Body Piercing Aftercare
Aftercare of your new piercing is an essential part of the healing process. Proper aftercare shouldn't be difficult and keeping it simple often provides the best results!
Basic Cleaning Instructions
With: Clean water, sterile saline and clean hands.
How: Rinse under clean water at least once a day (ie: while in the shower). Spray piercing with sterile saline at least one-two times per day, front and back or inside and outside. Allow to air dry, or pat dry with sterile disposable gauze. It is important to ensure your piercings do not stay wet or moist as it can impact healing.
Saline Spray we recommend a premixed saline solution in an aerosol can (which keeps out air and ensures the solution stays sterile). The solution should only contain water and sodium chloride - no other ingredients.
If you choose to purchase saline elsewhere make sure to note the expiration date, as many can expire as soon as one week after opening.
What Not To Use
- Sea Salt
- Cotton swabs, cotton balls, or wash cloths (the fires can be left behind leading to various issues)
- Tea Tree Oil
- Antibacterial soaps or face washes
- Rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide
- Antibiotic ointments
- Bactine
-Store bought ear piercing aftercare products that are not sterile saline (please note that saline in a non-aerosol container may bad quickly after opening)
Things to Keep in Mind
It's important not to sleep on a healing piercing and to avoid excessively tight or restrictive clothing directly over it. Both of these things can cause irritation that may lead to prolonged healing time and/or an inability to heal a piercing.
Try not to touch your jewellery or piercing unless you are cleaning it (and then only with clean hands). Keep cosmetics, creams and lotions off of your healing piercing as much as possible. Avoid submerging new piercings in any water (except when cleaning, preferably under running water) for at least the first four weeks. You never want to force your jewellery to move if it feels a bit stuck. Rinsing the piercing to clean away any build-up and move the jewellery carefully with clean hands is much safer. Ensure any bedding or clothing interacting with the piercing is clean (especially if you live with pets).
A piercing may seem or feel healed before it is actually healed enough to change jewellery. This is because tissue heals from the outside in and is often very fragile just below the surface. Changing your jewellery too early can injure the newly healed tissue and set you back in your healing journey. Be patient and keep up your aftercare routine for the recommended period of time.
Make sure to check your jewellery periodically when cleaning it, to ensure the separate elements of your jewellery remain secure. Everyday movements or activities can loosen jewellery over time and we don't want you to loose anything! It's also important to be aware that threadless jewellery is intended to come apart when caught or snagged to avoid injury to you or your piercing.
We recommend jewellery be worn 24/7 for no less than one year after receiving the piercing to allow enough time for it to stabilize and be able to withstand going without jewellery for periods of time. Please be aware that different piercings may require move time before you are able to go without jewellery before having difficulty reinstalling it.
If you believe your piercing is infected or you are having issues with it, please contact us immediately! We are here to help with any issues you may have, even if a question feels silly.
Downsizing Your Jewellery
Many piercings done with straight jewellery need to have a shorter post or bar installed after some healing to ensure optimal results - we call this "downsizing" (ie. going down to a smaller size).
Cartilage piercings require downsizing after about 3 months, as swelling allows. Oral piercings should be downsized within 3-4 weeks of the initial piercing.
It is important for the health of your piercing that you downsize your jewellery as recommended by your piercer. Failing to downsize jewellery can affect the angle of the piercing, lead to the forming of scar tissue, and/or lead to extreme long term discomfort. When concerning oral piercings, failure to downsize can also lead to oral damage
Everyone heals differently so downsize recommendations are only approximate. If you are unsure if you are ready for a downsize please just come by the studio.
Please note:
Appointments are always recommended and walk-ins are not always available. Appointments can be booked via our website or by calling the studio.
When coming in for a jewellery change or downsize there may be a small service fee and that we charge for all new jewellery (including downsize posts).