In this article, I want to share my experience with my double helix piercing. My double helix piercing didn’t give me as many problems as I expected. My single helix gave me tons of issues and can be temperamental even after two years. So I assumed two piercings done back-to-back would automatically be worse. But as I’ll tell you, it was not.
Why I Got My Double Helix Piercing
The Spontaneous Decision
I got my double helix piercing done on November 16, 2018. I refer to it as one piercing. When I count my piercings, it’s two. But when I talk about them, I don’t say “both my piercings.” I say “my double helix piercing.”
This was actually a spur-of-the-moment decision. Most of my piercings haven’t been spontaneous. The only ones that were spur-of-the-moment were my single helix and my first nostril piercing.
How It Happened
On November 16, 2018, my mom and I were planning to get our daith piercings. We were both still scared about that, so we chickened out. But we wanted a piercing.
While my mom was driving around, I was scrolling through Pinterest looking at pictures. I came across a double helix piercing and thought it looked awesome. We’d already gotten one helix done. Why not do it on the other side and get a double? My mom was all for it. We went to our normal piercer and got it done.
The Double Helix Piercing Process and Pain
What the Double Helix Piercing Pain Felt Like
Is a double helix piercing painful? Like with any piercing, I always build myself up. I make myself think it’s going to hurt way worse than it actually does.
I assumed this cartilage piercing would hurt because it was two piercings back-to-back. They did one piercing, waited literally two minutes, then did another one. It really wasn’t bad.
After the first one, my whole ear went numb. When the second one happened, it really wasn’t bad at all.
The Only Double Helix Piercing Pain Part
The only thing that actually hurt was when my piercer had to do the bottom one. He had to be close to the top piercing. It was a brand new piercing, so you don’t want to touch it. But it was unavoidable at that point. That was the only part that hurt—just the close proximity of the two piercings.
Overall, the double helix piercing pain was not terrible.
The Swelling Incident: One Week After Getting Pierced
What Happened
I did experience a moment with this helix piercing less than a week after I got it. I thought for sure I’d have to take the jewelry out or cut my ear off. Luckily, neither happened.
On December 2, 2018—less than a week later—my mom and I drove to Hershey, Pennsylvania. We saw Shinedown and Five Finger Death Punch in concert. Everything was fine. We drove up, got there, went to the concert—no problem.
That night, when we drove from the concert back to our hotel (less than two miles away), my ear became so swollen. I thought for sure it was going to pop the jewelry out.
Dealing With Extreme Helix Piercing Swelling
I still don’t know what happened. I was in such pain. Maybe the loud music made blood pool in my ear? Logic was not present at that time.
I’m sitting there practically in tears on the hotel bed. My mom’s a little tipsy, so she’s no help. I’m thinking I’m seriously going to either have to take my jewelry out or go downstairs to the Hampton Inn dining area and get a plastic knife to cut my ear off.
My mom had some ibuprofen. I took three of them and managed to fall asleep after much crying because it hurt so bad.
The Mystery Resolution
The next morning? Fine. You couldn’t even tell it was swollen at any point.
I honestly have no idea what caused the helix piercing swelling. I’m going to chalk it up to the loud music making my ear go nuts. I may have accidentally rolled over and slept on it. I may have hit it. Who knows? Maybe the loud music did something to it. To this day, I have no idea.
I wish I had a picture, but I deleted it because it grossed me out. It was so swollen and inflamed. Really red. You could see that when something gets swollen, it gets a little shiny. That’s what happened.
Double Helix Piercing Healing and Aftercare Experience
Cleaning During Healing
It was gross to clean. On top of hurting—and when something really hurts me, I get very nauseous. I’m sitting there trying to clean it, and it had gunk.
How Long My Double Helix Took to Heal
Even after having that incident, it was probably one of the easiest piercings to take care of. Also probably one of the fastest to heal. I don’t know if it got all its issues out in one fell swoop with that swelling incident.
Even now, sometimes it’ll still get crusty. It’s a little over a year old. Cartilage piercings do that. But it has been a pretty easy one to deal with.
Comparing to My Other Piercings
This whole ear has been easy to deal with. My conch piercing has been easy. It never had any bumps or anything. Never was swollen except for this double helix. But besides that swelling moment, this ear has been pretty straightforward.
Living With My Double Helix Piercing
Is My Piercing Crooked?
I will say I think my top hole might be a little crooked. Or it might just be the shape of my ear. When I go to feel the jewelry in there, it feels like it’s at a slight angle. I don’t know if that’s just the angle of my ear—the shape of it—or if it’s actually crooked. Either way, it still looks fine.
Would I Get More Helix Piercings?
I absolutely love it. I’ve thought about a triple forward helix. But that’s a really sensitive area, and that scares me. Also, that might be a lot of jewelry in one ear. I’ve got six piercings in this ear. I’ve got six in each ear. I may just leave it alone because it looks cool.
My Recommendation
If you’ve thought about getting a double helix piercing, I say go for it. I really like mine. You can do a lot with it once it’s healed.
Quick Recap: Double Helix Piercing Tips
- Pain level: Not terrible—ear goes numb after first piercing, making the second easier
- Close proximity challenge: Second piercing may hurt slightly more due to proximity to fresh first piercing
- Unexpected swelling: Can happen even a week later; keep ibuprofen on hand
- Healing time: Around one year for full healing; gets crusty occasionally even after healing
- Easiest cartilage piercing: Surprisingly easy to care for compared to single helix
- Consider ear anatomy: Top hole may appear crooked depending on your ear shape
- Worth it: Great look without overcrowding; allows creative jewelry options
(This is a user-submitted story from our community. If you’d like to share your piercing experiences and insights with us, we’d love to hear from you—feel free to get in touch!)