# Hole-less earrings? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 30, 2009, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-less-earrings/504736 "2009-07-30T01:40:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-less-earrings/504736/1 "2009-07-30T01:40:12Z")
I had my ears pierced as a newborn, as is the customs here. I used gold baby studs all my childhood and switched to small rings until at about 15. Then I fell in with a bad crowd: university feminists. šŸ˜‰ I stopped for a while using earrings and by the time I decided to use them again I found out I had developed a raging metal allergy. I tried with gold, silver, platinum and surgery-grade stainless steel. Nothing. An hour after putting on the earrings my holes would start suppurating. Off with the rings and I get some nice, thick scabs. Rinse and repeat. Now I got holes that are scarred and enlarged. So, any chance I can find smallish earrings that I donā€™t have to put through the holes? Something simple, and not too expensive, if possible. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-less-earrings/504736/2 "2009-07-30T01:54:44Z")
You can get studs with a magnetic back. [Hereā€™s](http://www.emitations.com/mastea.html) one site that sells them. Iā€™m sure there are others out there, but Iā€™m not sure what youā€™ll turn up if you Google ā€œmagnetic stud.ā€ šŸ˜› ---
**Author:** ![Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirror_Image_egamI_rorriM)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-less-earrings/504736/3 "2009-07-30T02:25:28Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > You can get studs with a magnetic back. [Hereā€™s](http://www.emitations.com/mastea.html) one site that sells them. Iā€™m sure there are others out there, but Iā€™m not sure what youā€™ll turn up if you Google ā€œmagnetic stud.ā€ šŸ˜› Wearing metal with nickel in it (the most likely cause of the issue) against the skin will probably just cause the same problems. OPā€“even a lot of so-called ā€œstainless steelā€ is crappy and has nickel in it. Try titanium. Some simple titanium rings, in various colors: [http://www.bodyartforms.com/productdetails.asp?keywords=titanium&button=Search&anyallexact=any&basicsearch=yes&dwzPage=7&ProductID=2181&index=17](http://www.bodyartforms.com/productdetails.asp?keywords=titanium&button=Search&anyallexact=any&basicsearch=yes&dwzPage=7&ProductID=2181&index=17) If you really want to wear earrings, you should let your ears heal up entirely, then go see a REAL piercer at a reputable studio, who will be able to tell you how to reduce the scar tissue and then will help you re-pierce your ears with high quality jewelry. ---
**Author:** ![pabstist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e99b99/32.png) [@pabstist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pabstist)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-less-earrings/504736/4 "2009-07-30T03:17:29Z")
Try niobium earrings. ā€œniobium on a larger scale is physiologically inert (and thus hypoallergenic) and harmlessā€; from Wikipedia, Iā€™m lazy you do the research. Iā€™ve had a niobium earring in place for over 15 years with no problems, and itā€™s never been taken out. Also, most cheap mall places use piercing guns that just smash a hole through your earlobe. Try to find a piercer that uses a hollow needle that actually removes a small plug of tissue. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-less-earrings/504736/5 "2009-07-30T03:51:11Z")
If I could seal my holes shut I wouldnā€™t even bother with earrings, I want the earrings to cover the scarring. I have an appointment with a dermatologist/surgeon next week. I am going to ask her about fixing the wholes, if it can be done with minimal scarring I will just do that. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-less-earrings/504736/6 "2009-07-30T15:12:11Z")
At our local hippie store, theyā€™ve got ceramic, stone and bone earrings. Mostly hoops. ---
**Author:** ![Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirror_Image_egamI_rorriM)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-less-earrings/504736/7 "2009-07-30T15:25:19Z")
> [@pabstist](#): > > Also, most cheap mall places use piercing guns that just smash a hole through your earlobe. Try to find a piercer that uses a hollow needle that actually removes a small plug of tissue. A piercing needle actually just cuts a curved slit, it doesnā€™t remove any tissue. A dermal punch, like dermatologists use for biopsies, will remove a little circle of flesh. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-less-earrings/504736/8 "2009-07-30T15:28:02Z")
Clip-on earrings come in all kinds of sizes, but I suggest asking the dermatologist whether (s)he thinks your problems may be related to allergies and avoiding any materials (s)he says to avoid. ---
**Author:** ![silvermist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@silvermist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silvermist)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-less-earrings/504736/9 "2009-07-30T16:00:06Z")
I put Neosporin on the wires or studs before I put them in. Donā€™t have problems anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Sebastienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Sebastienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sebastienne)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-less-earrings/504736/10 "2009-07-30T18:41:24Z")
Iā€™ve seen clip-ons with silicone pads on either side, so no metal touches your ear. Iā€™m sure one could buy generic stick-on silicone sheets somewhere and cut them to fit clip-on earrings that arenā€™t already so equipped. Thatā€™s assuming you can find nice clip-ons these days. I only have one ear pierced and normally wear 6g rings, but if I want to have a more traditional look, clip-ons work nicely for me. But most of the ones I have are vintage, as I havenā€™t seen them commonly available for for sale. (I actually prefer the screw-back kind to the clip kind, since one can customize how hard it squeezes the earlobe.) ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-less-earrings/504736/11 "2009-07-31T00:27:52Z")
> [@Sebastienne](#): > > (I actually prefer the screw-back kind to the clip kind, since one can customize how hard it squeezes the earlobe.) That sounds interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-less-earrings/504736/12 "2009-07-31T00:43:01Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > If I could seal my holes shut I wouldnā€™t even bother with earrings, I want the earrings to cover the scarring. > > I have an appointment with a dermatologist/surgeon next week. I am going to ask her about fixing the wholes, if it can be done with minimal scarring I will just do that. What youā€™re looking for are called ā€œclip onā€ earrings. They attach via little - surprise! - clips! However, if you have a metal allergy you will still need to be careful what the clip ons are made of. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-less-earrings/504736/13 "2009-07-31T01:23:32Z")
Iā€™ve tried clip-on earrings, they give me a headache, presumably from the pressure.