Piercing Aftercare Instructions
Piercing Aftercare Instructions
Download the PDF!
How your piercing heals:
The main thing to consider when healing any piercing is that your body is what has to do the healing. Nothing you do to you piercing or put on your piercing is going to make it heal, but there are things you can do to allow your body to do its job better and heal as quickly as possible.
The first and foremost responsibility in healing any piercing is keeping your body healthy. Keeping yourself healthy will keep your immune system strong, which in turn will result in a quick problem-free healing time. This includes eating healthy, drinking lots of water, and trying to reduce the amount of stress on your body as much as possible. Water is an essential part of healing any piercing because it is an important part of what your body needs to rebuild skin cells. Also, dehydration will increase soreness and swelling in any piercing, so drinking a lot of water will make the initial healing time more comfortable.
Taking a multi-vitamin before and during the healing time of a piercing is a great idea, and will make sure that your body is getting all the vitamins it needs to heal itself as quickly as possible.
Piercings heal from the outside in, forming a chain of skin cells along the way. Until the piercing is healed all the way through, the piercing should still be treated as an open wound. Anything that you wouldn't put in your eye or in a cut shouldn't be put on or near your piercing. Often piercings will look and feel healed well before they are completely healed. It is important to realize to follow the aftercare guidelines for this entire time.
Any sort of irritation will prolong the healing time of a piercing. This includes, but is not limited to: touching the piercing, excessive movement, pressure, or harsh chemical products.
What to expect:
Slight soreness or tenderness is normal for the first few days following a piercing. Occasionally slight bruising around the entrance or exit of a piercing can be seen within the first few days (yellowish or greenish skin) and will fade quickly. Dried white blood cells and plasma (lymph) will get pushed to the surface of your skin as the piercing heals, resulting in a clear or whitish fluid that will often dry and form a crust on the jewelry or around the entrance and exit of the piercing. This is normal and is a sign that your piercing is healing. Green or dark-colored drainage is not normal, and is a sign that something is wrong.
What to do:
Sea salt soaks at least once a day, preferably directly after a shower. For the initial healing time (the time it takes for the piercing to heal on the surface), a gentle plain white soap with no fragrances, dyes, or oils should be used to wash the rest of your body to avoid getting these potential irritants into your piercing during a shower. Kirk's Castille soap, Dove, Satin, or Provon are all good examples that are readily available. Do not use any sort of soap to clean your piercings with. While in the shower, keep soap at least an inch away from your piercing. The last thing to do before you get out of the shower is to rinse the piercing for 3-5 minutes with clean water to make sure there is no residue left near the piercing. Avoid rinsing soap or shampoo directly into fresh piercings.
After the shower, mix 1/8 teaspoon of sea salt into an 8 ounce disposable cup of warm distilled water. The water should be as warm as is comfortable. Soak the new piercing in this mixture for 5-10 minutes (until the water cools). Sea salt soaks should be done a minimum of once a day.
Other than sea salt, nothing else should be put on the piercing. Making a stronger mixture (more sea salt and less water) should not be used as it will dry out the skin around you piercing.
What not to do:
Do not touch the piercings without washing hands with antibacterial soap beforehand. Touching piercings is the easiest way to cause problems. Your hands are the dirtiest place on your body, and the quickest way to introduce bacteria into your new piercing is to touch it. A new piercing really shouldn't need touch at all, but if it should need adjusted or moved from some reason, wash your hands well with an antimicrobial soap before doing so.
Do not use alcohol, peroxide, Bactine, or antibacterial soaps on your new piercing.
All these contain harsh chemicals meant to kill bacteria. As long as no bacteria are being put in the piercing (touching it with your hands or anything else dirty) then there is no reason to use these harsh chemicals. In addition to killing bacteria, all these products will also kill new healing skin cells and make the healing process take longer. Also, many of these products have other chemical ingredients that make them more unsuitable for use on a new piercing.
Do not enter pools, lakes, Jacuzzis, or hot tubs with a new piercing.
Bodies of water are full of bacteria, and most pools and hot tubs contain chemicals (chlorine for example) that will irritate new piercings.
Do not allow pets in your bed during the healing of a piercing.
Pets have bacteria on them that your body is not used to, and by allowing them in your bed you will be rubbing those bacteria into your piercing all night long.
Do not remove jewelry for any length of time during healing.
Changing a piercing too early will tear the healing fistula (skin tube) and essentially start the healing process all over again. Also, once jewelry is taken out of an unhealed piercing it often will be difficult or impossible to get it back in.
Do not put band-aids or bandages on a fresh piercing.
Lack of air will kill healing skin cells. If a bandage must be worn during healing, air-permeable bandages (Tegaderm or Clean Seals) are air-permeable and are fine during healing. Additionally, adhesives on or near your piercing will cause irritation and prolonged healing.
Do not rotate, twist, or turn jewelry during healing.
While your jewelry is healing, it will get "crusty". This crust in mostly lymph (white blood cells) and is a good sign that your piercing is healing. By moving your jewelry, you will be dragging this crust - along with bacteria that may be on the outside part of your jewelry - through your piercing, causing it to take longer to heal.
Do not pick at healing piercings.
Do not bathe while healing a piercing.
Bath tubs (like pools and hot tubs) harbor bacteria. Also, bathing rather than showering will cause your new piercing to come in contact with all the dirt, oils, and bacteria that you wash off you skin during the bath.
Do not sleep on or wear tight clothing over a new piercing.
Pressure on a new piercing will cause problems during healing, and at best will increase the amount of time it takes for your body to heal the piercing.
Additional information:
Sleeping with your ear between two pillows will keep the pressure of off new ear piercings. Avoid getting hair-care products on healing piercings. Change or wash bedding at least once a week during healing. A clean T-shirt over your pillow can provide a clean surface to sleep on and cuts down on having to change pillowcases every day. Be cautious of hairbrushes and combs during healing. Avoid talking on the phone with healing piercings.
Download the PDF!
How your piercing heals:
The main thing to consider when healing any piercing is that your body is what has to do the healing. Nothing you do to you piercing or put on your piercing is going to make it heal, but there are things you can do to allow your body to do its job better and heal as quickly as possible.
The first and foremost responsibility in healing any piercing is keeping your body healthy. Keeping yourself healthy will keep your immune system strong, which in turn will result in a quick problem-free healing time. This includes eating healthy, drinking lots of water, and trying to reduce the amount of stress on your body as much as possible. Water is an essential part of healing any piercing because it is an important part of what your body needs to rebuild skin cells. Also, dehydration will increase soreness and swelling in any piercing, so drinking a lot of water will make the initial healing time more comfortable.
Taking a multi-vitamin before and during the healing time of a piercing is a great idea, and will make sure that your body is getting all the vitamins it needs to heal itself as quickly as possible.
Piercings heal from the outside in, forming a chain of skin cells along the way. Until the piercing is healed all the way through, the piercing should still be treated as an open wound. Anything that you wouldn't put in your eye or in a cut shouldn't be put on or near your piercing. Often piercings will look and feel healed well before they are completely healed. It is important to realize to follow the aftercare guidelines for this entire time.
Any sort of irritation will prolong the healing time of a piercing. This includes, but is not limited to: touching the piercing, excessive movement, pressure, or harsh chemical products.
What to expect:
Slight soreness or tenderness is normal for the first few days following a piercing. Occasionally slight bruising around the entrance or exit of a piercing can be seen within the first few days (yellowish or greenish skin) and will fade quickly. Dried white blood cells and plasma (lymph) will get pushed to the surface of your skin as the piercing heals, resulting in a clear or whitish fluid that will often dry and form a crust on the jewelry or around the entrance and exit of the piercing. This is normal and is a sign that your piercing is healing. Green or dark-colored drainage is not normal, and is a sign that something is wrong.
What to do:
Sea salt soaks at least once a day, preferably directly after a shower. For the initial healing time (the time it takes for the piercing to heal on the surface), a gentle plain white soap with no fragrances, dyes, or oils should be used to wash the rest of your body to avoid getting these potential irritants into your piercing during a shower. Kirk's Castille soap, Dove, Satin, or Provon are all good examples that are readily available. Do not use any sort of soap to clean your piercings with. While in the shower, keep soap at least an inch away from your piercing. The last thing to do before you get out of the shower is to rinse the piercing for 3-5 minutes with clean water to make sure there is no residue left near the piercing. Avoid rinsing soap or shampoo directly into fresh piercings.
After the shower, mix 1/8 teaspoon of sea salt into an 8 ounce disposable cup of warm distilled water. The water should be as warm as is comfortable. Soak the new piercing in this mixture for 5-10 minutes (until the water cools). Sea salt soaks should be done a minimum of once a day.
Other than sea salt, nothing else should be put on the piercing. Making a stronger mixture (more sea salt and less water) should not be used as it will dry out the skin around you piercing.
What not to do:
Do not touch the piercings without washing hands with antibacterial soap beforehand. Touching piercings is the easiest way to cause problems. Your hands are the dirtiest place on your body, and the quickest way to introduce bacteria into your new piercing is to touch it. A new piercing really shouldn't need touch at all, but if it should need adjusted or moved from some reason, wash your hands well with an antimicrobial soap before doing so.
Do not use alcohol, peroxide, Bactine, or antibacterial soaps on your new piercing.
All these contain harsh chemicals meant to kill bacteria. As long as no bacteria are being put in the piercing (touching it with your hands or anything else dirty) then there is no reason to use these harsh chemicals. In addition to killing bacteria, all these products will also kill new healing skin cells and make the healing process take longer. Also, many of these products have other chemical ingredients that make them more unsuitable for use on a new piercing.
Do not enter pools, lakes, Jacuzzis, or hot tubs with a new piercing.
Bodies of water are full of bacteria, and most pools and hot tubs contain chemicals (chlorine for example) that will irritate new piercings.
Do not allow pets in your bed during the healing of a piercing.
Pets have bacteria on them that your body is not used to, and by allowing them in your bed you will be rubbing those bacteria into your piercing all night long.
Do not remove jewelry for any length of time during healing.
Changing a piercing too early will tear the healing fistula (skin tube) and essentially start the healing process all over again. Also, once jewelry is taken out of an unhealed piercing it often will be difficult or impossible to get it back in.
Do not put band-aids or bandages on a fresh piercing.
Lack of air will kill healing skin cells. If a bandage must be worn during healing, air-permeable bandages (Tegaderm or Clean Seals) are air-permeable and are fine during healing. Additionally, adhesives on or near your piercing will cause irritation and prolonged healing.
Do not rotate, twist, or turn jewelry during healing.
While your jewelry is healing, it will get "crusty". This crust in mostly lymph (white blood cells) and is a good sign that your piercing is healing. By moving your jewelry, you will be dragging this crust - along with bacteria that may be on the outside part of your jewelry - through your piercing, causing it to take longer to heal.
Do not pick at healing piercings.
Do not bathe while healing a piercing.
Bath tubs (like pools and hot tubs) harbor bacteria. Also, bathing rather than showering will cause your new piercing to come in contact with all the dirt, oils, and bacteria that you wash off you skin during the bath.
Do not sleep on or wear tight clothing over a new piercing.
Pressure on a new piercing will cause problems during healing, and at best will increase the amount of time it takes for your body to heal the piercing.
Additional information:
Sleeping with your ear between two pillows will keep the pressure of off new ear piercings. Avoid getting hair-care products on healing piercings. Change or wash bedding at least once a week during healing. A clean T-shirt over your pillow can provide a clean surface to sleep on and cuts down on having to change pillowcases every day. Be cautious of hairbrushes and combs during healing. Avoid talking on the phone with healing piercings.
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