Ok, so let’s talk about this picture I’ve seen making it’s way around the interwebs lately. This, boys and girls, is a dead earlobe. Now this picture is not meant to imply that everyone who wears silicone in their earlobes, or stretches with it, will have this kind of problem. Far from it. Silicone is worn in healthy earlobes by many people. We’ve covered that stretching with silicone is bad a idea and can cause damage to a piercing, but damage of this extent is not typical.
This, right here, is blatant neglect. The original problem could very well have been stretching with silicone, or stretching too fast. The dead tissue was caused by ignoring immediate damage, and neglecting the problem it caused. Blood flow was compromised in the earlobe, and the tissue died, leaving this scabby mess. Damage of this level took a lot of time, there would have been numerous chances to stop the problem and heal the earlobe, but apparently this person was stubborn.
In short, use some common sense, and if you have a problem with your piercing get it checked out by a piercer. 99% of problems can be resolved if you do the right things with it, and you do them early on. Is it really worth losing your earlobe because you feel too embarrassed / lazy / indifferent to have someone look at your piercing and tell you how to fix it?
