Aftercare Advice
To help your piercing heal, aftercare is very important, so please read and follow he advice below carefully up until your piercing is fully healed.
DO's & DON'Ts
DONT:
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Play with your piercing
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Twist or turn your jewellery
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Sleep on your piercing
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Remove your jewellery in the first few months. And don't remove for any prolonged period in the first year ( your piercing may heal over/shrink a lot quicker than you think, and could lead to your losing the piercing).
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Put makeup, creams or oils in or near the piercing site
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Use alcohol, tea tree, surgical spirit, Peroxide, TCP or any other chemical wash to clean your piercing
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Leave unrinsed shampoo or conditioner around your piercing site
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Leave your piercing wet
DO
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Come back for your jewellery downsize
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Tighten your threaded jewellery regularly.
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Wash your hands before touching your piercing
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Clean 2 x per day as outlined below
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Live a healthy lifestyle/reduce cigarette use where possible as this will speed up the healing process.
External Piercings
Step 1. Wash your hands thoroughly with warm soapy water. (The single best way to protect yourself from infection and irritation is to NOT touch your piercing. Especially with unclean hands.)
Step 2. Use your sterile saline spray (such as Neilmed or Stericlens, nothing that isn’t a sterile saline wound wash) to irrigate each side of the piercing.
Step 3. Allow to sit for a minute to soften any crusted fluid.
Step 4. Use a clean cotton swab or clean kitchen towel to carefully and gently dry around the entry and exit. Ensure any "crusties" are wiped away. Continue to do this twice a day until the piercing is fully healed.
ORAL PIERCINGS
1. Use an alcohol free antibacterial mouthwash to clean your mouth twice a day. When you have eaten, drank (something other than water) or smoked its good to swish around some clean water in your mouth.
2. Avoid playing with your piercing if you can. With "half in half out" piercings such as a standard lip piercing follow the external piercing advice above for the external wound.
3. Do not engage in any oral sexual activity until your piercing is healed. If your think your piercing is infected, visit your pharmacist to obtain an antiseptic oral rinse and use as directed until symptoms subside. ALWAYS speak to a medical professional if this situation worsens.
TROUBLESHOOTING
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INFECTION: It is normal for your piercing to leak fluid as it heals.
However, if your piercing becomes hot, excessively sore, has redness that's spreading and/or has thick pus leaking from the site then there may be an infection. If this happens you must seek medical attention. Continue to clean the area frequently. Do not remove the piercing, as this could seal the infection inside and potentially lead to an abcess.
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PIERCING BUMPS: These are small red bumps that can appear around the piercing site and are quite common, especially if the piercing is knocked, slept on, snagged or touched frequently. Continued adherence to the aftercare and absence of trauma can sometimes be enough for these to go down in a few weeks or less. Continue to observe and remain patient. It can help to use a warm salty compress for 10 minutes 2-3 times a day. You can use Nailed spray to soak a cotton pad and microwave this (on a clean dish) for 15 seconds or so to make a compress, you MUST ensure the area is dried properly after.
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HYPERTROPHIC SCARRING: This is when a small, firm bump of scarring develops on/by the piercing site. There is no fluid that comes from these bumps. They with usually occur due to trauma to the area or piercing angle. If your piercing has healed you can use gentle pressure to compress/massage the bump to break down the scar tissue. Sometimes silicone pads can be applied to the bump to reduce stubborn ones, these are available as a service in the studio.
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REJECTION: It is possible for your piercing to reject, this is most likely to happen with surface piercings, including eyebrows, navels and nipples. However this can happen with other piercings such as daith, rook and helix piercings.
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It is important to recognise signs of rejection in order to reduce the likelihood of unnecessary scarring. If you notice your piercing is becoming more shallow, excessively sore, or notice a pink/red or dark line (dependant on skin tone) from the entrance to exit hole then contact your piercer immediately or remove it to avoid further scarring.
