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Questions & Answers

Many jewelry stores, beauty salons, pharmacies, hairdressers, and other stores use state-of-the art STUDEX instruments and our sterile piercing studs. To find a STUDEX partner near you, go to your country’s STUDEX Partner Search. Or contact our team in your local office directly: STUDEX in Europe and worldwide.
Alternatively, for Austria, you can send us an
email or call us at +43-5523-56189-0. We’ll be glad to help you.

No, ear piercing specialists who use our STUDEX state-of-the-art instruments cannot use other earrings. With STUDEX precision instruments, the ear is actually pierced with a sterile piercing stud. We ship these piercings studs to our partners in sterile packaging. The studs and earring backs (butterflies) are inserted into the instrument. When piercing your ears with STUDEX instruments, the studs are placed in your ear and the earring backs are positioned at the same time, thus securely fastening the studs. The new ear piercing is not touched unnecessarily. Our instruments only work with our matching STUDEX piercing earrings. For more information on our ear piercing systems, check out Safe Ear Piercing.

Compared to some of the older medical studs, the piercing studs for our STUDEX ear piercing systems offer several advantages:

  • They come in sterile packaging and thus help you avoid infections of your new ear piercing.
  • You can choose from different materials.
  • With STUDEX, “medical studs” doesn’t mean “boring looking studs”—our piercing studs look great. With our variety of stunning designs, you’ll look stylish right from the start.

For earlobes, leave the piercing studs in your ear for at least 6 weeks continuously. For the cartilage area of your ear, leave them in for at least 12 weeks continuously. After 6 weeks (for earlobes) or 12 weeks (for cartilage) you can remove the piercing studs and wear other post-type earrings continuously.
Use only post-type earrings for the first 5 months (for earlobe) or 12 months (for cartilage) after piercing. The post should be surgical stainless steel or other hypoallergenic material. In order to avoid allergic reactions or complications, we recommend hypoallergenic earrings from the Sensitive by STUDEX or Sensitive for Kids collections. These earrings are not pointy at the end of the post and therefore better suited for everyday use after the first 6 or 12 weeks.
Your trusted Studex partner will also be glad to help you find other high-quality studs or earrings, for example real gold earrings, which will be good for your ears. For the cartilage area, we recommend barbells.

If you treat your new ear piercings well and take good care of them after piercing, you will enjoy them the most. Here’s our Care Advice.

Pricing will of course vary from store to store. At jewelry stores, beauty salons, pharmacies or other stores that use our state-of-the-art STUDEX instruments, the price for ear piercing is included in the price of the piercing studs. A decent price for professional ear piercing with sterile studs at a trained STUDEX partner’s store is around 30 Euros per pair, but depends on the material you choose.

This is one of the questions we’re being asked the most. With our state-of-the-art instruments, ear piercing is merely a matter of a few seconds. Most people say they only feel the slightest little pinch. With our STUDEX System75, you’ll barely notice that your new studs have just been placed in your ear. Even for kids this system is very well suited. That’s because our systems provide industry-leading technology, and our partners are very well trained. We’re proud to offer our customers the best ear piercing experience possible.

Taking good care of your new ear piercings is extremely important. Please read and follow our after piercing care advice. As parents, you’ll carry the responsibility for this or help remind bigger kids of their responsibilities.

This is a question parents ask us a lot. We’re glad to give you some facts and recommendations:

This is a difficult question to answer, since there is no “best” or “right” age for kids to have their ears pierced. STUDEX, with its ear piercing systems and earrings, has a presence in over 70 countries on 6 continents, and thus we know that there are many different points of view. You will find that every culture has a different answer to this question. In some cultures, such as Mexico or Italy, it is very common to have little girls’ ears pierced at baby age. In other cultures, you will find some who think kids shouldn’t have their ears pierced at all. In many countries we observe a trend towards more and more kids with ear piercings, especially if their parents, more frequently their mothers, wear earrings themselves. In general, there is an overall increase in ear piercings for kids worldwide.

We don’t tell parents what to do or what not to do. If parents ask us, we recommend to wait with ear piercings for their kids until they’ve received the most important vaccinations (such as their first D.P.T. shots). If you’re uncertain, consult your kid’s pediatrician. We would also recommend to wait until your kids express a wish for earrings themselves. Some kids want earrings at the age of 5, some at the age of 15, and some will never want earrings at all.

When you and your kids decide for ear piercings, do your child (and thus yourself) a favor and pick a store which uses state-of-the art STUDEX ear piercing instruments. Thus you can be sure to be offered the best quality. STUDEX is the leading brand for ear piercing systems worldwide. For kids we recommend our STUDEX System75. With this new, patented technology, kids will barely notice when their ears are pierced. In addition, the piercing process is virtually silent, so that kids aren’t startled. Our partners are well trained. Not only are our piercing studs sterile, but you and your child can select high-quality materials and really cute designs. For the very little ones, our Kids Line offers lovely first earrings with a pretty gift box.

If your child can help choose her or his earrings, she or he will focus on the nice earrings and less on the piercing process. Your wording is important too. Avoid frightening words such us “punching” or “gun”. Instead, say something like, “Let’s get your earrings.” The ear piercing specialist uses a “little earring instrument”. (The STUDEX System75 might be shaped like a gun, but the piercing process is much gentler.) Pick a quality store which uses STUDEX products. First, you might want to go to the store with your child and just look at the earrings. When you go back for the ear piercings on another day, your child will remember the friendly jeweler and feel more at home. You’ll probably remember this from doctor’s visits with your child: Many kids are a little scared of shots, even though they are just a little pinch. Compared to getting shots, ear piercing with our System75 is barely noticeable, even for kids.

Good after piercing care is extremely important. As parents, this is naturally your responsibility too. Please read and follow our after piercing care advice. Depending on your child’s age, explain to her or him how she or he can help her or his ears to heal quickly. Always make sure that the earring backs (butterflies) are not pushed too closely towards the ear piercing. They need to be positioned at the notch towards the end of the earring post to allow for air circulation.

We receive very positive feedback from parents who selected a STUDEX partner store for their kid’s ear piercings. Not only are they happy with the earrings, but also with the ear piercing experience. We’d appreciate if you’d like to share your experience with us, too.

You can avoid infections of your ears after piercing, if you choose sterile piercing studs and cleanse your ear piercings regularly. Also make sure that you don’t push the earring backs (butterflies) too closely towards the ear piercings. They need to sit towards the end of the earring post (STUDEX earrings have a little notch there) to allow for air circulation and thus promote the healing process. In addition, you should select studs made from materials that are good for your ears and comply with EU and FDA (U.S. Food & Drug Administration) health regulations. Our STUDEX piercing studs come in sterile packaging. These studs and all earrings from our STUDEX Sensitive and STUDEX Select lines are hypoallergenic and skin friendly and thus a great choice.

If, however, an infection should occur, you can use our STUDEX After Piercing Lotion, a moisturizing care product, which you’ll find at your trusted STUDEX partner’s store. We recommend to purchase 100 ml right away when having your ears pierced, as you’ll need this at least twice a day for 6 weeks (earlobes) or 12 weeks (cartilage) after piercing.

With new ear piercings, make sure to follow our after piercing care advice and cleanse your ears regularly.

With fully healed ear piercings, i.e. after wearing earrings continuously for 5 months (earlobe) or 12 months (cartilage) after piercing, you can remove your earrings for as long as you want, since fully healed ear piercings cannot grow back together. Before wearing your earrings again, you can clean them with STUDEX After Piercing Lotion.

If your ear piercings are fully healed and you’re having trouble wearing new earrings from other manufacturers, you might have an allergic reaction to that material. In that case, we recommend to remove those earrings and apply After Piercing Lotion until the infection has cleared up. Then you can wear earrings you know your ears will tolerate. You might want to test again at a later time if you are in fact allergic to the new earrings. If so, you should not wear them anymore and always make sure to select materials that are good for your ears.

Even if you’ve had ear piercings for a long time and are wearing earrings you’ve never had problems with, an infection of your ear piercing might still occur. This can happen through minor tears, which can for example be caused by clothing that got caught in your earrings when dressing. In that case you can also use STUDEX After Piercing Lotion to care for your ears. You might want to switch to smaller studs for a while, which you should clean with the lotion too before wearing.

Minor swelling and/or redness may occur immediately after piercing or later, for example when minor tears are caused—this is normal. This should settle within 48 hours provided that you follow our care advice.
If undue pain, swelling or redness occurs at any time, seek medical advice immediately.
Do not treat complications associated with ear cartilage piercings lightly! Failure to properly follow after care procedures or to seek medical advice, should a problem occur, may result in permanent scarring of the ear cartilage. Don’t hesitate in such circumstances—you will be glad and relieved having sought the care of a physician in a timely manner.

Note: As mentioned in our Terms of Use, these tips should not be viewed as medical advice. If you have medical questions or concerns, please consult your physician.

Ear piercings which are newly pierced or not fully healed would close, if you removed the studs or earrings. Therefore piercing studs should be worn continuously for 6 weeks (earlobes) or 12 weeks (ear cartilage).
It can take up to 5 months (earlobes) or 12 months (cartilage) until ear piercings are fully healed. During that time, use only post-type earrings, no hook earrings. The earring post should be made of surgical stainless steel or other hypoallergenic material. For the cartilage area we recommend barbells.

Once your ear piercings are fully healed, however, they cannot grow back together. The inside of the piercing channel will be covered by skin, which thus seals the “wound” caused by piercing the ear. Sometimes it may look like the piercing closed, since healed piercings usually excrete sebum, if you don’t wear earrings for a while. This is a thick white secretion, which is normal.

Stores using STUDEX ear piercing systems offer a pleasant environment and well trained specialists. With our ear piercing systems, ears are pierced with our specially designed piercing earrings, which can be worn every day. During the piercing process, both the piercing earring and the clasp are optimally positioned at the same time. Your ear will not be touched unnecessarily. The entire piercing process is gentle, quick, safe and absolutely hygienic. Neither the sterile earring nor the sterile clasp are ever touched by your ear piercing specialist. Additionally, your ear never comes in direct contact with the instrument itself.

Check out our detailed 12-step description of the ear piercing process with STUDEX System75.

Yes, of course! Every now and then we hear from clients that they were told that it was not a good idea to have their ears pierced in the winter. However, we don’t know where this myth had its origin. This is actually far from the truth. In fact, ears can be pierced at any time of year. If anything, the cold may actually be rather pleasant for newly pierced ears.

Of course, it’s a good idea to be a little careful when wearing hats, scarves, or turtle necks, as described in our winter tips. But that’s true whenever you wear earrings (especially dangling earrings) and has nothing to do with ear piercing itself. The risk of inflammation is definitely not higher in the winter.

During the healing period (6 weeks for earlobes, 12 weeks for ear cartilage) it’s best to avoid swimming. After all, each piercing results in a small wound, which should be kept as clean and sterile as possible. Public swimming pools are often contaminated with germs, especially bacteria. And pools that use chlorine may cause problems, since chlorine and its byproducts can dry out and irritate your skin. Even lakes or oceans may be contaminated with germs.

Therefore, if you decide to go swimming anyway, we recommend that you follow your swim with your usual care routine using an appropriate ear piercing care product. You may also use a waterproof bandage, which you should remove after swimming. Remember to clean your hands first. Sand can be rinsed off your ears with clean water. Here you’ll find more tips for the summer.

Yes, if you’re under 18 years old, you need your parents’ or legal guardians’ consent in most countries. With minors under the age of 16, the parents or legal guardians should be present when the ears are pierced and sign the release form at the store. Minors at the age of 16 or older, should bring the release form signed by their parents or legal guardians to the store where they wish to have their ears pierced.

Image credits
Header image: © Brooke Cagle/Unsplash; earrings: © STUDEX of Europe GmbH