When being pierced, your piercer will go over aftercare instructions in person with you, as

well as have a pamphlet or aftercare page you can take home with you. Keep in mind, piercings can become irritated for many reasons. Irritation does not necessarily mean infection.

Please do not hesitate to contact your piercer whenever you have the slightest concern about your piercing, we are here to help after all! 

 

The Basics: 

Our bodies are very good at what they do, so when it comes to caring for healing piercings, keeping things simple tends to be better. With this in mind, the most important part of taking care of healing piercings is to not touch with unclean fingers, and do not twist, turn, or rotate jewelry. 

Touching your piercing can introduce bacteria to that open wound and is the #1 cause of infection. When you twist and move your jewelry, it will only drag bacteria through the channel and cause unwanted damage to the tissue.

While piercings are healing it's very important to avoid the use of any harsh products, like rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, Bactine, or iodine. Products like these are not appropriate for puncture wounds, and will irritate and prevent piercings from healing. Creams, lotions, oils, and ointments are also good to avoid because they attract bacteria.

And please, do not use tea tree oil on your piercings.

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Cleaning:

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Saline flushes should be done 1-3 times a day for the full healing period. 

Packaged sterile saline solution is a clean, convenient option for helping promote easier healing.

You can buy packaged sterile saline from your piercer, or any store with a first aid section. 

*Contact lens saline and nasal saline is not the same.* 

*For flushes, spray saline directly onto the piercing to soften and remove

any dried discharge. This can be done anytime there is crusty build up and your schedule allows. 

While showering, let water run over your piercing to rinse off any crusty matter. Make sure to thoroughly dry with a clean, disposable paper product after rinsing your piercing.

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*Using a mild, liquid soap once a day is good for keeping dirt and germs out of your

piercing if you work in a dirty or dusty environment.

Some preferred soap is Dr. Bronner's unscented castile soap, or Provon anti-microbial soap.

While showering, lather up a pearl size drop of the soap and gently clean

the surface around the piercing. It is not necessary to rotate the jewelry through the piercing.

Let your piercing air dry, or dry by gently patting with clean, disposable paper products. Cloth towels can harbor bacteria and snag on jewelry, causing injury.

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For Oral Piercings:

You are going to want to rinse your mouth 2-3 times a day with an alcohol free antiseptic mouth rinse. Biotene is a great choice as it also helps to keep your mouth from getting dry, which can happen with some oral piercings.

Bottled or distilled water is also appropriate to use for rinses after meals.

Picking up a brand new toothbrush is a good idea, and you want to make sure you keep others bodily fluids out of your mouth. 

All piercings, especially oral, require slightly longer initial jewelry to accommodate for swelling. It is very important that you return to the studio once swelling has subsided to purchase shorter jewelry components. Ask your piercer when you should come back for downsizing.

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If you would like to read the Association Of Professional Piercers Suggested Aftercare,

click the button below. 

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