Congratulations on your new piercing! I know nerves can be high prior to a piercing so in case you didn’t catch all of the aftercare here’s a written copy to take home.
Basic After Care
This the standard “how” and “when”, for your piercings. This applies to pretty much all piercings except the tongue.
How: Again I can’t say this enough, sterile saline and sterile saline only, also known as wound wash to simply spray the piercing, then when applicable blow drying a piercing is always preferred over Q Tips or Cotton Balls.
Sterile Gauze is always preferred for cleaning especially for the inside of the nose or
areas of a piercing that you notice moisture on after blowing drying ear piercings
but most piercings can commonly be dried with a blow dryer.
When:
Here are the 3 “S” words to watch out for as far as when to clean
Showers: Typically your first cleaning of the day but mainly to make sure any soaps
or shampoos that come into contact with your piercing(s) are cleaned off and then
thoroughly dried.
Sweat: This is normally your mid day cleaning and for most people it is VERY helpful
to include the mid-day cleaning for the first 4-6 weeks of healing.
Sleep: We tend to do most of are healing while we sleep and with a dry breathing
piercing, meaning not slept on and cleaned prior to sleep is a great way to ensure
a fast heal.
Duration:
2-6 months of cleaning for the entire duration of a piercing is common. Adding the cleaning of this piercing into your repertoire for the life of the piercing is a great idea.
Tongue Piercings: Alcohol-Free Antiseptic mouthwashes are a sufficient option and completely fine, Biotene is a preferred option just because of the amount of times you may need to use it a day, especially smokers/vapors; anything with fumes should work it’s way into your schedule of cleaning but mainly clean AFTER YOU EAT. Avoid beer and dairy for the first 2 weeks to avoid swelling. Avoid acidic foods like lemons and tomatoes for the first 2 weeks. COME IN FOR YOUR DOWN SIZED JEWELRY (for love of your teeth), please downsize your bar after you notice swelling and pain haven’t occurred in days, this can be 3-6 weeks for some but please stay in touch to get your bar properly fitted.
Cartilage Piercings: For the duration of your heal, a neck pillow or what is commonly referred to as an airplane pillow can work wonders for making sure you are not sleeping on the piercing, if slid in between the pillow and pillow case, this can give you a little pocket to rest your ear in.
Pools/Ocean: Until healing is finished. no and absolutely no piercing should be submerged. After the first 4-6 weeks, getting in the water shouldn’t be an issue again if it’s not submerged but should be cleaned immediately after. Even what may seem like a fully healed piercing, can be affected by chlorine or dirty water, be mindful of how often your submerging your piercing and how long.
Downsizing and Hoops: Downsizing may need to be done by your piercer earlier than 4-6 weeks especially in cartilage and tongue piercings to protect the longevity and how perpendicular it stays, wearing your starter piece longer than needed can very easily start to cause a piercing to slant (which is fixable sometimes, but easier to just go about it the preventative way). Hoops are commonly reserved for healed piercings and are suggested to go in at the 6 month mark for nostril and ear piercings (some piercings like septums and daiths are done with hoops as the anatomy calls for it).
Any questions comments or jewelry specifications you may have, can be directed to the shop
