Aftercare
How to clean your new piercing
Wash your hands thoroughly before cleaning or touching your piercing.
Spray your piercing twice a day, front and back, with a packaged sterile saline solution with no additives (“wound wash” NOT contact solution).
Clean using a folded piece of paper towel, cotton bud, or non-woven gauze. Wet the edges and gently remove any secretions (crusties).
Rinse with water to remove any residue.
Dry gently with a paper towel, non-woven gauze, or cotton bud. Do not use cloth towels as they harbor bacteria and can cling to jewelry, causing injury.
Cleanings should be done twice a day until healed. Ideally once in the morning, and once at night before bed. Always clean piercings after taking a shower to remove any soap/shampoo residue.
Oral Piercing Care: For OUTSIDE of the mouth, follow the instructions above. For INSIDE of the mouth, apply a packaged sterile solution or non-alcohol mouthwash with no additives twice a day and then rinse with warm water. Rinse your mouth with fresh water after each meal, non-water beverage, or after smoking.
Genital Piercing Care: Genital piercings can bleed freely during the first days. Additional cleaning after urination is not necessary. In most cases you can engage in sexual activities as soon as you feel ready, but maintaining good hygiene and preventing trauma is essential; all sexual activity should be gentle during the healing period. Use barriers such as condoms and dental dams to avoid contact with bodily fluids of your partners, even in long-term monogamous relationships. Use clean, disposable barriers on sex toys. Use a water-based lubricant; do not use saliva. After intercourse, rinsing with clean water is suggested.
DO NOT touch, turn, hit, sleep on or apply pressure to your healing piercing.
DO NOT apply other substances (tea tree oil, peroxide, alcohol, contact solution, antibacterial ointment and/or sprays, etc.)
DO NOT submerge your healing piercing in any body of water.
Please follow the advice of your piercer and come back for your check-up and/or downsize.
Unless there is a problem with the size, style, or materials of the initial jewelry, leave it in place for the entire healing period. Even healed piercings you have had for years can shrink or close in minutes.
With clean hands or a paper product, be sure to check that your jewelry is nice and tight.
Steri-Wash
sterile saline piercing wash
is available for sale in the studio
Things you can expect while healing a new piercing:
Initially: Some bleeding, localized swelling, tenderness, or bruising.
During Healing: Some discoloration, itching, and secretion of a whitish-yellow fluid (this is not pus) that will form some crust on the jewelry. The tissue may tighten around the jewelry as it heals.
Once Healed: The jewelry may not move freely in the piercing, do not force it. If you fail to include cleaning your piercing as a part of your daily hygiene routine, normal but smelly bodily secretions may accumulate. The piercing may seem healed before the healing process is complete, and this is because the tissues heal from the outside in, and although it feels fine, the interior remains fragile. Be patient and keep cleaning throughout the entire healing period.
NON-EMERGENCY COMPLICATIONS
Piercings are very slow healing wounds. We are actually asking a whole lot of the body when we ask it to heal a wound with a foreign object in it that shouldn’t be there.
Irritation can occur at anytime, even in piercings that you believe have healed, and is usually nothing to be worried about but does need to be addressed.
You can contact me at anytime with concerns about your piercing, but please include as much detail as you can. This includes if you’ve done something to your piercing you shouldn’t have because I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s really happened.
IMPROPERLY FITTING JEWELRY
If you have not had your jewelry downsized when you were advised, this can cause real problems. If your jewelry is too long you will catch it more, causing redness and bumps. It will become painful to sleep on and may migrate or change the angle. If extra length on the jewelry remains exposed once your initial swelling has gone down, crust and debris will build up on that portion of the jewelry and can be dragged through the piercing causing inflammation, irritation, and bumps.
Wearing jewelry that is too tight can cause cutting and embedding. Many people will desire the “tightest possible fit“, but just like with shoes, the tighter doesn’t always mean the better. Please ensure your jewelry fits comfortably or it can lead to complications.
LUMPS AND BUMPS
Lumps and bumps come in many forms with various causes, the most common cause is the piercing being hit, slept on, or the wearer touching or playing with the jewelry.
As soon as you notice a small bump forming, you can take a close up high resolution photo of it and send it to me along with the age of the piercing and any other relevant information and I will try my best to help.
You can also book a free check-up appointment so I can take a look at the piercing in person and advise you further.
CHEMICAL IRRITATION
Chemical irritation sounds quite dangerous, but it can literally be any product interacting with your piercing that can make it aggravated.
Things such as household cleaning products, hair dye, and other cosmetics. Even working in a smokey, dirty, or dusty environment.
If you are experiencing chemical irritation please flush your piercing area (do not remove your jewelry) with sterile saline or clean running water thoroughly.
Keep hair pinned off of your piercing, and/or wear loose fitted comfortable clothing and change your bedding. The problem should resolve itself within a few days, but be careful not to repeatedly expose your piercing to anything you know to be irritating as it may lead to infection.
EMERGENCY COMPLICATIONS
SEVERE SWELLING AND EMBEDDING
Embedding is when your piercing has become extremely swollen and the jewelry is sinking into the skin. It is normal for your piercing to swell to the full size of your initial jewelry, however if it is actually sinking into and/or “buried” underneath your skin, you must return to the studio immediately to have longer jewelry installed.
If you are unable to return to the studio for any reason you can try the following things to reduce the swelling:
Icing your piercing: Like any swelling injury, icing may help reduce inflammation especially if you have experienced trauma to the piercing site. When icing, remember to wrap your ice pack in a clean paper towel, prevent direct skin contact, and do not ice your piercing for more than 20 minutes per hour.
Anti-inflammatory Medication: Over the counter anti-inflammatory drugs that can be purchased at any pharmacy can be taken in accordance with the manufacturers instructions and any additional medical guidance given to you by your doctor or pharmacist. Do not take anti-inflammatory drugs if you know yourself to be allergic to them or if they interact with prescribed medications or affect any medical condition you have. The use of any topical agents applied directly on to your skin is not recommended.
INFECTION
Most bacterial infections are mild enough that your own healthy immune system is strong enough to fight them off, but in rare cases infection can overwhelm the immune system and become serious, requiring medical intervention as soon as possible.
Signs of potential infection are extreme heat, redness that spreads out and beyond the piercing site, extreme swelling, severe pain, thick green or yellow discharge seeping from the piercing, nausea or a fever and swollen lymph nodes.
Severe infection is rare and it’s even rarer when you follow the correct aftercare and practice regular hand washing and good hygiene practices, however it is possible.
If you suspect you have a severe infection, contact your primary care physician or urgent care.
If you do not feel your piercing is in a state of emergency, you can book a check-up as soon as possible. I am not a medical professional and I cannot determine if you have an infection or not, but I can tell you if something looks like a cause of concern or is a normal amount of swelling or simply irritation.
WHAT TO DO IF…
You lose a ball/end/top: While I do my best to make sure all jewelry is secure, things like swelling, cleaning, and movement can loosen the ends of the jewelry causing them to fall off.
If you do lose an end, I recommend using a small piece of bandage, medical tape, or even a clean rubber or foam earring back on the end of the post or barbell to secure the jewelry until you can come to the studio.
You lose a barbell or post: This is a bit more urgent, so try to come to the studio as soon as possible to avoid the piercing closing.
While I do not recommend wearing improperly fitting, or inexpensive costume jewelry sold at retail stores, sometimes keeping a low-quality piece of jewelry in your piercing temporarily to avoid it closing is better than nothing.
Extended wear of low-quality jewelry can cause irritation and complications.
Make sure the jewelry and your hands are clean, and be as gentle as possible. If you cannot insert jewelry or it hurts to do so, do not force it into your piercing. Just come see me as soon as you can.
Your jewelry breaks or loses a gem: Most of my distributors do insure their jewelry for manufacturing defects. This means if it breaks under normal circumstances, it can be replaced free of charge.
Of course, if the jewelry is exposed to trauma, chemicals, gets caught or snagged, or is completely lost, there is not much that can be done other than purchasing a new piece.