Aftercare

Information: Currently, we do not offer genital piercings. However, we plan to provide them in the future, and our aftercare instructions already include guidance for these types of piercings.

Healing-Time

Below are approximate healing times for healthy piercings on most people. Keep in mind, that your piercing may heal more quickly or take even longer. Continue suggested aftercare for at least the amount of time listed below for your piercing. At the end of the healing time, twice-daily cleaning is no longer required, although once-a-day cleaning is still suggested. When your piercing is healed, jewelry can safely be changed but it shouldn´t be left out for longer than it takes to switch jewelry. Even once the hole becomes permanent, it can still shrink and make jewelry reinsertion more difficult.

Ear & Facial                                                 Ear Lobes 6-8 weeks                     Ear Cartilage 6-12 months          Eyebrow 8 weeks                 Nostril 6 months-1 year           Septum 6-8 weeks Bridge 8-12 weeks    Lips 6-8 weeks
Nipples and Navel Nipple female 3 months Nipple male 3-6 months Navel 6-12 months
Genital For her Inner Labia 6-8 weeks Outer Labia 3-6 months Hood 6-8 weeks Christina 6-12 months For him Prince Albert 6-12 weeks Frenum 6-8 weeks Scrotum 3-6 months
Surface piercing: 12 months or longer Surface anchor: 2-6 months

   

BASIC AFTERCARE

Wash your hands thoroughly prior to cleaning or touching your piercing for any reason. New piercings should be cleaned 2-3 times daily. You should continue this cleaning routine for the entire healing period. Do not over-clean your piercing. Cleaning too often with an overly harsh cleaning solution, or with too many different types of cleaning solutions, can irritate your piercing. Healing piercings discharge lymph, blood and blood plasma and dead cells. The purpose in cleaning your piercing is to remove this discharge as well as any dirt or bacteria picked up during the day. The products you use are not what make it heal – they only keep the piercing clean while your body works to heal it. 

We recommend warm sea salt soaks or saline solutions. The easiest way to clean your piercing is to use sterile saline solutions. To use, liberally spray the solution, thoroughly saturating the piercing. Your jewelry does not need to be rotated and sterile saline solution does not need to be rinsed off. Gently dry the area with a new tissue or paper towel. 

The best aftercare is, to soak it with warm salt water 2-3 times daily for 5-10 minutes. This is also helpful if the healing is difficult. These flush out the piercing, help to draw out discharge, stimulate blood circulation and soothe irritations. For certain placements it may be easier to apply using clean gauze saturated with saline solution. You can make a soaking solution by mixing sea salt and distilled water. Use only pure sea salt and not table salt, which can irritate your piercing. The sea salt should only contain salt (sodium chloride) and possibly an anti-caking agent (calcium phosphate, calcium silicate or prussiate of soda). 

Sea Salt                         Water

1/4 Teaspoon                 1 Cup (8 oz.)

1 Teaspoon                    1 Quart (32 oz.)

4 Teaspoons                  1 Gallon

WHAT TO AVOID & SOME HINTS

• avoid moving jewelry in an unhealed piercing or picking away dried discharge with your fingers
• avoid undue trauma such as friction 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.
• avoid all beauty and personal care products on or around the piercing including cosmetics, lotions, sprays, etc…
• When healing cartilage piercings, sleep on your other side, if possible or use a travel pillow to reduce pressure. Clean your cell phone or better yet, use the other ear. 
• avoid submerging the piercing in unhygienic bodies of water such as lakes, pools, hot tubs,…
• with navel piercings, make sure, the waistline of your clothing is low enough that it does not touch your piercing while standing or sitting. Be also careful with large belts. If bras are irritating your nipple piercings, try cotton tank tops or sport bras. Keep constrictive clothing off surface piercings and surface anchors as well.
• the healthier your lifestyle, the easier it will be for your piercing to heal. Get enough sleep and eat a nutritious diet
• Leave jewelry in at all times. Even old or well-healed piercings can shrink or close in minutes
• Be sure to regularly check threaded ends on your jewelry for tightness
• A piercing may seem healed before the healing process is complete. This is because they heal from the outside in. Be patient and keep cleaning throughout the entire healing period

ORAL PIERCING CARE

Expect swelling

Oral Piercings will usually swell for several days after they are first done. Some swelling may even be present for several weeks. Light bleeding, bruising and light secretion of a whitish yellow fluid is also normal. Allow small pieces of ice to dissolve in your mouth or drink cold water frequently to relieve swelling. You can also take an over the counter anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen or naproxen sodium according to package instructions. Keep your head elevated above your heart the first week while sleeping. Avoid anything, that thins your blood, like alcohol or aspirin, or makes your heart rate go up, like caffeine or stimulants. Use a new soft-bristled toothbrush.

After you smoke, eat or drink anything besides bottled water, and at bedtime (4-5 times daily) rinse for 30 to 60 seconds with salt water or a antimicrobial/antibacterial alcohol-free mouth rinse. Cleaning too often or with too strong solution can cause discoloration or irritation of your mouth and piercing.

Clean the outside of your piercing

In addition to rinsing your mouth, you will also need to clean the outside of your lip-piercing. For this, follow the instructions under Basic Aftercare.

Change your jewelry

To allow for swelling, your initial jewelry will be larger or longer than the jewelry that will ultimately be worn. Once the swelling is gone and your piercing is healed, a shorter post should be used. Do not leave the original jewelry size in longer than the healing period. Improperly sized jewelry is often the cause of irritated or damaged gums, chipped teeth and other oral trauma. But be patient: Changing the jewelry too soon can result in more swelling and delayed healing. 

More hints and tips

• avoid eating spicy, salty, acidic or hot temperature foods or beverages for the first week
• avoid smoking, it increases risks and lengthens the healing time
• avoid oral sexual contact including French (wet) kissing
• avoid excessive talking or playing with the jewelry during healing
• For lip-piercings: Be cautious about opening your mouth too wide as this can result in the jewelry catching on your teeth
• For tongue-piercings: keep your tongue level in your mouth because the jewelry can get between your teeth when your tongue turns
• Foods like mashed potatoes, oatmeal, chewing gum, spaghetti,…are hard to eat because they stick to your mouth and jewelry
• Jewelry should never be left out, even for short periods of time. Oral piercings close very quickly – making reinsertion sometimes impossible

GENITAL PIERCING CARE

Aftercare for genital piercings is the same as for most other piercings. Simply follow the instructions under Basic Piercing Care. 

Sexual activity is not prohibited, but a short break from sex can help you heal faster. If you do have sex during the healing period, pay attention to any discomfort, practice fluid-safe sex and be sure to clean your piercing immediately afterward. Unprotected oral sex should be avoided during the healing period, as this is one of the fastest ways to get an infection. 

• avoid fluid exchange, use condoms over penis piercings and similar protection over vulva piercings
• Emu oil can be a helpful addition to the basic after care. Rub a single drop onto the skin around the piercing to prevent crusty discharge and to help healing
• Soap can be too strong for genital piercings
• avoid swimming with your healing piercing. No public pools, lakes and hot tubs.
• while it doesn’t happen to everyone, bruising is not uncommon, especially for genital piercings
• be prepared for bleeding for the first 24 hours and don´t be surprised by spotting bleeding within the first week after piercing
• irrigate the PA-piercing with a saline rinse when urinating for the first days. This can cut down the stinging feeling during the initial healing. Drink also plenty of water.

STRETCHING YOUR PIERCING

Make sure your piercing is fully healed before starting to stretch. Use only jewelry/tapers the next step up in a non-porous material. Wash your hands and the piercing with an unscented antibacterial soap. Massage an oil lubricant like jojoba, coconut or emu oil around your piercing. Avoid lubricants like vaseline. Then you very gently insert the taper. It should not be painful, perhaps a little tight or uncomfortable, but stop immediately if you feel tearing or begin to bleed. It can be helpful to stretch right after a hot shower. Once the taper is inserted, line the jewelry up with the large end and push it through. Soak your freshly stretched piercing twice a day with warm salt water (see Basic Aftercare) or use a saline solution. Do not remove the jewelry for cleaning the first week. Once the swelling has gone down, gentle massage the area daily with jojoba or emu oil to stimulate blood flow and prepare the area for future stretches. Patience is very import. It should be fully healed before you attempt another stretch, at least 4-8 weeks. Rushing the process can result in a buildup of scar tissue and reduction of healthy blood flow. It can also cause an unsightly blowout, in which a section of skin pushes out from the interior of the channel. 

RISKS AND CONSEQUENCES OF PIERCINGS

INFECTION

Infection is one of the most frightening and potentially serious dangers associated with body piercing. You will usually know if your piercing becomes infected if the surrounding tissue becomes red, painful, swollen and warm to the touch, or if you get discharge that is dark yellow, greenish, bloody or has a bad odor. A small fluid-filled pimple will often accompany facial piercing infections. 

Healing piercings will normally secrete a white or pale yellow liquid during healing. This is not a sign of infection. If your discharge is light in color and not accompanied by pain, itching, redness, warmth or swelling, it is probably healthy. If you do suspect an infection, do not remove your jewelry. Infections are more easily treated if there is still an opening for antiseptics to enter the wound and for discharge to exit. Without jewelry, the surface of the wound closes over and traps the infections inside, often causing a local surface infection to become a more generalized one. 

Of course, in the event of serious infection you should see your doctor. He or she can advise you on the best course of treatment. 

IRRITATION

More often than not, what many people think of as an infection is actually the result of irritation. If your piercing is red, swollen right around the hole, peeling, excreting white or yellow fluid, bleeding slightly, or seems to have a solid (not fluid-filled) bump around the jewelry, it is probably irritated. These are all signs that the piercing is being subjected to excessive abuse or trauma.

Some common causes of irritation are touching or playing with your piercing, cleaning it too much, wearing overly restrictive clothing (navels, nipples), applying pressure during sleeping or phone use (ear cartilage), chewing gum, grinding teeth, or playing with the jewelry (tongue piercing), having sex to soon (genitals), or other actions or activities that pump, twist, pull at or put under pressure on your piercing. 

If your piercing is irritated, figure out, what’s causing the problem. Once the cause of the irritation is found and eliminated, symptoms will often disappear. Warm salt water soaks work well to help soothe painful piercings and keep the irritation from getting worse.

ALLERGIC REACTION

It is always possible for your body to react adversely to foreign substances introduced to it, including metals or cleaning solutions. Allergic reactions will often appear as rashes, excessive clear fluid discharge, redness, itchiness or (with some metal allergies) the skin pulling away from the jewelry. These will show up immediately after being pierced – in the case of a metal allergy or right after starting to use a new cleaning solution. 

When using quality, implant-grade jewelry and appropriate cleaning solutions, allergic reactions are rare. If you suspect, you are having an allergic reaction to your cleaning solution (usually this will emerge as a large, red patch around the piercing), switch to a sea salt or saline solution. If you suspect a metal allergy, let us have a look. Often simple irritations are mistaken for allergic reactions. 

REJECTION

One issue seen with various surface piercings is rejection. The body can perceive the jewelry as a foreign object and try to push it outwards. This is most common with surface piercings such as navels, eyebrows, necks, bridge, Christina piercings, surface piercings and dermal anchors. The skin can become so thin, that the jewelry can be pushed out completely. Early detection of piercing rejection is important to reduce the possibility of infection or scarring. If you notice, that the distance between the entry and exit holes begins to shrink, your piercing feels sore irritated or itchy or you can see the jewelry under the skin, see your piercer for advice promptly. In some cases, there can be done some things, to stop the process. Don’t let the jewelry reject completely. Remove the jewelry before it falls out. Keeping the jewelry in increases the chances of scarring.