Cleaning & Caring for a Fresh Piercing is Important for Avoiding Complications

Piercing Aftercare:

• Thoroughly wash hands!
• Spray your piercings entrance and exit holes with sterile saline spray 2 to 3 times a day. You can wipe away any crusty discharge from the jewelry with sterile non-woven gauze soaked in saline but do not pick at it. Let air-dry or pat dry with non-woven gauze or clean paper towel (no hand towels that could snag jewelry or contain bacteria).
• Rinse your piercing daily with fresh warm water in the shower to clean away any excess crusty discharge.
• Keep yourself healthy! Healthy bodies heal piercings best.
• Come in for a check up and downsize on your jewelry post once the initial inflammation has gone down (on average around one month after being pierced, depending on the piercing). The original post length is just to accommodate for swelling. Once the swelling is gone, the post will be long and prone to catching on things and moving back and forth putting friction on the piercing channel. So, it is important to switch to a properly fitted post to help your piercing to continue to heal happily.

Things to avoid:

• Avoid touching your piercing with unwashed hands. Hands are germy and you don’t want to expose your piercing to everything you’ve touched, it could lead to infection.
• Do not twist or turn your jewelry, this can damage the piercing channel and prolong healing.
• Avoid submerging your piercing while it is healing. No baths, swimming in pools, lakes, oceans, etc.
• Don’t remove your jewelry while it is healing unless instructed by a medical professional. Even healed piercings can shrink when jewelry is removed, potentially resulting in loss of the piercing.
• Avoid anything from getting into your piercing (examples: makeup, face washes, lotions, harsh chemicals, hair products, perfumes, essential oils). Our rule of thumb is if you wouldn’t put something in your eyes, don’t put it in your piercing!
• Avoid sleeping or putting pressure on your new piercing. This could lead to irritation or migration of the piercing. Travel pillows can help you avoid sleeping on your ear while healing an ear piercing.

Each body is unique and healing times vary considerably. If you have any questions, please contact your piercer. If you have medical concerns, contact your physician immediately.