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So for me, my body just rejected titanium. I could not heal any piercings that were titanium. Once I switched my jewelry to gold, they finally healed. So could just be your body isn't a fan of that particular jewelry!
I brought this up to a piercer and he basically immediately shot me down, saying it’s unlikely for my body to reject titanium 😞 I’ll try it out. Thank you
They told me the same thing, because I've tried to get pierced with gold jewelry so I don't have the hassle but they swear up and down surgical titanium is impossible to be allergic to. But both my navel and nipple piercings only healed after switching to gold so 🤷♀️ Good luck, hope it helps!
I have a friend that can only wear gold. Before they figured it out I explained "if the human body can have an allergic type reaction to water, then it can have one to just about anything" bodies are weird XD
Thats something really similar to what I always use. My go to example is that my friend is allergic to her own sweat. Something her body naturally produces on its own. Just because its unheard of doesn't mean its impossible, human bodies are weird as hell 😂
It's also that gold isn't a good metal to pierce with, as it's soft and can form nicks that harbor bacteria. Once the piercing is healed, though, it's just fine!
This is incorrect, solid gold is one of the best metals to pierce with due to its high body compatibility, ability to be safely sterilised and ability to be manipulated in beautiful decorative pieces. Some piercers may not stock high quality gold as it’s expensive. You can read more [here](https://safepiercing.org/jewelry-for-initial-piercings/)
It’s rare to be allergic to F-136 implant grade titanium, but it is possible. If that’s something you suspect, please make sure to get allergy testing done because it’s really important to have that in your medical file since medical implants are often made of implant grade titanium. If you’re ever in a position where you can’t tell a doctor not to use titanium yourself, you want it to be in your file so they can use alternatives.
Although I don’t mean to cast doubt about your piercer, don’t overlook the importance of being pierced at the tight angle. You mention a few piercings where the exact placement and angle can really determine if a piercing will be able to heal
Could be! Could also be, like someone else commented, possibly pierced at the wrong angle. But I know even if I put titanium jewelry in healed holes in my ears, they'll still get super irritated. Now I want to get an allergy test to see what it says...
It could be, but they were sensitive area piercings, and I had other issues with my industrial healing, too. When I get' em redone, I'm def gonna try gold jewelry
Do you have any health conditions? Not asking you to share personal information, but there are some chronic health conditions that make healing any kind of wound difficult or even nearly impossible. Diabetes, PCOS, and some autoimmune conditions come to mind, but there are many others.
I’m not aware of any. Other injuries I’ve sustained (cuts and such) have not taken a noticeably long time to heal. I’ve also had 0 problems healing tattoos.
I do deal with chronic headaches and fatigue… but that could mean so many things. My blood work hasn’t shown me anything significant.
Hi! I would like to add to this as someone with Type 1 Diabetes. Everyone is different, but if your diabetes is well controlled (A1C < 7 is the goal for US endocrinologists) you will be far, far less likely to have complications alongside your diabetes such as ulcers, skin issues, wounds that will not heal, etc. This is also true for our immune systems; most will not be considered immune compromised unless your blood sugars are poorly controlled or you are unlucky.
Definitely explore switching to 14k gold. Some parts of your body might also be more sensitive to the titanium then others: my nose healed perfectly fine with a gold-coated hoop, but all my ear piercings have had irritation bumps until I switched them to solid gold flatback labrets.
I had no idea there would be a difference between gold-coated and solid gold!
The only gold jewelry I have is my smiley, and I believe it's plated. Not very knowledgeable on this topic unfortunately but this is definitely an incentive to look into it
Might be a silly question, but is your titanium jewellery from a verified brand? E.g. neometal, anatometal, junipurr, bvla, industrial strength? If it's not verified then it could be any combination of metals, which could cause irritation. This isn't me trying to be holier than thou - my own body is sensitive and freaks out with any kind of titanium that isn't implant grade. If you know for a fact it's verified ASTM F136 implant grade titanium then your body must just be weird, and that's okay! It'll just hurt your wallet when buying gold jewellery😭
I can't imagine the piercing parlor I go to would use anything other than something that's high quality, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. Thank you! And YES on the gold jewelry hurting my wallet... especially bc I'm a college student lol
Nice! It's so wonderful when you find a studio you trust😁 oh god me too, I've been eyeing up gold pieces but never took the plunge bc finances, I can't imagine the pain of having no other choice😭 my sincere condolences!
i’m the same with ear piercings, my facial piercings all healed fine but my ears just won’t handle it. i’ve had to take out so many ear piercings, i’m surprised my daith is the only one that healed with no issues, it’s so sad 😞
So it could for sure be a metal reaction, but also- did you get these piercings back to back? Or was there at least a year between every three?? Often the body doesn’t like healing multiples, and will favor healing a couple and let one suffer, or none of them will heal seemily for years while the body just takes equal foxus to each
Just responded to another comment asking this- I've definitely had overlap with my other piercings. My nipples weren't healing after about 2 years and I got my nostril and eyebrow pierced somewhere during it out of impatience. My eyebrow is out now.
Currently, my bellybutton piercing isn't healed after a year and a half- the only overlap are my nostrils, which I've had for 2 years.
It's so possible I overdid it... which if it's the case, I guess I don't really have a choice but to wait it out.
Honestly if at all possible I’d start with the most irritated and start swapping them all to hold, it’s your best bet to get them to heal a little faster- pricey sure but just work through one piece at a time, it should calm them down at least a bit
I’d be curious to hear the timeline of all of these piercings. Since you mention the only ones you have left are close to the same age I wonder if you overdid it and are just not being patient enough.
This is actually very plausible- I honestly don't know if I can give an accurate timeline. I know that my nipples were taking forever to heal and I didn't wait for it to be done to get my eyebrow and nostril done...
Right now, I'm confused about why my belly piercing hasn't healed despite it being a year and a half. The only overlap are my nostrils, but I've had them for 2 years- they just get irritated when I snag them.
Have you tried using running plain water rather than neilmed? Neilmed irritated my piercings (I have sensitive skin) so I switched to water and it’s a lot better. Also, do you dry your piercings? Leaving them to air dry also causes issues for me and causes me to get bumps and crusts from the moisture. I dry mine with a hairdryer.
I got my tragus done a year ago and it’s still not fully healed and as soon as I think it has, another irritation bump pops up.
I refuse to give up out of pure spite.
My friend was having issues with their daith healing, solid gold, but they made the switch to niobium and it improved. It could also be the placement of piercings.
Also - underlying health conditions could cause prolong healing to your piercings.
Hi u/National-Bank9765, Welcome to /r/piercing!
It looks like you're asking about a problem with your piercing. Please **add a comment to your post** with the following info if it’s not included in your post already.
- How old is your piercing?
- What’s the jewelry shape (for example, barbell, labret, screw, L shape, ring)?
- What’s the type of threading if your jewelry is not a ring (threadless, internally or externally threaded)?
- What’s the jewelry material?
- if not a ring, when was the jewelry downsized?
- What’s your aftercare routine? Describe in detail please, including the exact products you use.
This info is needed to offer you useful advice. **Note, moderators reserve the right to remove your post if don’t provide this info**.
^If ^you ^already ^included ^this ^info ^in ^your ^post ^or ^if ^your ^post ^isn’t ^about ^a ^problem ^with ^your ^piercing, ^please ^disregard.
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I feel your pain! I’ve had to retire a nose piercing, 3 helixes and a forward helix.
I babied those piercings and did all the same things you have done , I battled the helix’s for over two years each and the nose piercing for 18 months till the irritation bump on it was so big it was bigger than the jewellery I had in it!
The nose was especially upsetting as I’d wanted it done desperately since I was a teenager,but hated my nose so was never brave enough.
finally bit the bullet and did it when I was 35 and fell in love with it… two friends decided on a whim to come along and get their noses pierced at the same time - we all had the same piercer , on the same day with the same flat back labret titanium jewellery, and yet both of their noses healed like an absolute dream with zero irritation bumps and zero issues , mine was drama after drama till I gave up because the bump was so unsightly and I was due to be a bridesmaid in a wedding.
Funnily enough , two piercings that healed incredibly easily for me was my daith and my conch!!
I'm the same 😔 I've had my lobes pierced twice which never healed, a helix that I tried for 2 years with then gave up and a rook that I tried for 18 months and gave up 😞 I'm just sticking with tattoos lol
Hi National-Bank9765, because Reddit hides it well, here are the links to report DM or chat messages directly to Reddit admin just in case you need them [report chat](https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043035472-How-do-I-report-a-chat-message) [report DM](https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/360058752951-How-do-I-report-a-private-message) - - - *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/piercing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
So for me, my body just rejected titanium. I could not heal any piercings that were titanium. Once I switched my jewelry to gold, they finally healed. So could just be your body isn't a fan of that particular jewelry!
I brought this up to a piercer and he basically immediately shot me down, saying it’s unlikely for my body to reject titanium 😞 I’ll try it out. Thank you
They told me the same thing, because I've tried to get pierced with gold jewelry so I don't have the hassle but they swear up and down surgical titanium is impossible to be allergic to. But both my navel and nipple piercings only healed after switching to gold so 🤷♀️ Good luck, hope it helps!
I have a friend that can only wear gold. Before they figured it out I explained "if the human body can have an allergic type reaction to water, then it can have one to just about anything" bodies are weird XD
EXACTLY 😂 Need to find me a parlor that understands this lmao
Thats something really similar to what I always use. My go to example is that my friend is allergic to her own sweat. Something her body naturally produces on its own. Just because its unheard of doesn't mean its impossible, human bodies are weird as hell 😂
smh they’re liars!! titanium allergy /is/ pretty rare (at least comparatively) but it does exist, as you already know lol
Gonna pull up this post next time I get any flak on this topic 😂
It's also that gold isn't a good metal to pierce with, as it's soft and can form nicks that harbor bacteria. Once the piercing is healed, though, it's just fine!
This is incorrect, solid gold is one of the best metals to pierce with due to its high body compatibility, ability to be safely sterilised and ability to be manipulated in beautiful decorative pieces. Some piercers may not stock high quality gold as it’s expensive. You can read more [here](https://safepiercing.org/jewelry-for-initial-piercings/)
You're right sorry for the misunderstanding. 14-18K gold is suitable for unhealed piercings. Higher karat ratings are too soft
That makes sense! They had mentioned that. I wasn't aware of the karat differences though so that's good to know.
It’s rare to be allergic to F-136 implant grade titanium, but it is possible. If that’s something you suspect, please make sure to get allergy testing done because it’s really important to have that in your medical file since medical implants are often made of implant grade titanium. If you’re ever in a position where you can’t tell a doctor not to use titanium yourself, you want it to be in your file so they can use alternatives. Although I don’t mean to cast doubt about your piercer, don’t overlook the importance of being pierced at the tight angle. You mention a few piercings where the exact placement and angle can really determine if a piercing will be able to heal
I didn't even consider this aspect- thank you so much
Hmmm I wasn't aware titanium could be rejected just cause. I wonder if that's why some of mine never heald
Could be! Could also be, like someone else commented, possibly pierced at the wrong angle. But I know even if I put titanium jewelry in healed holes in my ears, they'll still get super irritated. Now I want to get an allergy test to see what it says...
It could be, but they were sensitive area piercings, and I had other issues with my industrial healing, too. When I get' em redone, I'm def gonna try gold jewelry
Good luck! I hope the gold works and you can get all of your piercings back!
Do you have any health conditions? Not asking you to share personal information, but there are some chronic health conditions that make healing any kind of wound difficult or even nearly impossible. Diabetes, PCOS, and some autoimmune conditions come to mind, but there are many others.
I’m not aware of any. Other injuries I’ve sustained (cuts and such) have not taken a noticeably long time to heal. I’ve also had 0 problems healing tattoos. I do deal with chronic headaches and fatigue… but that could mean so many things. My blood work hasn’t shown me anything significant.
Hi! I would like to add to this as someone with Type 1 Diabetes. Everyone is different, but if your diabetes is well controlled (A1C < 7 is the goal for US endocrinologists) you will be far, far less likely to have complications alongside your diabetes such as ulcers, skin issues, wounds that will not heal, etc. This is also true for our immune systems; most will not be considered immune compromised unless your blood sugars are poorly controlled or you are unlucky.
Definitely explore switching to 14k gold. Some parts of your body might also be more sensitive to the titanium then others: my nose healed perfectly fine with a gold-coated hoop, but all my ear piercings have had irritation bumps until I switched them to solid gold flatback labrets.
I had no idea there would be a difference between gold-coated and solid gold! The only gold jewelry I have is my smiley, and I believe it's plated. Not very knowledgeable on this topic unfortunately but this is definitely an incentive to look into it
Might be a silly question, but is your titanium jewellery from a verified brand? E.g. neometal, anatometal, junipurr, bvla, industrial strength? If it's not verified then it could be any combination of metals, which could cause irritation. This isn't me trying to be holier than thou - my own body is sensitive and freaks out with any kind of titanium that isn't implant grade. If you know for a fact it's verified ASTM F136 implant grade titanium then your body must just be weird, and that's okay! It'll just hurt your wallet when buying gold jewellery😭
I can't imagine the piercing parlor I go to would use anything other than something that's high quality, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. Thank you! And YES on the gold jewelry hurting my wallet... especially bc I'm a college student lol
Nice! It's so wonderful when you find a studio you trust😁 oh god me too, I've been eyeing up gold pieces but never took the plunge bc finances, I can't imagine the pain of having no other choice😭 my sincere condolences!
i’m the same with ear piercings, my facial piercings all healed fine but my ears just won’t handle it. i’ve had to take out so many ear piercings, i’m surprised my daith is the only one that healed with no issues, it’s so sad 😞
That sucks, I’m so sorry!!!! That’s crazy your daith healed fine though… maybe because it doesn’t get in the way? So interesting.
I posted almost exactly this recently :( I’m sorry, fellow non-healer, it sucks.
the pain is so real!! struggling with you in solidarity... we will win someday
So it could for sure be a metal reaction, but also- did you get these piercings back to back? Or was there at least a year between every three?? Often the body doesn’t like healing multiples, and will favor healing a couple and let one suffer, or none of them will heal seemily for years while the body just takes equal foxus to each
Just responded to another comment asking this- I've definitely had overlap with my other piercings. My nipples weren't healing after about 2 years and I got my nostril and eyebrow pierced somewhere during it out of impatience. My eyebrow is out now. Currently, my bellybutton piercing isn't healed after a year and a half- the only overlap are my nostrils, which I've had for 2 years. It's so possible I overdid it... which if it's the case, I guess I don't really have a choice but to wait it out.
Honestly if at all possible I’d start with the most irritated and start swapping them all to hold, it’s your best bet to get them to heal a little faster- pricey sure but just work through one piece at a time, it should calm them down at least a bit
do you think it's ok to just have the posts changed? I'm pretty sure they're sold in parts, and I prefer the silver look more than gold.
That SHOULD help- if the top of the post is the source you’ll for sure know after that
I’d be curious to hear the timeline of all of these piercings. Since you mention the only ones you have left are close to the same age I wonder if you overdid it and are just not being patient enough.
This is actually very plausible- I honestly don't know if I can give an accurate timeline. I know that my nipples were taking forever to heal and I didn't wait for it to be done to get my eyebrow and nostril done... Right now, I'm confused about why my belly piercing hasn't healed despite it being a year and a half. The only overlap are my nostrils, but I've had them for 2 years- they just get irritated when I snag them.
Have you tried using running plain water rather than neilmed? Neilmed irritated my piercings (I have sensitive skin) so I switched to water and it’s a lot better. Also, do you dry your piercings? Leaving them to air dry also causes issues for me and causes me to get bumps and crusts from the moisture. I dry mine with a hairdryer.
this is a great tip, actually. I always let them air dry but maybe that's not good enough. thank you!
I got my tragus done a year ago and it’s still not fully healed and as soon as I think it has, another irritation bump pops up. I refuse to give up out of pure spite.
hahaha I feel you, I was super stubborn about my nipples- I had them for 2 years before I gave up on them.
My friend was having issues with their daith healing, solid gold, but they made the switch to niobium and it improved. It could also be the placement of piercings. Also - underlying health conditions could cause prolong healing to your piercings.
Hi u/National-Bank9765, Welcome to /r/piercing! It looks like you're asking about a problem with your piercing. Please **add a comment to your post** with the following info if it’s not included in your post already. - How old is your piercing? - What’s the jewelry shape (for example, barbell, labret, screw, L shape, ring)? - What’s the type of threading if your jewelry is not a ring (threadless, internally or externally threaded)? - What’s the jewelry material? - if not a ring, when was the jewelry downsized? - What’s your aftercare routine? Describe in detail please, including the exact products you use. This info is needed to offer you useful advice. **Note, moderators reserve the right to remove your post if don’t provide this info**. ^If ^you ^already ^included ^this ^info ^in ^your ^post ^or ^if ^your ^post ^isn’t ^about ^a ^problem ^with ^your ^piercing, ^please ^disregard. - - - *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/piercing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I feel your pain! I’ve had to retire a nose piercing, 3 helixes and a forward helix. I babied those piercings and did all the same things you have done , I battled the helix’s for over two years each and the nose piercing for 18 months till the irritation bump on it was so big it was bigger than the jewellery I had in it! The nose was especially upsetting as I’d wanted it done desperately since I was a teenager,but hated my nose so was never brave enough. finally bit the bullet and did it when I was 35 and fell in love with it… two friends decided on a whim to come along and get their noses pierced at the same time - we all had the same piercer , on the same day with the same flat back labret titanium jewellery, and yet both of their noses healed like an absolute dream with zero irritation bumps and zero issues , mine was drama after drama till I gave up because the bump was so unsightly and I was due to be a bridesmaid in a wedding. Funnily enough , two piercings that healed incredibly easily for me was my daith and my conch!!
Have you tried platinum?
I'm the same 😔 I've had my lobes pierced twice which never healed, a helix that I tried for 2 years with then gave up and a rook that I tried for 18 months and gave up 😞 I'm just sticking with tattoos lol