PIERCING AFTERCARE
CLEANING ROUTINE
-Always wash your hands before touching or cleaning your piercing.
-Use a sterile saline solution and a cotton swab to clean the piercing 3-4 times a day. Gently wipe the area and knock off any white crusties that form outside the piercing. We carry and recommend H2Ocean Piercing Spray, but a regular sterile saline solution will suffice.
-DO NOT USE CONTACT SOLUTION, ALCOHOL, HYDROGEN PEROXIDE, TRIPLE ANTIBACTERIAL OINTMENT, etc.
A sterile saline solution should be the only product you clean your piercing with.
-DO NOT ROTATE OR MOVE YOUR PIERCING!!! If you rotate or move your piercing, you increase the likelihood of the little crusties on the outside getting pushed into the piercing hole, which can cause tearing and agitation. The golden rule in healing piercings is to just clean it, and leave it alone.
-Avoid submerging your piercing in any bodies of water until it is fully healed. This includes bathtubs, pools, creeks, oceans, etc. When it comes to bathing, stick to taking showers.
-Healing time varies for each piercing, but we recommend leaving a piercing in at least 6-8 weeks before changing it out. Some piercings can take much longer to completely heal, so it's always a good idea to come in and speak with one of our piercers to make sure your piercing is ready to be changed before you take it out.
-Jewelry should be left in at all times during healing. If the jewelry needs to be changed out for any reason during this time, it should be done by one of our piercers.
WHAT'S NORMAL, AND WHAT'S NOT?
-When a new piercing is healing, it is common for there to be mild discoloration, mild swelling, itching, and a clear to light yellow fluid that forms crust on the outside of the piercing. These are normal and are not signs of infection.
-If the piercing is severely red, swollen, very painful, or there is a dark colored discharge coming from it, the piercing may be infected. If you suspect your piercing is infected, come into the shop as soon as you can and let one of our piercers assess what is going on with it. Seeing what's going on in person is the best way for us to help you solve any issues with your piercing.
-DO NOT TAKE THE PIERCING OUT IF IT IS INFECTED! If you do, your body could trap the infection and cause an abscess. The infection needs to be treated before the jewelry can be removed.
-Sometimes, a small, hard bump will appear next to the piercing. This is called a keloid. Keloids are a buildup of scar tissue. They are fairly common and treatable. Do not pick at or try to pop a keloid! Messing with them can cause them to get larger and more agitated. We have found that applying tea tree oil 1-2 times a day can help reduce the size of a keloid. If you think your piercing is forming a keloid, come speak with one of our piercers, and we'll help you with treating it.
-If it seems like the piercing has moved to the side or closer to the surface, it could be migrating or rejecting. Once the body has started migrating/rejecting a piercing, it is usually best to remove the piercing. As with all piercing concerns, it is best to come speak with one of our piercers and see what is best to do.
Below, we have links to aftercare brochures produced by the Association of Professional Piercers (APP). We are not affiliated with the APP, but find these to be good resources for a range of piercing topics. You can learn more about the APP at www.safepiercing.org.
-Suggested Aftercare Guidelines for Body Piercings
-Suggested Aftercare Guidelines for Oral Piercings
-Body Piercing Troubleshooting for You and Your Healthcare Professional