aftercare

(Excluding Oral Piercings)

Spray piercing twice daily with Sterile Saline, then pat dry. Avoid twisting or picking at “crusties”. in the shower, let the water pressure run over your piercing to flush out the dry crust and scabs. Pat dry after the shower. Avoid sleeping on your fresh piercings as this can cause the piercing to heal at an undesirable angle and can cause more issues down the road. Avoid loofahs and wash clothes running over fresh piercings in the shower and use caution when washing the area. 

• Don’t twist or shuffle jewelry in the piercing hole
• Don’t pick or pull at “crusties”
• Don‘t leave piercings wet, pat dry after cleaning and showers.
• Don’t scrub or rub soap or face wash over fresh piercings
• Don’t apply makeup, moisturizer, or toners over fresh piercings.
• Don’t sleep on fresh piercings
• Don’t use any other products outside of sterile saline (no rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, oils or salt sprays)

When you first receive your piercing, you will be fitted with a longer bar to allow for swelling, this is vital for the first phase of healing so the piercing can breathe and have room to swell. Once the initial phase is over (different for different piercings) you will be asked to come back to downsize. This means coming back to change out your longer bar/post for a shorter and appropriately sized post for your piercing. If you do not come back to downsize the piercing wI’ll have trouble healing as the longer bar will continue to cause irritations and can heal crooked due to the extra length.

Piercings take much longer to heal than most people expect which is why patience and care is needed throughout the entirety of the healing process. A lot of the times clients can encountered irritation bumps which are caused from excess trauma to a healing piercing (such as snagging or bumping it) as well as excess moisture, sleeping on the piercing, touching the piercing, or neglecting to downsize. Irritation bumps are fairly common and are very treatable and different than a keloid or infection which they are commonly mistaken for. 

Oral piercings require different aftercare  It the general principles remain the same. Rinse your mouth with a non-alcoholic mouthwash (Biotene is a common and easily accessible option) twice a day. Don’t scrub or bump the piercing when brushing or flossing. Avoid biting or playing with the jewelry. Be gentle when eating foods within the first couple weeks. the harder you have to work to eat something (like chewing a steak) the more pressure it will put on your oral piercings and can cause excessive swelling. You can sip on cold and frozen drinks to help with the swelling and provide some comfort but try to avoid straws as this can also cause more pressure to the piercing.

At any point in your healing journey, I am happy to help with any questions and concerns and always look for the best path forward with zero judgements and only consideration for how to get you back onto the best healing course. Feel free to call, reach out through a  DM on social media, or stop in any day I’m at the shop (this is usually the most beneficial as I can clearly see the issue in person and we can adjust what needs adjusting directly.)