Q: Help! My flat back stud is stuck! It spins fine but the gem end will not come off no matter what I do. What am I doing wrong? — KP

A: Okay first, breathe, you almost certainly aren't doing anything wrong, you just might be removing it the wrong way for the type you have. And this trips up basically everyone, so let's sort it.

Flat back studs come in two flavors, and they come off completely differently:

• Threaded (screws on): the gem end twists off, righty-tighty lefty-loosey. But here's the catch that's probably getting you: if the whole post just spins when you twist, you need to hold the flat disc still behind your ear with one hand while you turn the gem counterclockwise with the other. Spinning without gripping the back = it'll never budge. And these can get over-tightened, so a good grip is key.

• Threadless / push-in (presses in): this one does NOT unscrew at all. There are no threads. You take it off by gently pulling the gem end straight out, sometimes with a tiny wiggle, while holding the back. If you've been twisting and twisting on a push-in piece, that's the whole mystery solved, twisting does nothing here.

So step one is figuring out which you've got. Try holding the back firmly and turning the front counterclockwise, if it loosens, it's threaded. If it truly won't unscrew, it's almost certainly threadless and wants a straight, gentle pull instead. A couple of tips: clean, dry hands (or a grippy dry paper towel) give you way more traction, and don't force it with tools. If it's genuinely jammed, your piercer will pop it off in ten seconds for free rather than risk you tearing anything.

And for what it's worth, Body Candy carries both styles, so once you know which system you like living with, you can stock up on the one that fits your life. Give the hold-the-back trick a go first, and I bet that gem comes right off.

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Q: My piercing bleeds a tiny bit every time I clean or bump it, and it's been months. Normal or a red flag? — Caty B.

A:  First off... this is not medical advice. Now that that's out of the way, I'm going to be straight with you: an occasional tiny bit of blood from a good hard bump can happen, but bleeding every time you clean or touch it, months in, isn't something I'd just shrug off. A piercing that's healing on schedule should be getting calmer and tougher by now, not still breaking open at the lightest contact.

That pattern usually points to one of a few things:

• It's not actually healed yet and is being disturbed too often, so it keeps reopening instead of closing

• You're cleaning too aggressively or too frequently, or with too harsh a cleaning solution, which re-irritates it every single time

• The jewelry might be the issue, too long and catching, wrong size, or a metal your skin isn't loving

• There's low-grade irritation or infection simmering that's keeping the tissue fragile

None of those are "panic," but all of them are "get it looked at" rather than wait it out. So here's what I'd do: ease way off the cleaning (gentle sterile saline only, hands off otherwise, and stop bumping/sleeping on it), and then book a visit with your piercer. Let them check the fit and the healing in person. If they see any sign of infection, or it's warm, swollen, or oozing anything colored, that's a doctor conversation, not a wait-and-see. Months of repeat bleeding is your piercing waving a little flag. It's very likely fixable, but it's worth having a pro actually look rather than guessing from home.

Disclaimer: Body Candy is only here to give you fun and helpful advice and information when it comes to getting pierced. Always consult a professional piercer to make sure a new piercing is right for you!