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Why does my stretched ear smell bad?
By Doctor Owen E Lockhart MD (not a real doctor)
Here at Vault 101 people often ask us “Why does my stretched ear smell bad?”
Well not to worry, as today we are going tell you why your ear smells and how to combat the issue.
First of all let’s get one thing clear, this is completely natural and happens to the majority of people and especially when they start off stretching their ear.
Why does this happen? Your body secretes a substance called sebum, sebum is an oily secretion which helps your skin keep lubricated and keep it waterproof. The sebum mixes with the dead skin cells between your ear and the jewellery to make this unpleasant odour. As previously stated this can’t be helped, humans can shed up to forty thousand skin cells every day and only a lucky few manage to avoid it.
Now lets get on to how to reduce odour and hopefully prevent further “ear cheese”.
As a fully-trained pretend doctor the primary solution is rather simple, you should wash your ears and plugs just like you would wash the rest of your body. We would recommend taking your plugs out and washing them every day, the shower is the most ideal place to do so. Rinse your ear with warm water and clean with an anti-bacterial soap if possible, once washed your ear should be dried thoroughly to prevent moisture build up. We would also recommend massaging your ear with our very own Jojoba oil once the ear has dried. Your plugs/tunnels can also be washed in the shower, ideally with an anti-bacterial soap, but a thorough rinse should be enough. Please be sure to dry them before putting them back in to your ear.
One final point. This one boils down to personal preference, there are a lot of people who would recommend taking your plugs/tunnels out at night while you sleep. But there are a lot of people who would strongly disagree. The benefits of taking them out at night are the help the circulation in the lobe, keeping it healthy. They give your ear a much needed chance to breathe, as well as keeping it healthier will also reduce smell. However, if you are worried about your ears shirking in size at all I would perhaps avoid this advice, as you may struggle to get your plug/tunnel back in afterwords. This is perhaps better advice for someone who is happy with the size that they are and isn’t looking to stretch further. Another option would be to take you plug out for an hour or so to let it breathe, perhaps after the cleaning process. This way you can still let your ear breath for a while without risking a slight shrink.
So there we go, hopefully that covers all the steps you need to identify and reduce ear odour. If you found this blog helpful feel free to contact us or let us know on social media, and if you did not find it helpful please do not contact us 😉
For more information see our other blog posts and piercing aftercare section.
Thank you for reading my 1st blog, hopefully it provided you with the information you need and keep a look out for other blogs written by your favourite pretend doctor @olockhart15 🤙🏻
