We have all been there. While we stretch our ears we notice a little bit of a stink. Some are lucky to never have this problem, but this article is for the people with ear stank.
The stink in your ear comes from dead skin and oil produced by your skin called sebum. The sebum and the dead skin get trapped in your piercings if you constantly keep your plugs/tunnels in. It is a result of sebum and dead skin being trapped in your hole.
How to fix the stinky stretched earsThe best way to fix this issue is to do the same thing that you do with the rest of your body. Shower and clean. You do not need to do this constantly. Too much cleaning could lead to irritation and possible infection... so maybe just 2-3 times a week. You might also want to let your ear breathe. Take the plugs or hangers out of your ears and wash them. Wash with warm water and use soap (just like you do in a shower :) Some type of moisturizer on your ears can also be helpful.
The odor will be stronger while you are stretching your ears. This is because the ear is trying to heal and will produce more sebum and dead skin. When you get to your desired ear gauge you will notice less of an odor.
The second half of stinky stretched ears
The other part of the smell is the plug itself. The skin cells and sebum can also be collected on the actual plug. This is also easily solved by keeping your plugs clean. Use natural oils such as jojoba.
Wood plugs reduce ear odor?
The best material to use is organic material. Use bone, horn, or wood plugs. Wood plugs allow your piercings to breathe. This allows your ears and plugs to collect less dead skin and sebum. This means less odor. Other materials will increase the odor of your ears.
What is your story? Do you have a good story about stinky ears? Do you have a good remedy on how to reduce the smell? Comment below.
21 comments
For me, wood is the only way to go. Even with taking my metal tunnels out every day when I shower, I still get the funk.
Haven’t tried bone but I do have various stones and wood still keeps the smell away, best.
i prefer wood after my ears have healed from a stretch and stretch with stainless and holy butter. the first time around i used a lot.of acrylic and ended up blowing my ear out. one year and 1 keiloid removal later i started stretchibg again. my ears were pretty loose still at about a 2g. im back up to a 1/2 inch again and learned a hell of a lesson.
I have finally reached my modest goal of a 0g and have a nice collection of natural stone plugs as well as silicone retainers for work. But I am getting some wood plugs and maybe soon bone hangers. <3
Horn works best for me! One time I was complaining about how I forgot to was my ears, and how metal plugs caused a ferocious smell, to my boss. He didn’t believe me so I offered to let him smell it. He agreed and I have never laughed so hard in my life as I did when he almost threw up!
Acrylic and metal jewelry seem to cause the most stank in my experience. The super flexible silicone tunnels/wood/and bone I’ve never had any issue with! Also…. Yes…. Clean your ears and jewelry.