'Ear Cheese' Is The Smell Caused By Your Ear Piercing And Here's How ...

'Ear cheese' is the smell caused by your ear piercing and here's how to fix it

It turns out that foul smell which often comes off the back of your ear piercing is completely normal and there's a simple but effective way to fix it

CommentsNewsEmma Rosemurgey Audience Writer15:46, 26 Jul 2021Updated 15:48, 26 Jul 2021

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As far as piercings go, good old fashioned earlobe piercings are about as low maintenance as they come. They're relatively quick to heal and pretty straight-forward to change.

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However, anyone who has ever has their ears pierced will know that when you do choose to change your earrings, it can be a bit of a smelly experience.

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To be more specific, have a good old whiff of the back of your earring, if you don't already know the smell we're talking about.

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Good, now we've got that out of the way we can get onto talking about the yucky, cheesy earring smell, which has been affectionately nicknamed 'ear cheese' by some delightfully gross people.

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But, why does the piercing create that smell in the first place, and can we get rid of it?

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Firstly, 'ear cheese' is completely normal and is caused by oil and dead skin cells which have been shed and built up between the skin and the jewellery.

Of course, the skin all over your body is constantly shedding and being replaced, but spots like the back of your ear are less likely to be cleaned, especially if covered by a piece of jewellery, like an earring.

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Unsurprisingly, if that oil and dead skin is left to build up, it can get a little bit whiffy, which explains the smell that occurs when you take out your earring.

It's also worth noting that newer piercings may smell more than others, as the body is still going through the motions of reacting to the initial puncture.

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So, if you want to eradicate the smell, the simple but effective fix is simply to regularly clean around your piercing - including taking off the back of your earing and cleaning the skin.

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