Trouble sleeping on your piercings?
This is the fix
The Original Pillow with a Hole is an ear piercing pillow with an open centre, so your ear — and a fresh piercing — never gets pressed into the bed.
12+ years experience
5000+ Amazon Reviews.
It just works.
The pillow we’d point you to
- Compact & simple
The Doughnut PWAH®
A simple, affordable way to take pressure off the ear.
Price range: £29.99 through £40.00Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
Customer reviews
Our customers say this was the first time they slept comfortably after getting pierced. They tell us that they experienced reduced pain, fewer flare-ups and a smoother healing process.
Sleeping on a fresh piercing is uncomfortable for a reason. Pressure and friction can lead to soreness, swelling and delayed healing. The Original Pillow with a Hole™ is designed to take that pressure away, helping your piercings stay calm while you sleep.
The central hole allows your ear to sit freely instead of being pressed into the pillow all night. This reduces irritation and helps create the right conditions for healing. It is especially helpful for cartilage piercings such as daith, helix, conch, industrial and tragus, and it works just as well for lobe piercings.
Completely customisable
You control the height, firmness and feel. Open the YKK® zip and add or remove filling to tune it to your ear, your shoulder and your comfort — so your head and neck are supported, not just your ear.
Why does sleeping on a piercing cause problems?
A healing piercing is a small wound, and pressing a wound into a pillow for seven hours is asking a lot of it. Pressure and friction are behind most of the troubles piercers see: irritation bumps, soreness and swelling, delayed healing, and in some cases the piercing slowly shifting out of position. The advice to “sleep on the other side” is sound until you fall asleep and roll over, which is why so many people give up and simply endure months of tender mornings.
Cartilage piercings need the most protection
Lobe piercings usually settle within weeks. Cartilage is a different story. Piercings such as the helix, daith, conch, industrial and tragus heal slowly because cartilage has very little blood supply, and they are far less forgiving of pressure while they do. The central hole in our pillows lets the entire ear sit untouched, so your helix is not grinding against fabric every time you turn over. It works just as well for lobes, but cartilage is where customers tell us it changes everything.
How long will I need it?
Plan around your piercing, not the pillow. Lobes typically settle in six to twelve weeks; cartilage piercings often take six months to a year to fully calm down. Most customers find the pillow earns a permanent place on the bed long after the piercing has healed, particularly side sleepers, for whom the benefits never really stop. If you sleep on your side, our side sleeper pillow guide covers this in full.
Which pillow should I choose for my piercing?
If you’re looking for the best pillow for ear piercings, here’s how the range compares:
For a new piercing that needs protecting while it heals, the Doughnut PWAH is the simple answer: it sits on top of your own pillow, costs the least in our range, and does one job perfectly. If piercings are a long-term part of your life, or you want the most comfortable night’s sleep available while you heal, the PWAH V2 is our flagship, with the plushest feel in the range and an organic cotton sateen pillowcase included. Healing a piercing while travelling? The Travel PWAH fits in carry-on luggage.
Sensitive about what touches your skin? Every case we offer is smooth, certified organic cotton sateen, gentle against healing skin and machine washable, which matters more than you might think: aftercare guidance consistently recommends a clean sleeping surface while a piercing heals.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use it on a brand-new piercing?
Yes — that’s when people find it most useful. It keeps your ear, and the fresh piercing, from being pressed into the pillow while you sleep on your side. It’s a comfort aid, not a medical device, so keep following your piercer’s aftercare advice while it heals.
Which piercings does it help with?
All of them — lobe and cartilage alike. It’s especially valued for cartilage piercings like the helix, daith, conch, industrial and tragus, which heal slowly and are least forgiving of pressure.
Which side should I sleep on with a new piercing?
Ideally the un-pierced side while it’s fresh — but most people roll over in their sleep. The hole means that even if you end up on the pierced side, your ear and piercing rest in the opening instead of being pressed into the pillow.
How do I keep it clean while my piercing heals?
Every case we make is smooth, certified organic cotton sateen and machine washable — easy to keep clean against healing skin, which aftercare guidance consistently recommends.
Not sure which pillow is right for you?
Find Your Pillow →- Nightly use
The Original P.W.A.H® V2
A refined, quilted PWAH for comfortable nightly use.
Price range: £65.00 through £115.00Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page - Compact & simple
The Doughnut PWAH®
A simple, affordable way to take pressure off the ear.
Price range: £29.99 through £40.00Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page - Travel
The Original Travel P.W.A.H®
A compact, travel-ready PWAH for comfort anywhere.
Price range: £60.00 through £70.00Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
These are not cheap textiles, and you wouldn’t want them to be.
It’s expensive to make things this well. Well sourced materials with nothing hidden in them, made by people paid a proper wage, sewn from scratch here in Liverpool. Look at what else is out there: the rest of the market is made overseas, down to a price. We went the other way and chose quality over price. That’s why nobody else makes them like this.
- Made in Liverpool, England
- Premium YKK® zips
- OEKO-TEX® organic cotton
- Yorkshire coil fibre, spun since the 1950s
- Fairly paid team