You have been waiting your whole life to have a hoop/ nose ring, and you finally got your nose piercing, but how soon can you have the hoop nose ring in? Can you wear the hoop immediately after you have the piercing?
If not, how long should you wait until you can put the nose ring back in?
Keep reading to learn more.
Can you get a nose ring as soon as you get it pierced?
No, you cannot get your nose ring as soon as you get the nose pierced. You’d have to wait until the new nose piercing settles down or even heals completely before you can put the nose hoop ring on.
While there are some brave souls who’ve worn their nose rings within weeks after getting the nose piercing, it is recommended that you give it a bit of time, allowing the piercing to heal/ settle.
If you are like the rest of us, you might find yourself in a bit of a pickle, and you may have to put the piercing stud back when the nose ring refuses to go on in your first attempt, only to put back the nose ring when the piercing heals or when you are ready to give the nose ring another try.
As imagined, this can be very uncomfortable.
How long you have to wait for your first nose ring?
To be safe, you should wait for at least two months before you change your piercing jewelry.
Note that nose piercings close fast because the piercing is made through cartilage, which means that forcing it to handle too much too soon brings with it the risk of the piercing closing, potential scarring, and there could be scarring in the piercing area.
So, for just how long should you wait? While healing speed varies between people and two months would be deemed more reasonable, it may take 3 or more months for your piercing to heal. The standard healing time for nose piercings is 2 to 3 months, but healing may take longer – up to 5 months for some people.
Nose piercings take longer to heal compared to earlobe piercings because and the reason for this is something to do with the circulatory system. Essentially, there isn’t too much blood that flows into your nostril’s cartilage, hence the slow healing time. This is the reason why your septum piercing will take less time to heal (septum piercings heal in 6-8 weeks).
The piercing’s healing time is also affected by the level of care you accord it. Follow the prescribed aftercare routine to ward off infections and also to speed up the healing time.
Failure to follow the aftercare steps not only increases the risk of infections but it also increases the healing time.
But that is not all; after the passage of the standard healing time, check the pierced area. If it looks like the skin around the area is getting back to normal, it means that you’re most likely ready to change out the nose ring.
If you want to read more piercing healing time, this post is just for you.
However, if you notice any tenderness, swelling, discharge, or discoloration of any kind, you might want to leave the piercing alone for a little more time.
These are signs that tell you the piercing hasn’t healed completely. You also need to be more cautious if you notice any of these symptoms, especially if the symptoms don’t improve with time – the area might be infected, and a visit to the doctor would be wise because the area could be infected.
That said, you shouldn’t judge the piercing by its looks alone: it may look healed on the outside, yet it’s completely unhealed on the inside.
Piercings heal from the outside, meaning that the nostril piercing may look clean from the outside but be raw inside, and a septum piercing that doesn’t sting anymore might make you think that it’s healed when it is not.
So, give it time to heal and treat it correctly.
What happens if I change my nose piercing too early?
Nasal piercings are delicate, and they tend to close off quickly if you remove the jewelry before it heals completely.
Besides the risk of closure, changing the nose piercing too soon puts you at risk of infections, bleeding, swelling, and even redness around the piercing site.
So, it is a good idea to give your piercing adequate time to heal, and as it heals, take proper care of the piercing to avoid infections and prolonged healing times.
To be absolutely safe, give the piercing at least 3 months, and if you generally heal slowly, you may want to make it 4 months or even longer.
Can I get my nose pierced with a hoop?
Maybe. Whether you can get your nose pierced with a hoop or not will depend on the place you go to get the piercing.
Most piercers refuse to pierce with the hoops, though, because these take longer to heal, especially because the hoop moves around a lot, and the constant movement means that it collects more dirt, and also, the piercing doesn’t get time to settle and heal in a more natural way.
Given these complexities, the stud with a spiral end is used more often because such studs sit inside the nostril without falling or moving around.
There are alternatives to the stud earrings, though. Examples include the curved-end stud, but it isn’t everyone’s favorite because it sits weirdly for some people and also because most people find them to be uncomfortable.
The other option is the open hoop with one end designed with a block sitting inside the nose, and the other end doesn’t close fully, leaving a small gap. The open hoop works well for some people.
The most common (recommended) option is the straight stud. As the name suggests, it has a straight end and a stud with a small balloon on the other end that prevents it from falling out accidentally. It’s the most comfortable option for most people.
7. Tips for protecting your starter nose piercing
1. Maintain a high level of hygiene
Always wash your hands thoroughly and never skip this step because your hands carry germs, and there is a high risk of infection when you handle the healing piercing with dirty hands.
So, clean your hands with water and soap and dry them out using paper towels rather than used towels to avoid transferring germs.
2. Cleaning the piercing
Clean the pierced nostril using the pre-made non-iodized sea-salt spray.
You can make the salt bath using distilled water and non-iodized organic or pure sea salt.
You could also use lukewarm water and not hot water because you don’t want to burn your hands or the piercing.
Alternatively, you could just use saline water or tea tree oil, especially if the piercing area is still very tender.
3. Avoid harsh chemicals
You may be tempted to use products with alcohol, antibacterial soap, hydrogen peroxide, or Neosporin, but you shouldn’t.
You should also be careful not to apply soap to the healing pierced area.
4. Drying the area
Avoid using Q-tips or cotton balls to clean the piercing or your face because the cotton fibers might be stuck or get trapped around the piercing, causing irritation.
5. Public water bodies
Avoid going into public water bodies when you have a new piercing because the seemingly clean water in the swimming pool is often far from clean, and it’s full of bacteria, which would result in infections if the bacteria get into the tissue around the piercing.
6. Leave the original piercing jewelry until it heals to avoid introducing bacteria to the healing piercing.
7. Avoid touching the piercing until you’re cleaning it.
Conclusion
You may be tempted to change the ring piercing jewelry soon after getting the piercing, but you shouldn’t. Be patient and allow for the piercing to heal naturally.
It may take 2-5 months to heal fully, but it will heal up, and you will be able to wear all the different hoops you have already purchased.
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Stephanie is a jewelry lover when she was a teenager. Her major was fashion design when she was in college. She is a jewelry designer at SOQ Jewelry and other design companies. Now she is also a writer for our website. She writes a lot of designs&brands posts with very actionable tips.