This question is something that every person asks at least once when they have piercings. There could be many reasons as to why you may have to remove your piercings whether it’s to play a sport, for a job, or a medical procedure. Whatever the case maybe you may find yourself in this predicament and maybe worried that your piercing will close while the jewelry is out.

There is no definitive answer as to how long you can keep your jewelry out of your piercing, each person is different. You also have to keep in mind that there are two stages in the healing process of your piercing. The first stage is your piercing being healed enough to have your professional piercer change the jewelry. The second stage is the scar tissue completely forming and the skin getting tighter around the new hole that was placed on your body. This time frame can be anywhere from 6 months to well over a year and in some cases even longer than that. For example, if you remove a tongue ring for a dental procedure lasting for a period of time you can run the risk of having your hole close up slightly and the last thing you want to do is force your jewelry back through the slightly closed hole!  On the other hand you can leave your earlobes without jewelry for days at a time and not have any shrinkage in the hole size or having it close up.

If you do find yourself in a situation where you have to take your body jewelry out for a period of time you should try using a retainer, this way you will prevent any chances of the hole closing and losing your piercing. Our retainers are made out of PTFE flexible acrylic safe for athletes to wear while playing sports, and should OK for most medical procedures. Retainers are also used in the workplace to disguise your piercings. Retainers are a great way to keep your piercings open without being able to see the body jewelry. So next time you find yourself needing to disguise your piercing try using a retainer.