Piercing Aftercare
We have outlined a few things that should help to heal your piercing.
Remember – These are only suggestions and if you have any adverse reactions or questions please don’t hesitate to contact us.
There are various factors which will determine the healing time of your piercing. These include diet, lifestyle, your immune system and irritation to the piercing during the healing period.
PIERCING AFTERCARE FOR MOST PIERCINGS (EXCEPT ORAL PIERCINGS):
- USE MAXIMUM 1/4 OF A TEASPOON OF ROCK SALT (8-9 ROCKS) IN 1/2 A PINT OR 300ML OF PRE-BOILED WATER.
- LET THE WATER COOL AND THE SALT DISSOLVE.
- USING A CLEAN COTTON BUD, CLEAN ONE SIDE OF THE PIERCING THOROUGHLY.
- USING A CLEAN COTTON BUD, CLEAN THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PIERCING THOROUGHLY.
- DO NOT TWIST, PICK OR PULL THE PIERCING.
- DO THIS TWICE A DAY, MORNING AND NIGHT FOR 8-12 WEEKS
Navels, Nipples & Genitals
These piercings can be among the hardest to heal due to irritation from clothing and a lack of air to the piercing.
Any crust formation on the jewellery should first be soaked off with clean, warm water. A small amount of antibacterial soap should then be lathered over the piercing and left on for a minute or so. Rinse thoroughly with fresh clean water – preferably in the shower.
For best results this should be repeated no more than twice daily.
The most common irritation with navel piercings is clothing. Waistbands of trousers, skirts, underwear etc. should be kept off your piercing at all times. Also try and avoid aggressive exercise and sleeping on your stomach. You may also find that chlorinated swimming pools, jacuzzis or saunas may cause irritation or infection. To prevent this try using a “Tegaderm” or “Mepore” patch or similar dressing which is specifically designed to keep the area dry and clean.
Ears, Septum, Nostril, Eyebrow and Bridge, Outside Lip & Cheeks
As facial and ear piercings are harder to soak, cleaning after a bath or shower will make the process much easier.
Wet a clean cotton bud with saline and soak around the piercing and jewellery, making sure to remove any crust formation. When totally clean, dry with a clean cotton bud, clean piece of kitchen roll or a hairdryer on a cold setting. Repeat this process 2 times daily.
Tongue, Inside Lip & Inside Cheek
An oral piercing is when all or part of the piercing in inside the mouth.
The following instructions are to be used to care for the inside of the mouth.
To care for the outside, follow the instructions above.
To clean the inside of oral piercings we suggest alcohol-free mouthwash and can be used undiluted. If an alcohol based mouthwash is used it should be diluted 1/3 mouthwash to 2/3 water. It should be used after everything you eat, drink or smoke until the piercing is fully healed.
With all oral piercings there will be some swelling. This is perfectly normal and the jewellery you have been pierced with will allow for this. Sucking on ice can help reduce the swelling. If you are at all worried about the amount of swelling or if the jewellery starts embedding please call in to have it looked at by your piercer.
For the first few days of your new piercing eating may be difficult (you may notice this especially with tongues). Take it easy, start on soft foods like soup and work your way up to tougher foods.
We suggest you avoid hot spicy foods at this stage.
It is also advisable to change your toothbrush as your old one may harbour bacteria.
The tongue is covered in a thin natural healing agent called “peptide”. This will help to aid the healing process.
Surface Piercings and Dermal Anchors
Surface piercings and dermal anchors are piercings that sit just underneath the skin with one or two parts on show on top of the skin. Cleaning of these piercings is very similar to the cleaning of any other piercing (please see above). Depending on the placement of the dermal anchor or surface piercing, extra care may need to be taken to avoid aggravation and rejection. Be wary that any bacteria that it comes into contact with can cause infection so if the piercing is on an exposed part of the body, more caution may need to be taken to avoid this. If you suspect anything is wrong then see your piercer as quickly as possible.
Surface piercings and dermal anchors are much more susceptible to rejection than most piercings and this needs to be considered carefully before getting one. In general, most dermal anchors and surface piercings will reject at some point after getting it. This could be a matter of several months or sometimes many years, it varies from person to person and is down to a variety of factors (such as genetics, skin type, weight gain/loss, physical/emotional stress, etc.). To help keep the risk of this to a minimum, a dressing (such as “mepore”) can be worn over the piercing whilst sleeping and or if you’re wearing clothes that are likely to catch it.
Problematic piercings can often be caused by:
Aggravation (due to clothing on the area)
Not using suggested aftercare products
ANY contact with unwashed hands or bodily fluids
By using the appropriate piercing aftercare solution and keeping irritation to a minimum, you will ensure the best possible healing environment for your piercing.
Hot compress or Osmosis
(1/4 teaspoon MAXIMUM of rock salt to 1/2 a pint or 300ml of pre-boiled water) – This method works best when using hot but not boiling water.
Soak a cotton pad with the saline solution and place on the piercing for 2-5 minutes (until it cools down). This helps open the pores of the skin.
Pour the remainder into a clear container that’s just big enough to cover the area (eg Navel/Mug, Eyebrow/Long contact lens case or an eggcup). Soak the piercing for 10 minutes, making sure the water is warm. This draws out any of the impurities or trapped fluid out of the piercing.
This can be repeated a few times a week to heal a piercing, but when treating a problematic piercing, twice a day is preferable.
CONCLUSION
When you get a piercing you must be aware that there may be some swelling or scarring to the area. Although not a common occurrence, some piercings have the potential to reject or grow out. This is only a caution and you will find that there is only a small amount of people which this can affect.
We hope your experience with us has been a pleasant one and that we will see you again in the near future!
ENJOY YOUR PIERCING 🙂