Why Would You Need To Get Re-Pierced?

Some people just take their piercing out one day and then forget to put it back in and the hole will then heal. For others it’s a bigger decision and the piercing may need to be removed due to medical reasons, such as illness or surgery or due to pregnancy.  

Also, your body can reject the piercing the first time, meaning that you will need to remove it and possibly try again later. Extreme weight loss or weight gain can affect the piercing and mean that you will need to remove it. 

As you can see, there are lots of reasons why you may need to remove your piercing and then later down the line, get it re-pierced. This is down to each individual and should be treated as such when re-piercing.

Getting Re-Pierced Through Scar Tissue

It’s possible to get re-pierced through the scar tissue that was left from your old piercing. 

When doing so, you will need to make sure that the area has fully healed from the previous piercing. This will be around three months from the hole not being used, but it may be different depending on each individual and the area that was pierced.

When you decide that you want to re-pierce a previous piercing hole the first thing that you should do is to consult your piercer. They will be able to let you know if this is possible and if the hole is ready to be re-pierced at this point or if you have to wait a while.

Whatever you do, don’t try to open the piercing hole yourself. This should be done by a professional as you could cause all kinds of damage to the area as well as subjecting yourself to infection.

The Procedure

The first step would be to speak to your piercer and make sure that they are a professional with lots of experience. They will be able to make sure that the scar tissue and the tissue around the area is healthy and strong enough to support a new piercing.

In many cases the entry and exit points of the piercing will have healed over with scar tissue. However, the internal channel of the piercing will still remain, which makes it easier to re-pierce the area. 

If the reason for the initial removal of the piercing was rejection or injury there may be an issue with re-piercing the same spot. It may be that the exact spot as before isn’t able to be re-pierced and your piercer will need to look for alternatives. They should be able to pierce the area beside the original location, behind the pocket of scar tissue.

Getting re-pierced can be as painful as the initial piercing but many people report that the pain is significantly less than before. This will depend on each person and the location of the piercing.

The Aftercare

Your aftercare routine should be the same as it was for your original piercing and you will need to keep it clean at all times. The better you care for your piercing, the quicker and more easily it will heal. Use a saline solution with sea salt and warm water to keep the area clean and reduce the chance of any infection.

If your re-piercing is in the same spot as the original, it should heal slightly quicker than your initial piercing as the internal channel of the piercing is still there. 

Jewelry

The jewelry used for your re-piercing should be the same as your original piercing. It will need to allow for any swelling and should be longer with a larger head as your skin heals.

You shouldn’t remove your jewelry until the piercing has fully healed. You can then change your jewelry, giving your piercing a little more personality and choosing a design that you like the best.

What Can Go Wrong?

If you have a lot of scar tissue, it may be that your piercer will offer to do the piercing in a slightly different area. This will also be the case if your last piercing was rejected or if you suffered from an allergy.

If your initial piercing was rejected, this could happen again with your new piercing. You should keep this in mind as there are only so many times that you can re-pierce the same area without causing damage.

As with any piercing, aftercare is important for the health and longevity of your piercing. If you don’t look after it properly you could get an infection and in extreme cases, the piercing will need to be removed. 

Conclusion

Your piercer will be able to let you know if it’s possible to get the area re-pierced and exactly how this will work. Just be mindful of the pain and aftercare that’s needed and what can possibly go wrong.

If you’ve had lots of piercings, you will have had some that didn’t quite take like others. This is normal, and once they heal you should be able to get them re-pierced. 

We hope that you enjoyed our guide and found it useful. Good luck with your re-piercing, we hope it goes well.