By Meghan O'Neal
06/12/2019
Multiple piercings are the thing to get these days. And, why not? With so many piercing styles out there, you might as well go for all of the looks that you love.
Some piercing styles, like the shark bite piercing, require as many as four piercings at a time. When you see pierced pros with dozens of piercings, it’s easy to believe that getting pierced multiple times at once offers no more inconvenience than having to sit in the piercer’s chair a little longer than you would for a single piercing.
However, there are a few things to consider.
Besides the fact that practicing aftercare for more than one piercing will take up more of your time and discipline, your body might not be so happy about what you’re putting it through. Before you visit your piercer to undergo the five new piercings that you’re excited about, here are some risks to getting multiple piercings at once.
So let’s talk biology for a bit, shall we? Every time your body experiences pain, your brain will order a shot of adrenaline that, in theory, helps it escape said pain. This also happens when you’re scared, since your body is preparing for the imminent affliction.
When you’re sitting in the piercer’s chair, an adrenaline rush is pretty likely. There are things that you can do to distract yourself and minimize the pain, but especially if you’re new to piercing, you’re still going to feel some substantial stress.
Even if you don’t feel particularly nervous, your body sometimes does things on its own, and you might be manifesting more stress than you realize. Check in with yourself, and if you feel tense and tired after your first piercing, think about stopping for the day. It might not seem like it, but stress and anxiety can really wear at your body, so treat it kindly and wait a few days before getting your next piercing.
Endorphins are chemicals in the body that are produced by the nervous system to help your body deal with pain. They work to relax you and encourage positive feelings to lessen the pain.
Many find piercings addictive because of the endorphin release. It makes you feel pretty amazing, and many describe it as a high.
But, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing, and an excessive amount of endorphins can cause nausea, vomiting, and even fainting, so don’t overdo it.
You view your new piercing is a gorgeous fashion statement. Your body disagrees. It sees your new piercing as an open wound because, well, it is an open wound. If you procure too many open wounds on your body, it’s going to stretch your body’s healing capabilities a little thin.
Make sure that you set your body up for success when it comes to healing. If you have a strong immune system, and you know how to take care of yourself during healing, then you can probably get more piercings at a time than someone with a weaker immune system. However, everyone has their limit, so listen to your body, and don’t push it too far.
Healing times for piercings vary from 4 weeks to over a year. Additionally, some piercings, like lip and cheek piercings, see substantial swelling in the first days after piercing while cartilage will barely swell at all.
The healing process of the piercings you want to get will affect whether you should get multiple piercings at once. If you want to get three helix piercings next to each other, that will have an easier healing period than four lip piercings next to each other. It’s not impossible, but the swelling of your lips will affect your life for a couple of weeks.
Research what healing will look like for the piercings you want to get and decide if getting them all at once is worth it. Remember, you can always wait just a couple of days between piercings.
When it comes to getting multiple piercings at once, it depends upon what you and your body can handle. Do your research, see what your piercer recommends, and always play it safe.
Once you get your multiple piercing look, you’ll love mixing and matching jewelry styles. Here are some body jewelry pieces that look amazing in a cluster.
2 Replies to “Multiple Piercings: How Safe Is It to Get More Than One Piercing at a Time?”
jess, 10 Dec 2016
What about those really cute triple helix piercings I see that are so popular now? (and are they still popular? or are they kind of regarded as “trying too hard”?) I’ve been wanting that in my left ear for a while and the shop I go to said they will definitely do it in one sitting. I’ve never had problems before, but then I’ve never gotten more than one in a sitting before (nostril, daith, rook, conch).
Destiny, 02 Feb 2017
We think nothing is trying too hard – it’s about what you like! We don’t see them as much these days, but there are so many great ways to wear helix piercings, we say go for it! Helix piercings heal very nicely with almost no swelling. You can read more about them here.