Aftercare of your new Piercing

Stay clean and healthy

The healthier your lifestyle, the more quickly you can heal. This includes eating well, easing stress and getting enough sleep. A good multivitamin, especially one containing zinc and vitamin C, can help your body rebuild itself. Avoid getting pierced while you are sick. Also, avoid getting pierced while pregnant. Reduce smoking and avoid recreational drug use. Do not touch or play with the jewellery and always wash your hands thoroughly before and after cleaning your piercing. You need only touch it when you are cleaning it.

After-care of your body piercing.

The healing period for all piercings can vary greatly from person to person. Expect between 6-12 weeks on average. There are various factors which will determine the healing time of your piercing. This includes diet, lifestyle, your immune system and irritation to the piercing during the healing period. Remove dressing after approximately 2 hours if one was applyed, clean thoroughly (but gently) 3 times a day using SALINE SOLUTION obtainable from a chemist or opticians OR use warm salty water, using sea salt and boiled water (1/4 tea spoon of sea salt to 1/2 pint hot water). Soaps containing strong perfumes, deodorants & other additives should be avoided during the healing process. Matter secreted from the piercing will dry/crystallise on the jewellery and around the exits of the piercing. This is what you are cleaning and removing. Bathe the area thoroughly moving the jewellery back and forth through the piercing (with clean hands) to prevent the inside from getting infected. Put some solution in a clean egg-cup or soak a cotton wool ball & place over piercing, soak for a few minutes (until water starts to cool) then remove. Dip a cotton bud into remaining solution and gently clean around piercing. For oral (lip, tongue and cheek) piercings, you can rinse the inside of your mouth with an antiseptic mouthwash (such as Listerine) at least 3 times daily (diluted with water 1:1). For the outside of facial piercings use the saline/salt solution. You can take anti-inflammatory tablets to reduce any swelling that may occur (ibro-profen/nurofen) or apply ice. Keep practicing these exercises until piercing is totally healed and once a week thereafter.

When you get a piercing done you must be aware that there may be some minor swelling or scarring to the area. Although not a common occurrence, some piercings have the potential to reject or grow out. This is only a caution and you will find that there is only a small amount of people which this will affect.