How long does it take for a piercing to heal?

Depending on the type of body piercing you’ve received and its location, healing times may differ ^{4, 10,11}. The following table shows estimated healing times for various locations:

Estimated healing times for body piercings at various sites 4, 5, 10
Piercing Location	Approximate time it takes to heal this piercing
Ear lobe / auricle	6 – 8 weeks
Eyebrow	6 – 8 weeks
Nose: Nostril piercing (regular and high)	4 – 6 months
Nose: Septum piercing (as long as the right spot was pierced avoiding cartilage and thicker skin below)	6 – 8 weeks
Nose: Rhino piercing (a cartilage piercing done vertically through the tip of the nose)	6 – 9 months
Nose: Nasal bridge piercing	2– 3 months
Lip	6 – 8 weeks
Tongue	3 – 6 weeks
Naval (belly button)	4 – 6 weeks to appear healed 3 – 6 months up to 1 year to fully heal
Nipple	2 – 4 months
Male genitals: Dydoe (piercing of the coronal ridge of the glans on the head of the penis)	6 – 8 weeks
Male genitals: Ampallang (piercing of the glans of the penis)	3 – 9 months
Male genitals: Hafada (piercing of the scrotum)	2 – 3 months
Male genitals: Prince Albert (piercing of the urethral meatus)	2 – 4 weeks
Female genitals: Labia Majora	2 - 4 months
Female genitals: Labia Minora	2 – 6 weeks
Female genitals: Clitoris / Clitoral hood	4 – 8 weeks
Female genitals: Christina / Venus piercing (juncture between the outer labia and pubic mound)	3 – 4 months

How long does it take for piercing to close?

How long a piercing takes to close when you want it removed depends on its location and your body and how long it’s been there (older piercings generally take longer to close). Each person also heals differently so an accurate rate is difficult to predict. It can take anything form a few weeks to a year to fully heal from general piercings.

Large gauge piercings (i.e. those where piercings have been stretched) require surgical closure.

 

References

^{4. American Family Physician. Meltzer, Donna I. November 2005. Complications of Body Piercing: https://www.aafp.org/afp/2005/1115/p2029.html [Accessed 22.06.2018)}

^{5. Wiley Online Library. Anderson WR, Summerton DJ, Sharma DM, Holmes SA. February 2003. The urologist’s guide to genital piercing: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1046/j.1464-410X.2003.04049.x [Accessed 22.06.2018]}

^{10. PennState University. Tweeten SS, Rickman LS. March 1998. Infectious complications of body piercing: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.617.8683&rep=rep1&type=pdf [Accessed 22.06.2018]}

^{11. AAP News and Journals. April 1997. Staley R, Fitzgibbon JJ, Anderson C. Auricular infections caused by high ear piercing in adolescents: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/99/4/610 [Accessed 22.06.2018].}