor before getting any piercings; keloids can occur everywhere you get pierced.
If you have limited self-control regarding subtly tampering with new jewelry, you should probably reconsider having a cartilage piercing. Cartilage is more readily injured, and you should avoid touching your jewelry while it heals.
12. Conclusion
Helix piercings are a popular form of body modification that involves piercing the cartilage of the upper ear. This type of piercing is a great way to express one’s individuality and add a unique touch to their appearance. However, it’s important to understand the risks and aftercare involved with this type of piercing.
One of the biggest risks associated with helix piercings is infection. Because the cartilage of the ear doesn’t have a good blood supply, it can be more difficult for the body to fight off infection. It’s important to keep the area clean and follow proper aftercare instructions, such as avoiding swimming and touching the piercing with dirty hands.
Despite these risks, many people find that helix piercings are a great way to express their individuality and add a unique touch to their appearance. By following proper aftercare instructions and seeking professional piercing services, individuals can minimize the risks associated with this type of piercing and enjoy their new look.
In conclusion, helix piercings are a popular form of body modification that can be a great way to express individuality. However, it’s important to understand the risks and follow proper aftercare instructions to minimize the potential for infection or other complications. With proper care, a helix piercing can be a fun and unique addition to anyone’s style.
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