Piercing Aftercare
CLEANING INSTRUCTIONS FOR BODY PIERCINGS
✧ Wash your hands thoroughly
✧ Rinse your piercing with a sterile saline spray or clean water to rid the site of any debris
✧ Cleaning should be done once a day then as needed. 1-2 times per day maximum!
✧ Dry your piercings thoroughly. You can use a clean paper towel or a blow dryer on a cool, minimal setting. Leaving your piercing wet makes it more likely to become irritated and slow down healing. Don't skip this step!
ORAL PIERCINGS
✧ Repeat steps listed above
✧ Make sure after you eat, drink, smoke, etc. to rinse with a clean filtered or bottled water for 30 seconds
✧ Use a new toothbrush and use toothpaste that does not contain whitening products
✧ Avoid harsh products containing alcohol such as Listerine, as this kills the bacteria needed for healing.
DOWNSIZING YOUR PIERCING
✧ Each piercing requires extra space initially to allow for swelling & healing to occur
✧ Once swelling has reduced it is highly recommended to downsize the initial jewelry used to a smaller piece
✧ Downsizing minimizes the risk of your piercing shifting to an un-natural angle, getting caught or snagged and is generally mor comfortable long term
✧ Downsizes are usually recommended 4-8 weeks post piercing. Your piercer will give you a recommended time frame!
EXTRA HEALING TIPS
✧ Do not twist, move or play with your jewelry. Doing so can cause healing irritations and problems to occur.
✧ Avoid contact with other people's bodily fluids as well as never letting anyone else touch them.
✧ Avoid submerging in pools, lakes, hot tubs, bathtubs, etc. *3 months minimum or ideally until fully healed.
✧ Avoid sleeping directly on your new piercing. This can cause a shift in the angle of which your piercing heals, irritation bumps and excess swelling.
✧Keep clean bedding.
✧ Avoid irritants such as alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, antibiobic ointments, face and body wash and makeup.
NORMAL VS NOT NORMAL
✧ A normal piercing may be swollen, tender and have some slight redness
✧ A normal piercing may produce discharge or a cloudy fluid during the healing process. This is normal and means your body is doing its job! It will harden to form a crust that looks similar to a scab - do not pick it!
✧ There may be some slight bruising and bleeding
✧ A NOT normal healing process will have excess redness, tenderness, or swelling outside of the normal range
✧ Your piercing should never be too painful to touch
✧ Uncomfortable heat, un-natural odor or a dark discharge in the surrounding tissue is never normal and should be addressed as soon as possible
For more aftercare information, check out safepiercing.org!