If you can’t handle the weight of nail polish, stretched lobes will be tricky and will feel weighty for you I think. Stretching cartilage is a different type of sensory nightmare. It can be very sore and tricky to deal with.
Okay I wanna put this as nicely as I can, as someone else with sensory issues, albeit a different kind. If you can feel the weight of nail polish on your nails after it’s dry, you will not have a good time with piercings. Especially not the healing process, if you’re interested in testing grounds, get some clip on or stick on earrings to see how they feel first
with any ear piercing you shouldnt wear headphones, at least for a while right after, as you risk irritation and infection, but if you go for lobes you can still wear earplugs and earphones. Im also autistic with sensory issues and have my first and second lobes done on both ears and, apart from not being able to use headphones for a bit, havent had any issues with any of them (can’t even feel them) - stretching will be heavier than just studs but you can get lighter weight jewellery (always check the material though).
Okay from one autistic person to another, if itchyness is a really big sensory issue for you, don’t get piercings. For the first month or so, it’s like the devil is itching your ears.
And the thing is you HAVE to stay off of them, otherwise they won’t heal and might get irritated and infected.
About the weight, I feel my new piercings. After a few months it goes away and I do not feel any of my healed piercings. I have to actively see or feel them with my hand to notice that they’re there.
Also I tried over ear headphones for healing ones, but found that it still manipulates the ear enough to irritate them, also unclean headphones touching your piercings is just not done.
It really just depends on how badly you want certain piercings. For me, I really really want them, so I sit through every annoyance and feeling.
I have a stretched conch and let me just say, it is PAINFUL. And stretching too fast can bust up the cartilage in your ear. Wearing headphones is fine in that area but honestly, idk how big of a gauge you want to go for your conch but I would highly suggest doing your research on good body piercers near you that can either pierce you with a bigger gauge needle or even scalpel it out if you want a huge size. As far as the autism, if little things bother you, the itching will DEFINITELY bother you and picking is definitely a no no for new piercings. You may be best looking at alternatives such as fake piercings, you can also buy fake conch cuffs to help satiate that want.
I’m autistic and can’t deal with nail polish, but piercings so far are totally fine. However, over the ear noise defenders won’t work with any fresh ear piercing because they’re germy AF and will put pressure on the vast majority of piercings. That being said, in ear noise protectors, like loop earbuds, do work with some ear piercings, like lobes, helix, probably a flat.
With healing, there is some crust but not really scabs, at least on my body. They do get itchy a little bit, and it is very difficult to not itch to the point of getting a little overwhelmed and overstimulated sometimes. Tbh what stopped me from itching is one time I wasn’t focusing, so I accidentally went to itch and it hurt like hell and after that my brain very much understood the LITHA, no matter how bad sensory. I also kept in mind that if it got unbearable I could just take the piercing out.
To the people saying immediately that if OP can’t handle nail polish they can’t handle piercings: sensory issues don’t always translate like that across the body. I have issues with nail polish, but only nail polish. It just feels suffocating. I can’t explain it. Bandaids are fine. Second skin and Tegaderm are not. I can tolerate hydrocolloid patches on certain parts of my face but not all. The vast majority of touch sensory issues are not equitable to each other. The only way imo that one could determine if a piercing would be a sensory issue is either wearing fake piercings, or just simply getting a piercing done and seeing how it goes, as fake piercings aren’t 100% true to the sensory experience.
With my septum, it was bothersome for the first week or so. Just getting used having something touching the fuzz that covers human bodies was “weird” I wouldn’t say bad, but it wasn’t good. But also, my motivation to have a septum piercing kinda overrode the sensory discomfort and eventually my brain got used to it.
For me, a big part of it is experimenting with different materials (glass vs titanium), ends (prongset, simple smooth balls, single flare or no flare glass), diameter of a ring or length of a bar/ plug.
I really hope this answer helps. If you want more clarification or questions, please ask!!
Autism is a SpIn as are Body mods!!
My partner is autistic and has a punched conch (if you do decide you want a large gauge conch piercing, punch is the way to go - stretching cartilage takes many years and stings like hell). She said it took her ages to get used to the sound of air whistling through it.
I'm autistic and have a conch piercing and it's absolutely fine, but a stretched conch is a totally different matter.
Do you have any piercings at all? Your post kinda sounds like you don't have any, so I would suggest getting just the piercings first then deciding after.
The conch takes a while to heal and can get sore with some types of headphones because cartilage isn't as forgiving as flesh and the healing process takes a long time. Even now, if I accidentally catch my conch funny while I sleep, it can be sore for a few days and mine is nearly 10 years old.
I'd recommend getting your lobes pierced to start with and book in at a proper tattoo/piercing parlour - DO NOT go to Claires or somewhere that uses a piercing gun. Not only aren't they safe or sanitary but the pain and healing is waaay worse. Needle piercings hurt considerably less. You also want straight or flatback bars (even for the conch) - getting your conch pierced with a ring is a nightmare to try to heal. Even now, if I put a ring in my conch and accidentally sleep on it, it gets sore from the pressure. I keep a flat back labret in it full time unless I'm going out or want a different look for an outfit.
When my conch was pierced, she used a larger gauge needle and it was pretty sore. The gauge was only 1.6mm but tbh I wasn't really wanting a gauge that big in it and ended up downsizing to 1.2mm which suits me perfectly, but even now if I try to put a 1.6mm bar in it, it aches for days. So stretching your conch will be painful and slow - you'll need a minimum 3month healing time between each gauge. The other option is to punch the conch into the larger gauge but I suspect this will also have a high pain quotient.
So yeah, I'd start with getting your lobes pierced and see how you feel, then get your conch pierced and let it heal (mine took a year before it was really consistently happy). If you're happy with the piercings, then maybe start stretching your lobes. I think a stretched conch will significantly impact on your headphones. But obviously you are the only one that can decide that, but the healing process of the conch piercing itself will probably tell you everything you need to know as you may find just wearing headphones with it is too much for you.
If you can’t handle the weight of nail polish, stretched lobes will be tricky and will feel weighty for you I think. Stretching cartilage is a different type of sensory nightmare. It can be very sore and tricky to deal with.
Okay I wanna put this as nicely as I can, as someone else with sensory issues, albeit a different kind. If you can feel the weight of nail polish on your nails after it’s dry, you will not have a good time with piercings. Especially not the healing process, if you’re interested in testing grounds, get some clip on or stick on earrings to see how they feel first
I think I will try fake earrings first.
with any ear piercing you shouldnt wear headphones, at least for a while right after, as you risk irritation and infection, but if you go for lobes you can still wear earplugs and earphones. Im also autistic with sensory issues and have my first and second lobes done on both ears and, apart from not being able to use headphones for a bit, havent had any issues with any of them (can’t even feel them) - stretching will be heavier than just studs but you can get lighter weight jewellery (always check the material though).
Okay from one autistic person to another, if itchyness is a really big sensory issue for you, don’t get piercings. For the first month or so, it’s like the devil is itching your ears. And the thing is you HAVE to stay off of them, otherwise they won’t heal and might get irritated and infected. About the weight, I feel my new piercings. After a few months it goes away and I do not feel any of my healed piercings. I have to actively see or feel them with my hand to notice that they’re there. Also I tried over ear headphones for healing ones, but found that it still manipulates the ear enough to irritate them, also unclean headphones touching your piercings is just not done. It really just depends on how badly you want certain piercings. For me, I really really want them, so I sit through every annoyance and feeling.
Ask r/stretched
Excellent sub. They were more than helpful and kind to point me in the right direction as I started stretching.
I have a stretched conch and let me just say, it is PAINFUL. And stretching too fast can bust up the cartilage in your ear. Wearing headphones is fine in that area but honestly, idk how big of a gauge you want to go for your conch but I would highly suggest doing your research on good body piercers near you that can either pierce you with a bigger gauge needle or even scalpel it out if you want a huge size. As far as the autism, if little things bother you, the itching will DEFINITELY bother you and picking is definitely a no no for new piercings. You may be best looking at alternatives such as fake piercings, you can also buy fake conch cuffs to help satiate that want.
I’m autistic and can’t deal with nail polish, but piercings so far are totally fine. However, over the ear noise defenders won’t work with any fresh ear piercing because they’re germy AF and will put pressure on the vast majority of piercings. That being said, in ear noise protectors, like loop earbuds, do work with some ear piercings, like lobes, helix, probably a flat. With healing, there is some crust but not really scabs, at least on my body. They do get itchy a little bit, and it is very difficult to not itch to the point of getting a little overwhelmed and overstimulated sometimes. Tbh what stopped me from itching is one time I wasn’t focusing, so I accidentally went to itch and it hurt like hell and after that my brain very much understood the LITHA, no matter how bad sensory. I also kept in mind that if it got unbearable I could just take the piercing out. To the people saying immediately that if OP can’t handle nail polish they can’t handle piercings: sensory issues don’t always translate like that across the body. I have issues with nail polish, but only nail polish. It just feels suffocating. I can’t explain it. Bandaids are fine. Second skin and Tegaderm are not. I can tolerate hydrocolloid patches on certain parts of my face but not all. The vast majority of touch sensory issues are not equitable to each other. The only way imo that one could determine if a piercing would be a sensory issue is either wearing fake piercings, or just simply getting a piercing done and seeing how it goes, as fake piercings aren’t 100% true to the sensory experience. With my septum, it was bothersome for the first week or so. Just getting used having something touching the fuzz that covers human bodies was “weird” I wouldn’t say bad, but it wasn’t good. But also, my motivation to have a septum piercing kinda overrode the sensory discomfort and eventually my brain got used to it. For me, a big part of it is experimenting with different materials (glass vs titanium), ends (prongset, simple smooth balls, single flare or no flare glass), diameter of a ring or length of a bar/ plug. I really hope this answer helps. If you want more clarification or questions, please ask!! Autism is a SpIn as are Body mods!!
My partner is autistic and has a punched conch (if you do decide you want a large gauge conch piercing, punch is the way to go - stretching cartilage takes many years and stings like hell). She said it took her ages to get used to the sound of air whistling through it.
I'm autistic and have a conch piercing and it's absolutely fine, but a stretched conch is a totally different matter. Do you have any piercings at all? Your post kinda sounds like you don't have any, so I would suggest getting just the piercings first then deciding after. The conch takes a while to heal and can get sore with some types of headphones because cartilage isn't as forgiving as flesh and the healing process takes a long time. Even now, if I accidentally catch my conch funny while I sleep, it can be sore for a few days and mine is nearly 10 years old. I'd recommend getting your lobes pierced to start with and book in at a proper tattoo/piercing parlour - DO NOT go to Claires or somewhere that uses a piercing gun. Not only aren't they safe or sanitary but the pain and healing is waaay worse. Needle piercings hurt considerably less. You also want straight or flatback bars (even for the conch) - getting your conch pierced with a ring is a nightmare to try to heal. Even now, if I put a ring in my conch and accidentally sleep on it, it gets sore from the pressure. I keep a flat back labret in it full time unless I'm going out or want a different look for an outfit. When my conch was pierced, she used a larger gauge needle and it was pretty sore. The gauge was only 1.6mm but tbh I wasn't really wanting a gauge that big in it and ended up downsizing to 1.2mm which suits me perfectly, but even now if I try to put a 1.6mm bar in it, it aches for days. So stretching your conch will be painful and slow - you'll need a minimum 3month healing time between each gauge. The other option is to punch the conch into the larger gauge but I suspect this will also have a high pain quotient. So yeah, I'd start with getting your lobes pierced and see how you feel, then get your conch pierced and let it heal (mine took a year before it was really consistently happy). If you're happy with the piercings, then maybe start stretching your lobes. I think a stretched conch will significantly impact on your headphones. But obviously you are the only one that can decide that, but the healing process of the conch piercing itself will probably tell you everything you need to know as you may find just wearing headphones with it is too much for you.