Daith piercing aftercare

The daith is one of the most distinctive ear piercings, and one of the slower ones to heal. It passes through the innermost fold of cartilage, a thick, curved spot that is harder to keep clear of pressure than most placements. This guide covers the routine, what to avoid, the healing timeline, sleeping, and what to do when something doesn't look right. It comes from Platinum Point in Parnell, Auckland, where every piercing is done with a single-use sterile needle and implant-grade jewellery.

Why the daith heals differently

The daith passes through the small ridge of cartilage that arches across the inner bowl of the ear, just above the ear canal. Cartilage heals more slowly than a lobe, which is soft tissue.

The location adds to it. The daith sits in a fold, and the jewellery curves around a tight angle of cartilage. Pressure, bumps and knocks all move the jewellery against healing tissue, so the less it gets touched, the better it heals.

A daith is usually pierced with a ring or a curved bar. We use implant-grade titanium (ASTM F136) or solid 14k BVLA gold. Gold is pierced fresh: you choose the piece first, we find the spot, and it goes straight in.

The aftercare routine, step by step

Daith aftercare is the same as for any piercing we do. It is simple on purpose.

• Water: once a day in the shower, let warm (not hot) running water run over it for 30 to 60 seconds. Tilt your head so the water gets into the fold.
• Crust: if there is crust, use a damp cotton bud while it is still wet from the shower, and take away only what comes off easily. Don't pick or scrub.
• Dry: pat dry with a clean paper towel. The fold holds water, so make sure it is dry.
• Nothing else: no saline, sprays, soaks, soap, creams, Savlon, Betadine, tea tree oil, Dettol, hydrogen peroxide, iodine or alcohol wipes. More cleaning is not better.

The most common mistake we see in daiths pierced elsewhere is too much product: antiseptic, tea tree oil or Savlon, often every day. If that is you, stop, and go back to warm water once a day.

What to avoid

Most aftercare don'ts apply to every piercing. A few matter most for the daith:

• Nothing in your ear on that side. In-ear headphones and earbuds sit right in the ear bowl and press on a healing daith. Keep them out of that ear until it has healed.
• Don't sleep on it. The daith sits deep in the ear, and even a pillow pressing on the outer ear can push on it. Use a travel pillow so the ear sits in the gap, or sleep on the other side.
• Wash your hands before touching it. Better still, don't touch it.
• Don't turn the jewellery. Turning it rubs against the healing tissue. This old advice is still given in some shops and kiosks. Leave it still.
• No products on it. See the "nothing else" list above.
• No pools, hot tubs, rivers or the sea until it is fully healed. A shower is fine.
• Keep products around it. Makeup, skincare, hairspray, dry shampoo, perfume and sunscreen all go around the piercing, not on it. Cover the ear when you spray your hair.
• Keep the same jewellery in. Taking it out at home to check it or try a new piece can let it close or irritate it. A new style waits until it is fully healed.

Healing timeline

A daith takes 9 to 12 months to heal fully. It can look healed months before it is. Here is roughly what to expect:

• Weeks 1 to 3: tenderness, some swelling in the fold, and a little redness right around the piercing. Clear or straw-coloured fluid that dries to a crust is normal. The ear may feel warm.
• About four weeks, the checkup: if you were pierced with a bar, the longer post that allowed for swelling is swapped for a shorter one that sits flush. A daith ring usually doesn't need this. Later than four weeks is fine. The checkup is free for everyone pierced here.
• Months 1 to 3: swelling settles and crust gets less. It may feel better, then worse, then better again, often after a knock, a night sleeping on it, or being run down. That is normal.
• Months 4 to 9: the piercing gets steadily calmer. Crust slows and stops, and tenderness fades.
• Months 9 to 12: fully healed on the inside, not just the surface. Wait until at least 12 months before changing to a new style.

Everyone heals at their own pace. Sleep, general health, and how well you keep pressure and products off it all make a difference.

Sleeping with a daith piercing

Sleeping on a healing daith is the most common reason we see one take longer than it should. Even sleeping on the other side can press the outer ear down if your pillow is thick.

What works:

• Travel pillow: a U-shaped travel pillow, with your ear in the gap, keeps pressure off.
• Pillow with a cut-out: a foam pillow with a hole in it does the same job.
• Back sleeping: removes the problem, if you can manage it.

If you sleep on your daith most nights while it heals, it will take longer.

The daith and migraines

There is no good evidence it helps migraines, so we don't pierce for that. If you would like a daith because you like how it looks, that is a good reason, and we'd be glad to do it.

Normal healing, or something to tell us about

The daith is harder to see than a lobe or helix. A mirror and good light help.

Normal:

• Clear, straw or white-yellow crust around the jewellery
• Tenderness for the first week or two
• A little redness right around it early on
• Itching
• A small white blister beside the hole
• Better, then worse, then better again in the first months

Tell us:

• Thick green or yellow pus (not crust)
• Heat and swelling getting worse after the first week
• Redness spreading away from the piercing
• Pain that is growing, not easing
• Fever, chills or swollen glands

A fever, or redness spreading away from the piercing, means seeing a GP or after-hours clinic that day. Tell them it is a healing piercing, then let us know. For anything else on the list, call us on 09 949 0940 or book a look.

Bumps

The most common problem with a daith is a bump beside the piercing. Most are the piercing reacting to being pushed around, not an infection.

Things that often sit behind a daith bump:

• Sleeping on the healing ear
• Earbuds or headphones on that side
• A longer bar that hasn't been swapped for a shorter one
• Jewellery that doesn't fit the shape of the ear well
• Jewellery that isn't implant grade
• Touching it, or putting products on it

Don't squeeze it, pick it or put anything on it. If you are worried about a bump, come and show us rather than guessing: a look is free if we pierced it and $30 if it was pierced elsewhere. Or call Tom on 09 949 0940.

When can you change your daith jewellery?

There are two stages:

• The checkup (about four weeks, here): if you have a bar, the longer post is swapped for a shorter one that sits flush. A ring usually doesn't need it. This is done by us, not at home. It is free if we pierced you; if you were pierced elsewhere and need a downsize, it is a $30 look plus the new bar if needed.
• A new style (at least 12 months, once fully healed): once it has healed, you can change to clickers, rings or other pieces. The daith is a lovely spot for a BVLA clicker or seamless ring.

If you were pierced elsewhere and want to move to BVLA gold once healed, a BVLA piece from us is fitted free.

Questions? Come and see us

If you have a concern about your daith at any point, the best first step is to come in. Platinum Point is at 389 Parnell Road, Parnell, Auckland. Most healing questions are simple to sort out when caught early.

Call 09 949 0940, or book a piercing online. If you are thinking about a daith in gold and want to see how pieces look on your ear first, book the Gold Viewing: free, 30 minutes at the tray, no needle.

For where a daith sits and how it looks, see placements. For prices, see prices.