Aftercare Advice

Aftercare Advice

CLEANING SOLUTIONS

  • Packaged sterile saline is a gentle choice for piercing aftercare. Mixing your own sea salt solution is no longer a suggested practice. We strongly encourage you to use a sterile saline labelled for use as a wound wash. Contact lens saline, eye drops, and other saline products should never be used on a body piercing. Your saline ingredients should list .09% sodium chloride as the only ingredient. Mixing your own sea salt solution will commonly result in the product being far too salty and strong, this can over dry the piercing and interfere with healing.

CLEANING INSTRUCTIONS FOR PIERCINGS

  • WASH your hands thoroughly prior to cleaning or touching your piercing for any reason.
  • SALINE rinse as needed during healing. For certain placements it may be easier to apply using clean gauze saturated with saline solution. A brief rinse afterward will remove any residue.
  • DRY by gently patting with clean, disposable paper products because cloth towels can harbour bacteria and snag on jewellery, causing injury.

WHAT IS NORMAL?

  • Initially some bleeding, localized swelling, tenderness, or bruising.
  • During healing, some discoloration, itching, secretion of a whitish-yellow fluid (not pus) that will form some crust on the jewellery. The tissue may tighten around the jewellery as it heals.
  • Once healed, the jewellery may not move freely in the piercing. Do not force it. If you fail to include cleaning your piercing as part of your daily hygiene routine, normal but smelly bodily secretions may accumulate.
  • A piercing may seem healed before the healing process is complete. This is because tissue heals from the outside in, and although it feels fine, the interior remains fragile. Be patient, and keep cleaning throughout the entire healing period.
  • Even healed piercings can shrink or close in minutes after having been there for years! This varies from person to person, if you like your piercing, keep jewellery in do not leave it empty.

WHAT TO DO

  • Wash your hands prior to touching the piercing, leave it alone except when cleaning. During healing it is not necessary to rotate your jewellery.
  • Showers tend to be safer than taking baths, as bathtubs can harbour bacteria. If you bathe in a tub, clean it well before each use and rinse off your piercing when you get out.

WHAT TO AVOID

  • Avoid cleaning with alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, antibacterial soaps, iodine, or any harsh products, as these can damage cells. Also avoid ointments as they prevent necessary air circulation.
  • Avoid Bactine®, pierced ear care solutions, and other products containing Benzalkonium Chloride (BZK). These can be irritating and are not intended for long-term wound care.
  • Avoid over-cleaning. This can delay your healing and irritate your piercing.
  • Avoid undue trauma such as friction from clothing, excessive motion of the area, playing with the jewellery, and vigorous cleaning. These activities can cause the formation of unsightly and uncomfortable scar tissue, migration, prolonged healing, and other complications.
  • Avoid stress and recreational drug use, including excessive caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol.
  • Avoid submerging the piercing in unhygienic bodies of water such as lakes, pools, hot tubs, etc. Or, protect your piercing using a waterproof wound sealant bandage. These are available at most pharmacies.
  • Avoid all beauty and personal care products on or around the piercing including cosmetics, lotions, and sprays, etc.
  • Don’t hang charms or any object from your jewellery until the piercing is fully healed.
  • Sleeping directly on a healing cartilage piercing can cause irritation, even causing shifts in the piercing’s angle. Placing a travel pillow, on top of your pillow, and then placing your ear in the opening can be helpful to avoid this

HINTS AND TIPS

JEWELLERY
  • Unless there is a problem with the size, style, or material of the initial jewellery, leave it in the place for the entire healing period. If you feel the jewellery needs changing before the healing process has been completed, contact your piercer for advice.
  • Contact your piercer for a non-metallic jewellery alternative if your metal jewellery must be temporarily removed (such as for a medical procedure).
  • Leave jewellery in at all times. Even healed piercings that you have had for years can shrink or close in minutes! If removed, reinsertion can be difficult or impossible.
  • With clean hands or paper products, be sure to regularly check threaded and threadless ends on your jewellery for tightness.
  • Should you decide you no longer want the piercing, simply remove the jewellery (or have a professional piercer remove it) and continue cleaning the piercing until the hole closes. In most cases only a small mark should remain.
  • In the event an infection is suspected, quality jewellery or an inert alternative may be left in place to allow for drainage of the infection if approved by your physician. On rare occasions, when the jewellery is removed, the surface cells close up, which can seal the infection inside the piercing channel and result in an abscess. Until an infection is cleared up, discuss with your physician if you should leave in quality jewellery or an appropriate substitute.

FOR PARTICULAR AREAS

EAR & EAR CARTILAGE:

  • Use the t-shirt trick: Dress your pillow in a large, clean t-shirt and turn it nightly; one clean t-shirt provides four clean surfaces for sleeping.
  • Maintain cleanliness of telephones, headphones, eyeglasses, helmets, hats, and anything that contacts the pierced area.
  • Use caution when styling your hair and advise your stylist of a new or healing piercing.
ALTERNATIVE AFTERCARE
  • Aftercare is an evolving conversation in the progression of body piercing. Aftercare needs can differ from one region and climate to another and not all products are widely available, discuss your specific needs with your body piercer. If you choose to use soap on a healing piercing consider using a gentle soap free from harsh chemicals, dyes, and perfumes. The use of an antibacterial soap is not suggested as it may over-dry and irritate your piercing. If your piercer suggests the use of a soap fully rinse away product after use.
  • If sterile saline is not available in your region a sea salt solution mixture can be a viable alternative. Dissolve 1∕8 to 1⁄4 teaspoon (.75 to 1.42 grams) of non-iodized (iodine free), fine grain sea salt into one cup (8 oz. / 250ml) of warm distilled or bottled water. A stronger mixture is not better; salt solution that is too strong can irritate the piercing.

*Disclaimer:

These guidelines are based on a combination of vast professional experience, common sense, research, and extensive clinical practice. This is not to be considered a substitute for medical advice from a doctor. If you suspect an infection, seek medical attention. Be aware that many doctors have not received specific training regarding piercing. Your piercer may be able to refer you to a piercing-friendly medical professional.