How to care for your helix piercing: tips and advice

You've done it! You've taken the plunge and now have a new helix piercing.

I bet you felt a sense of achievement when you left your piercer's studio. Am I right?

But there's a small problem: you can't quite remember how to care for your helix piercing. And you're worried about getting something wrong… and ending up with an ear infection.

Luckily, you're in the right place 😉

If you're feeling a little lost between your piercer's advice and the information online, here are the 5 most important aftercare tips for your piercing.

Let's get started!

Piercing aftercare: why does it matter, and for how long?

If you're reading this article, you probably already have a cartilage piercing.

But just to make sure we're talking about the same thing, a quick reminder never hurts 😉

The helix is the cartilage along the outer rim of your ear. It's quite a large area, extending from the top of the lobe towards the base of the skull.

A lovely place to combine several pieces of jewellery and let your creativity shine once your piercings have healed (and I bet that's what drew you to it)!

Although it's a stylish, popular piercing, it isn't the easiest to care for: it can frequently catch on things such as hair, phones and headphones.

It's therefore important to care for it to help reduce the risk of infection and support your helix piercing's healing process, which can take time and varies from person to person.

Keep up your aftercare until your helix piercing is fully healed, even if it already looks settled. Once your cartilage has healed, it should have its usual colour and no longer be swollen or painful. These signs alone do not confirm that it has fully healed.

Taking good care of your ear can support healing and help reduce the risk of infections, which can be difficult to treat. It doesn't guarantee a shorter healing time.

To find out more, keep reading 🙂

5 essential aftercare tips for your helix piercing

Here they are: 5 key tips for caring for your helix piercing.

And guess what? There's a bonus waiting for you at the end 😉

Let's get straight to it.

1. Clean your ear every day

Let's start with the basics: cleaning your ear daily.

As with any cartilage piercing, good aftercare is essential.

The aim? To keep the wound clean so your body can carry out its own healing process.

Follow your piercer's aftercare advice. For gentle rinsing, use sterile 0.9% saline intended for wound care and avoid harsh products or over-cleaning.

Be gentle and simply dab your helix with a compress. Avoid moving the jewellery.

2. Don't touch or play with your piercing

The second tip is just as important: avoid playing with or touching your helix piercing, except when cleaning it.

Yes! If you keep fiddling with your piercing, you could delay healing or, worse, develop an infection.

• With that in mind, take these precautions:
• Don't pick at crusts
• Don't sleep on your piercing
• Tie your hair back
• Be careful with activities that could knock or rub the piercing, especially contact sports
• Don't wear headphones or earphones

3. Don't go swimming

Because water can contain bacteria, you'll need to skip swimming while your piercing heals.

Avoid submerging your healing piercing during this stage.

You can still shower, but be gentle around the area.

Avoid submerging your healing piercing in the sea, a lake or a swimming pool: these waters aren't sterile (see the APP's aftercare recommendations).

4. Wait before changing your jewellery

Ouch… this tip probably won't be what most of you want to hear.

But I need to set the record straight!

Before changing your jewellery, you need to wait until your helix piercing has fully healed. If you're unsure, have it checked by a professional piercer. Solstice catalogue jewellery is intended for healed piercings.

In some cases, jewellery can be changed earlier if your piercer handles it.

But please don't attempt a change yourself that could cause bleeding.

5. Keep your routine simple

Still with me? We're nearly finished, don't worry 😉

The final tip for helix piercing aftercare is a simple one: keep your routine consistent.

Stick to the basics and avoid habits that make you knock, snag or neglect the piercing.

Keep things simple: stick to gentle cleaning and avoid piling extra products onto the area.

You'll thank me later!

Bonus: supporting healing

Alongside these aftercare steps, avoid applying irritating products to the wound.

Essential oils aren't part of the recommended routine for a healing piercing.

If your helix remains irritated, ask a professional piercer to check your jewellery and aftercare routine. If you think it may be infected, seek prompt medical advice.

Conclusion (and a surprise)

If you're reading this, thank you! You're among the readers who make it all the way to the end.

Everyone at Solstice hopes you've enjoyed this article and now have a clearer idea of how to care for your helix ear piercing.

Wait! Don't go just yet.

I've got a gift for you 🙂

Here's a complete guide bringing together everything you need to know about ear piercings (click below to download it):

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