Piercing my ears.....question

[robindee36]

Ok, enough reading about piercings. I'm going to do it and retire my clip on collection. Only one question......HELP.

Since I am PT, the wise and sage advice of the forum is requested in choosing earrings appropriate for guy mode. Well, some levity is OK too.

Understanding the initial healing period requires 24/7 wear, I need options for selecting these starter posts (believe that's the proper term). There do seem to be choices in these.

Once things are healed, what do the girls here, with pierced ears, wear when in drab? I have seen rings, studs and all varied sorts of options. Since I have no intentions of wearing an eye patch and carrying a parrot, something on the diminutive side seems appropriate (I think?)

And, yes I will post something once the deed is done and I recover That is unless convinced otherwise.

I am so excited about this.

Thanks girls and hugs, Robin

[boink]

I just got my ears pierced a couple weeks ago (should be totally healed up by the end of this month!), and went to a professional piercing place where they put in simple metal barbells for all new piercings. There are definitely studs out there that are a little more subtle, but these are pretty unobtrusive as earrings go and have a good degree of movement (which makes cleaning easier as they are healing). I have shoulder length hair, so my pierced ears might not be apparent as on another guy, but for what it's worth I haven't had a single (negative) comment on them, and by and large very few people seemed to notice that I got them pierced at all.

Once I can change things out I'll probably still wear these, or other simple studs, most of the time. You can get clear/nude colored studs too that are more subtle.

[FeliciaCDSNJ]

I wear studs, small hoops, huggies (yes there are earrings called huggies lol), and sometimes I'll wear dangle earrings. For the hoops, small ones are okay, just don't get large ones when in drab. Dangle earrings are still like walking a tightrope, then again the ones I wear have the New York Yankees logo on them lol.

[AllieSF]

It takes 6 weeks plus for most people to heal completely so that when changing earrings and poking the pointed end through that moving target small hole you do not re-open up the healed surface. I know because that has happened to me. Actually, I have been wearing earrings for about 4 years now and just this past week got an small infection in one hole because I couldn't get the pointing section through and I opened up the inner skin. I am using hydrogen peroxide a couple times a day until it is healed.

You can get some clear plastic studs, I have heard, or use a thick clear fishing to keep them open. But, I think someone would eventually see that and then you have more explaining to do. The piercing shop (if pierced and not punched through like at Claire's) will recommend surgical steel, which I think is stainless steel and not shiny at all. That is what they gave me. Mine had a screw in crystal top, so they were quite obvious. You can get very plain little round balls too. The problem with these is that once you take them out you almost need an expert to help you screw the top back onto those very tiny fine threads of the studs.

So, my recommendation is to get those plain Jane surgical steel studs with a simple ball end or whatever you like, leave them in for the 6-8 weeks and follow their after piercing recommendations on keeping them clean with alcohol and a sea salt rinse, and later change them out to whatever type of studs that you want to wear on a daily basis. That means you have to own up to getting them in the first place. Just tell the curious that you got them because you always wanted them and you are definitely not getting any younger. My reason was that and that I had missed my mid-life crisis and am trying to relive what I had missed.

For the last year I have used a smallish crystal (sparkly diamond type) stud, switching them out for dangly earrings every time I go out. I have little gold and silver balls that I sometimes switch them out to also. What you wear on a daily basis is what you think that you can defend (own) to others. Good luck and enjoy. I really enjoy mine and all the options I have when going out dressed.

[Kimberly Renee]

Your personality will determine which earrings you choose. I'm still on my starters. I got 14mm gold ball studs. Pretty but don't attract a lot of attention. I think the cz diamonds are more noticeable but still doable in guy mode. I went to a mall store since the piercing parlor I went to only offered small hoops as starters and I wanted studs.

I have no real idea what I will choose to wear once I can start changing out.

[Eryn]

My daughter and I had ours pierced at Piercing Pagoda and they offered the option of tiny hoop piercing earrings.

http://www.pagoda.com/product/index....uctId=13070397

They are very small and just curve around your earlobe. They are small enough to be appropriate for males.

The advantage explained to me was that the hoops promote quicker healing and allow for easier cleaning. Rather than grabbing the stud to rotate them you just flick them back and forth now and then. They are made of 14K gold so there is a smaller risk of a metal sensitivity.

Once I was healed (I gave it six weeks) I went to Claire's and bought a card of 20 crystal studs in a rainbow of colors for $20. They are small enough to be worn in drab and at a dollar per pair I don't worry about losing them. Even if I can't be en femme I can at least match my earrings to my shirt You can also get cards of ball studs in gold, silver, copper, pearl, etc of different sizes. There is no lack of studs to wear in male mode!

[Denise_Lafame]

Oh just go do it Robin. I've had pierced ears for just about 30 years and wear some sort of earrings every day drab or dressed. Since I retired I wear a variety of small hoops in drab and usually dangles dressed. Few people care or comment and if they do, I just consider the source and ignore them. Quit making a big deal about it Robin.

Denise

[robindee36]

Thank you Eryn. I just visited the Piercing Pagoda web site and watched the video. If that little girl can do it so can this big one. There is one right here in the local mall.

Your idea of the tiny hoops is very appealing both from an aesthetics and care stand point. I did not like their studs, but would have lived with them during the healing. But these little hoops are a good metallurgy and a shape I would consider in drab.

Thank you so much.

Hugs, Robin

[MsCheri]

Welcome to the world of endless possibilities for earrings now! I had my pierced way back in like 96 and no one notices (or cares) in guy mode just wear some close to the lobe hoops!

[stephene513]

You want to hear a funny story? I had a girl pierce my ear in the 80' and I guess didnt let it heal, A week latter went to sleep and could not find the earing, it was inside my ear. ewww. I would always sugest a pro. Anyways new here and new at this could always use some friends.

[KayR]

Hi
I had my ears pierced at Claires here in Great Britain for my 63rd birthday. I'm now almost 68, and have worn all sorts of drop earrings when I'm dressed, but always little studs when in drab. I can leave them out for say, 2 weeks, but then the holes start to heal up, and it gets more difficult to put earrings in. So if I feel I don't want to wear the studs - perhaps if the drab suit I'm wearing makes them seem incongruous - I make a point of putting the studs back in even for just an hour or two. And like others have said here; welcome to the world of millions of beautiful earrings!!

[Eryn]

Thank you Eryn. I just visited the Piercing Pagoda web site and watched the video. If that little girl can do it so can this big one. There is one right here in the local mall.

If you'd like the detailed story of my experience I wrote it up here: http://www.crossdressers.com/forums/...ed!&highlight=

[Nikki A.]

I had mine done a few years ago. I wear a stud in drab although I have worn a small hoop at times also. Usually in drab I'll wear one earring and switch it from one ear to the other just to keep the hole open.
Of course I will wear a hoops or a danglies on the drive home just to feel good.

[Erica Marie]

For your safest bet. Go with solid gold incase you are sensitive to different metals. Then either pick small gold ball or a small stone ( diamond ). I wear small diamond studs in male mode everyday.

[ronny0]

It takes 6 weeks plus for most people to heal completely so that when changing earrings and poking the pointed end through that moving target small hole you do not re-open up the healed surface. I know because that has happened to me. Actually, I have been wearing earrings for about 4 years now and just this past week got an small infection in one hole because I couldn't get the pointing section through and I opened up the inner skin. I am using hydrogen peroxide a couple times a day until it is healed.

Once your ears heal, cut the point off the starter set, round the end so it is not sharp

It took my ears about 4 months to fully heal. Started off bad at the mall, girl didn't get the stud through the ear on the first try.
Ear got infected over and over.
That was about 4 years ago, I can go a few weeks w/o anything in the holes, have not had any problems. Though I do make it a point to wear something every so often just to be sure they don't close up.

My first set was a really small gold hoop.

[giuseppina]

For your starters, something in implantable grade titanium is the least likely to cause allergic reactions because it has negligible nickel content. Nickel is a common allergen.

Your starters need not be posts. Captive bead rings and barbells are available at piercing shops where they generally use hollow needles to pierce your ear. The needles are considerably sharper (sharpened with a laser) and less likely to cause undue harm than earrings installed with a gun.

Six to eight weeks is the initial healing period, during which you should not remove the starters, not even for cleaning. You should receive written material on how to care for your pierced ears.

Complete healing requires four to six months, possibly more, during which earrings must be worn continuously. It's not a good idea to wear earrings significantly heavier than the starters during this period.

I don't remember if it is in a post above or another recent or current thread, but hydrogen peroxide and alcohol are not recommended for sterilisation of newly pierced ears. The reasons are available from an internet search.

[Cheryl T]

When mine were done I wore the little gold ball starter earrings during healing. Following that I immediately replaced them with diamond studs which I wear all the time. They are not huge diamonds, maybe 1/3 carat total and no one ever says anything about them.

As others have said it's about a 2 month healing before you can be swapping them on a daily basis. This lets the "tunnel" form so that you are not continually tearing it and delaying the healing process. Heavy earrings, especially those with wires should be worn sparingly the first six months, then you're on your own.

Enjoy.

[ringedjohn]

I first pierced my ears over 50 year's ago. I now have 3 totally healed piercings in each lobe. I wear a single stud all the time in public. and up to five more earrings, of all styles in private.

.