Piercing Aftercare
WHAT TO AVOID
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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.
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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.
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Avoid over-cleaning. This can delay your healing and irritate your piercing.
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Avoid undue trauma such as friction and pressure from clothing, excessive motion of the area, playing with the jewelry, and vigorous cleaning. These activities can cause the formation of unsightly and uncomfortable scar tissue, migration, prolonged healing, and other complications.
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Avoid all oral contact, rough play, and contact with others’ bodily fluids on or near your piercing during healing.
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Avoiding things like excessive stress, drug use, excessive caffeine, nicotine and alcohol are suggested as they can prolong the healing process.
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Avoid submerging the piercing in bodies of water such as lakes, pools, oceans, hot tubs, etc. Or, protect your piercing using a waterproof transparent film dressing. These are available at most pharmacies and are ideal for nipple, navel, and surface piercing placements.
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Avoid all beauty and personal care products on or around the piercing including cosmetics, lotions, and sprays, etc.
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Don’t hang charms or any object from your jewelry until the piercing is fully healed.
TIP: Piercings, even healed ones, can shrink or close in minutes, even after having been there for years! This varies from person to person; if you like your piercing, keep jewelry in—do not leave it empty.
Ear / Facial Piercings
How to clean?
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WASH your hands thoroughly prior to cleaning or touching your piercing for any reason.
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SPRAY with sterile saline wound wash while healing. Moving or rotating jewelry is not necessary during cleaning/rinsing and may actually irritate the piercing.
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DRY with clean, disposable products like gauze or cotton swabs, gently removing any crusty debris or build up. Cloth towels should be avoided as they can harbor bacteria and snag on jewelry.
What to use?
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Mixing your own sea salt solution is no longer a suggested practice from the APP. 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. We strongly encourage you to use a sterile saline, labeled for use as a wound wash. Your saline ingredients should list .09% sodium chloride as the only ingredient (sometimes purified water will be listed). Additives like moisturizers and antibacterials should be avoided, as well as similar sounding products like contact lens saline, nasal spray, or eye drops.
Whats Normal?
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Initially: some bleeding, localized swelling, tenderness, or bruising.
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During healing: some discoloration, itching, secretion of a whitish-yellow fluid that will form some crust on the jewelry. The tissue may tighten around the jewelry as it heals.
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A piercing may seem healed before the healing process is actually complete. This is because this type of wound will heal from the outside to the inside. Although it may feel fine on the outside, the interior could still be fragile. Be patient, and keep the piercing clean throughout the entire healing period.
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Once healed: the jewelry may not move freely in the piercing; do not force it. Cleaning your piercings as part of your normal hygiene routine can help them stay clean and avoid having normal, possibly smelly, secretions accumulate.
Oral Piercings
How to clean?
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INTERNAL
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Wash your hands thoroughly prior to cleaning or touching your piercing for any reason.
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Keeping good oral hygiene practices is important in maintaining a healthy mouth and piercing.You will want to floss, brush and use mouth rinse at least twice a day. It is vital to not overuse the mouth rinse.
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Gently brush the jewelry with a clean toothbrush regularly to avoid plaque build up.
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Rinse with water (bottled or filtered) thoroughly after every time you eat, drink or smoke.
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EXTERNAL
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Wash your hands thoroughly prior to cleaning or touching your piercing for any reason.
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Be sure to rinse your piercing thoroughly with warm water in the shower once a day. Then rinse with saline twice a day.
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Gently remove any discharge or crust that may have built up on your jewelry, then dry the area carefully with gauze.
What to use?
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Alcohol-free and hydrogen peroxide-free mouth rinse. Or you can use dry mouth oral rinse for hydration
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Plain clean water. Bottled or filtered water is preferred.
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Packaged sterile saline solution with no additives (read the label). This is not for internal use but external use only (like cleaning the outside of your lip piercing).
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Everytime you eat or drink anything other than water rinse your mouth with bottled water.
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Do not use contact solution, eye drops, or nasal rinse products on your piercing.
Whats Normal?
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For the first three to five days you may experience swelling, light bleeding, bruising, tenderness, and/or a whitish to yellowish secretion that may form crust on the jewelry.
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After the first week, you may still continue to experience some minor swelling and secretion.
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A piercing might seem healed before the healing process is complete. This is because piercings heal from the outside in. Although it feels fine, the tissue remains fragile on the inside. Be patient, and keep cleaning throughout the entire healing period.
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For lip piercings, it is typical for the jewelry to “nest” slightly into the lip (on the inside) once it is healed.
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Allow small pieces of ice to dissolve in the mouth.
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Take an over the counter, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory such as ibuprofen or naproxen sodium according to package instructions.
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Don’t speak or move your jewelry more than necessary.
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Sleep with your head elevated above your heart during the first few nights
Navel / Nipple Piercings
How to clean?
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WASH your hands thoroughly prior to cleaning or touching your piercing for any reason.
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SPRAY with sterile saline wound wash while healing. Moving or rotating jewelry is not necessary during cleaning/rinsing and may actually irritate the piercing.
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DRY with clean, disposable products like gauze or cotton swabs, gently removing any crusty debris or build up. Cloth towels should be avoided as they can harbor bacteria and snag on jewelry.
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Navel and nipple piercings are prone to having extra moisture so it is important to keep these piercings dry
What to use?
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Mixing your own sea salt solution is no longer a suggested practice from the APP. 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. We strongly encourage you to use a sterile saline, labeled for use as a wound wash. Your saline ingredients should list .09% sodium chloride as the only ingredient (sometimes purified water will be listed). Additives like moisturizers and antibacterials should be avoided, as well as similar sounding products like contact lens saline, nasal spray, or eye drops.
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NAVEL:
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You can protect your piercing from excess irritation, physical trauma from activities like sports, or tight clothing with a hard, vented eye patch (sold at pharmacies). To avoid irritation from adhesive/medical tape, you can secure it over your piercing using tights/stockings or using a length of elastic/ace-type bandage around your body.
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NIPPLES:
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The support of a tight cotton shirt or sports bra may provide protection and feel comfortable, especially for sleeping.
Whats Normal?
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Initially: some bleeding, localized swelling, tenderness, or bruising.
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During healing: some discoloration, itching, secretion of a whitish-yellow fluid that will form some crust on the jewelry. The tissue may tighten around the jewelry as it heals.
-
A piercing may seem healed before the healing process is actually complete. This is because this type of wound will heal from the outside to the inside. Although it may feel fine on the outside, the interior could still be fragile. Be patient, and keep the piercing clean throughout the entire healing period.
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Once healed: the jewelry may not move freely in the piercing; do not force it. Cleaning your piercings as part of your normal hygiene routine can help them stay clean and avoid having normal, possibly smelly, secretions accumulate.
Citation
All piercing information was provided from the association of professional piercers website: The APP’s suggested aftercare instructions for body piercings, 2021 edition