Random Ramblings

Okay, it's time for another round of "help Julie choose!"

Since my post earrings are still annoying me, at least in my right ear, I've decided it's time to switch to something a) titanium, and b) without a backing.

So far I'm looking at a ring with a clear gem or a smooth segment ring. Both are G23 surgical titanium. For both, I'd be looking at 1.2 mm thickness (about 16 gauge) and 8 mm diameter. They're essentially the same price (a $1 difference per ring).

Please note that these would be my "everyday" earrings, the earrings I'd want to wear just to keep my holes open. So they'd have to go with just about all my everyday clothes.

So... does anyone have a preference between these two, aesthetically? Would there be any difference in terms of how they wear over time? Anyone try one style or the other?

I am currently going through the unfortunate process of trying to re-open my ear piercings. I had my ears pierced when I was 10, wore earrings for a while, and eventually discovered I was allergic to nearly every metal that exists (with the exception of gold and, I assume, medical-grade steel or titanium). So I stopped wearing earrings.

This led to an obnoxious cycle: every 4-6 months, I'd want to wear earrings. So I'd take out the earrings and spend a painful 10 minutes trying to put them on, essentially re-piercing my right ear each time (a thin flap of skin kept growing back inside the hole). Since I don't really own too many gold-post earrings, I'd generally be wearing something I was allergic to anyway, and the holes would get infected. I'd be so annoyed with the whole experience that I'd stop wearing earrings again, until 4-6 months later I'd *really* want to wear some earrings.

So I decided to start wearing earrings again. I found some simple gold-post pearl studs and tried ever-so-hard to put them in. The left, always the more cooperative, went in after one or two tries. But the right, oh my poor right ear. I kept trying and trying. Even though I could get the earring from the back through to the front, it absolutely refused to go through from front to back. I was scraping the inside of the back of my ear, and it hurt like hell. Eventually I realized I was angling it wrong, got it in, and that was that (for a while).

Today, I took out the earrings to disinfect them with alcohol, and realized that in addition to everything else I'd done to my right ear, I also managed to lodge a hair inside the hole, around the earring post. Argh! I'm really hoping I managed to pull the whole thing out, because it was stuck in there pretty good.

Anyway, I'm keeping them in, this time. I don't really have any other gold-post earrings, but I don't want to go through this hassle again. I really, really don't.