The Earlobe Droop: Aging of Pierced Ears and What You Can Do

I remember begging my mother on my tenth birthday to pierce my ears - a wish I wasn`t allowed to have fulfilled until I was twelve. After piercing became a little more mainstream - with people piercing even their baby`s ears - I later decided to have two more sets done. We`re always hearing about what we`ll look like later on with things like piercing, and these warnings, most times are true. Later on in life, some as early as their forties, many women will experience significantly droopy earlobes, and along with every thing else we`re trying desperately to keep from drooping, this is the last thing we need. We`ll tell you how you can enjoy sporting ear jewelry without looking like a Basset Hound later.

An Ounce Of Prevention...

You know the rest... Is better than an ounce of cure. There actually is a cure for droopy ears caused from piercing, but we`ll talk about prevention first for those of us who still have time to heed the warning. The only completely preventative measure to avoid drooping earlobes is to not pierce. Although they aren`t as common as they used to be, clip-on earrings are still made. Most women don`t like them because it`s embarrassing when they fall off, they are generally uncomfortable, and they have to be changed daily, they are an option to consider. The only other preventative measure is to not wear heavy ear jewelry.

Piercing of the ears became all the rage in the 1980`s, about the same time that big hair and big jewelry did. Unfortunately, women that followed the fad of wearing loud statements in their ears are paying for it later in the life of their ears with droopiness and the inability to wear earrings at all because the earlobes are so worn. If your somewhere in the middle-life or your ear piercing, it`s not too late. If you`ve recently pierced, we`ll give the same advice - stick to studs. No, we don`t mean burly, macho men - they won`t do a bit of good for your ears - by studs we mean one-piece earrings, no more than a quarter-inch in width.

When the Damage Is Done

If your particularly sensitive about your droopy earlobes or would really like to be able to wear ear jewelry again, but can`t - there`s always surgical correction. This type of surgery will completely close the earlobe and will require that it be pierced again upon healing. This can be pricey since it is considered cosmetic and most often times will not be covered by health insurance companies, so make sure ear jewelry is really something you miss.

If ear surgery just doesn`t appeal you, there are some new versions of ear jewelry with special posts for older earlobes. These posts supply a wider surface to flatten the back of the ear against the post and prevent pulling from the front of the ear. Although this method of correction has it`s downfalls - posts are rather large and can often be seen from the side view - it`s cheaper than surgery while allowing you to still enjoy wearing ear jewelry.

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