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Terms of Use wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Learn why people trust wikiHow
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Personal Care and Style
Tattoos and Piercing
Piercings
Ear Piercing
Earrings
How to Remove Earrings Download Article Piercing expert Priscilla Torres explains how to remove any type of earring Explore this Article methods 1 Removing Butterfly or Safety Back Earrings 2 Removing Screw Back Earrings 3 Troubleshooting Further Problems Other Sections Expert Q&A Tips and Warnings Related Articles References Co-authored by Priscilla Torres
Last Updated: November 21, 2025 Fact Checked
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This article was co-authored by Priscilla Torres. Priscilla Torres is a body piercing expert based in McAllen, Texas. Priscilla has been working as a professional body piercer since 2009, and is the owner of The Piercing Bar, the only all-piercing studio in McAllen. She specializes in both baby and child ear piercing, adult body piercing, and ear styling & design. After a few years of teaching high school biology and anatomy while working part-time as a piercer, Priscilla decided to leave teaching to become a full-time body piercer. Before opening The Piercing Bar, she worked as a piercer at two different tattoo studios. She has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Biology from the University of Texas-Pan American. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 277,974 times.
After getting a new ear piercing you may want to remove your earrings to change them or go without. Make sure you wait 6-8 weeks for earlobe piercings and at least 4 months for cartilage piercings, before removing your earrings.[1]XResearch source Always wash your hands before handling your earrings, and keep the piercing clean by regularly cleaning with a saline solution. As long as you've followed these steps, taking your earrings out should be safe and easy.
How do you take off earrings?
Piercing expert Priscilla Torres says you can remove most earrings by turning the back screw to the left. Remove butterfly or safety back earrings by pulling the front of the stud and the backing apart. If your earrings are stuck, try wetting the jewelry with warm, soapy water or visit your piercer for assistance.
Steps
Method 1 Method 1 of 3:
Removing Butterfly or Safety Back Earrings
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1 Hold on to the front of the stud and the backing. Use two hands. Make sure to hold on to the front of the earring, so that it doesn't pull into your ear or get lost.[2]XResearch source Do not do this above a sink, as the earring or backing could fall down the drain.
2 Pull the earring apart, keeping a firm grip on the front and back. Pull the butterfly back off the post, and the post out of the safety back. Once the backing has been safely removed, you may remove the earring from the piercing.
You may also carefully pull the safety back and stud in opposite directions at the same time.[3]XResearch source
Be careful not to stretch your earlobe, as it could injure you.
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3 Wiggle the backing if it has become stuck. If the backing is stuck, or the butterfly backing has become crooked, wiggle the backing until it comes off or until it becomes easy to pull off.
If the butterfly backing has been pushed too far, use a bobby pin to carefully pull on the butterfly back. Hook a bobby pin to the butterfly back, and use something hard, like tweezers, and push the post. The idea is to push the backing into a place where you can then wiggle or pull it off.[4]XResearch source
Advertisement Method 2 Method 2 of 3:
Removing Screw Back Earrings
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1 Hold on to the front of the stud and the screw back. Use two hands. Make sure to hold on to the front of the earring, so it doesn't pull into your ear or get lost.
2 Unscrew the backing by rotating it left until it slides off the post. For some piercings, the screw back may actually be in the front. Once the screw backing has been unscrewed, you can safely remove the earring from your piercing.[5]XResearch source
3 Wear a clean pair of rubber gloves to remove a tightly screwed back. Latex gloves should also work, so long as you don't have a latex allergy. This will provide extra grip if you are having trouble unscrewing the backing with your bare hands.[6]XResearch source
Advertisement Method 3 Method 3 of 3:
Troubleshooting Further Problems
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1 Get help from someone. If you feel your piercing has become stuck or you cannot remove it yourself, ask someone you trust to try to remove the backing. As they can see the earring back more easily than you can, they may be able to remove it more easily.
2 Visit your piercer for further assistance. If you are still experiencing trouble, return to where you got your ears pierced. Your piercer should be able to remove the earring very quickly and easily.[7]XResearch source
3 Treat an infection by visiting a doctor. If your piercing is swollen, red, or oozing pus, it may be infected and must be inspected by a doctor. Do not try to treat infections by yourself at home.
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Expert Q&A
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Question How can I clean my earrings? Stephanie Anders Owner, Royal Heritage Tattoo and Piercing Stephanie Anders is a jeweler and piercer based in Los Angeles, California. With over 10 years of piercing experience, Stephanie opened her first tattoo and piercing studio in 2016. With her experience in the body piercing industry and creative passion for fine jewelry, she later founded SXO Studios and created a fine jewelry line that is safe for piercing. Stephanie has also traveled and worked with clients all over the world, with her client list including such stars as Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Alba, Cameron Diaz, Nicole Richie, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Sharon Osbourne. Stephanie Anders Owner, Royal Heritage Tattoo and Piercing Expert Answer If your piercings are already healed, wiping down your earrings with an alcohol wipe will do the trick. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 2 Helpful 11
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Tips
Before getting your piercing, ask your piercer what kind of earring backing you will have, so that you know which method to use to remove it. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
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Warnings
Many piercers suggest waiting 5 months before using anything other than straight post earrings in earlobe piercings, and 1 year for cartilage piercings.[8]XResearch sourceThanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
Make sure to wear earrings for about a year before removing them for extended periods of time, to ensure they don't close up.[9]XResearch sourceThanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
Never use alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or any sort of antibacterial ointments to clean your piercing.[10]XResearch sourceThanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
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Co-authored by: Priscilla Torres Piercing Expert This article was co-authored by Priscilla Torres. Priscilla Torres is a body piercing expert based in McAllen, Texas. Priscilla has been working as a professional body piercer since 2009, and is the owner of The Piercing Bar, the only all-piercing studio in McAllen. She specializes in both baby and child ear piercing, adult body piercing, and ear styling & design. After a few years of teaching high school biology and anatomy while working part-time as a piercer, Priscilla decided to leave teaching to become a full-time body piercer. Before opening The Piercing Bar, she worked as a piercer at two different tattoo studios. She has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Biology from the University of Texas-Pan American. This article has been viewed 277,974 times. 62 votes - 44% Co-authors: 8Updated: November 21, 2025 Views: 277,974 Categories: Earrings In other languages Indonesian Dutch German French Portuguese Spanish Japanese
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Reader Success Stories
Robin Sidhu
May 20, 2022
"I had an ear-piercing 8 weeks ago and just could not take it off. I had tried every possible thing under the sun. Finally today on 5/20/2022, I found this article and boom. I got it off within a couple of minutes!"..." more
More reader stories Hide reader stories Share your story
Did this article help you?
Yes No Advertisement Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Co-authored by: Priscilla Torres Piercing Expert 62 votes - 44% Click a star to vote 44% of people told us that this article helped them. Co-authors: 8Updated: November 21, 2025 Views: 277,974
Robin Sidhu
May 20, 2022
"I had an ear-piercing 8 weeks ago and just could not take it off. I had tried every possible thing under the sun. Finally today on 5/20/2022, I found this article and boom. I got it off within a couple of minutes!"..." more
Anonymous
Aug 1, 2023
"I have been trying to take this earring off for a month or so. I looked everywhere for a way to take it off and this one is the only one that worked."..." more
Emma Wu
Jun 26, 2020
"It taught me that I am not supposed to take my earrings out yet." Share yours! More success stories Hide success stories
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Download Article Piercing expert Priscilla Torres explains how to remove any type of earring Explore this Article methods 1 Removing Butterfly or Safety Back Earrings 2 Removing Screw Back Earrings 3 Troubleshooting Further Problems Other Sections Expert Q&A Tips and Warnings Related Articles References Co-authored by Priscilla Torres 
Advertisement 
Co-authored by: Priscilla Torres Piercing Expert This article was co-authored by Priscilla Torres. Priscilla Torres is a body piercing expert based in McAllen, Texas. Priscilla has been working as a professional body piercer since 2009, and is the owner of The Piercing Bar, the only all-piercing studio in McAllen. She specializes in both baby and child ear piercing, adult body piercing, and ear styling & design. After a few years of teaching high school biology and anatomy while working part-time as a piercer, Priscilla decided to leave teaching to become a full-time body piercer. Before opening The Piercing Bar, she worked as a piercer at two different tattoo studios. She has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Biology from the University of Texas-Pan American. This article has been viewed 277,974 times. 62 votes - 44% Co-authors: 8 Updated: November 21, 2025 Views: 277,974 Categories: Earrings In other languages Indonesian Dutch German French Portuguese Spanish Japanese 
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1 Hold on to the front of the stud and the backing. Use two hands. Make sure to hold on to the front of the earring, so that it doesn't pull into your ear or get lost.[2] Do not do this above a sink, as the earring or backing could fall down the drain. 
2 Pull the earring apart, keeping a firm grip on the front and back. Pull the butterfly back off the post, and the post out of the safety back. Once the backing has been safely removed, you may remove the earring from the piercing. 
3 Wiggle the backing if it has become stuck. If the backing is stuck, or the butterfly backing has become crooked, wiggle the backing until it comes off or until it becomes easy to pull off. 
1 Hold on to the front of the stud and the screw back. Use two hands. Make sure to hold on to the front of the earring, so it doesn't pull into your ear or get lost. 
2 Unscrew the backing by rotating it left until it slides off the post. For some piercings, the screw back may actually be in the front. Once the screw backing has been unscrewed, you can safely remove the earring from your piercing.[5] 
3 Wear a clean pair of rubber gloves to remove a tightly screwed back. Latex gloves should also work, so long as you don't have a latex allergy. This will provide extra grip if you are having trouble unscrewing the backing with your bare hands.[6] Advertisement 
1 Get help from someone. If you feel your piercing has become stuck or you cannot remove it yourself, ask someone you trust to try to remove the backing. As they can see the earring back more easily than you can, they may be able to remove it more easily. 
2 Visit your piercer for further assistance. If you are still experiencing trouble, return to where you got your ears pierced. Your piercer should be able to remove the earring very quickly and easily.[7] 
3 Treat an infection by visiting a doctor. If your piercing is swollen, red, or oozing pus, it may be infected and must be inspected by a doctor. Do not try to treat infections by yourself at home. Advertisement 
Stephanie Anders Owner, Royal Heritage Tattoo and Piercing Stephanie Anders is a jeweler and piercer based in Los Angeles, California. With over 10 years of piercing experience, Stephanie opened her first tattoo and piercing studio in 2016. With her experience in the body piercing industry and creative passion for fine jewelry, she later founded SXO Studios and created a fine jewelry line that is safe for piercing. Stephanie has also traveled and worked with clients all over the world, with her client list including such stars as Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Alba, Cameron Diaz, Nicole Richie, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Sharon Osbourne. 
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