PIERCING CARE
Piercing Aftercare: What to Do After Getting Pierced
Proper piercing aftercare helps protect your skin, support healthy healing, and keep your new piercing looking its best. At Alex Chiong Tattoo Studio in North Miami, we want every client to feel informed, comfortable, and supported before and after their piercing appointment.
Follow these care recommendations and contact our team if you have questions about your healing process.
After Care For Body Piercings:
Proper aftercare is crucial for ensuring that your new body piercing heals correctly and remains healthy. Follow these guidelines to prevent infections and promote smooth healing. Remember, a little care goes a long way in maintaining the beauty and integrity of your piercing.
Cleaning Instructions
- Wash your hands thoroughly before cleaning or touching your piercing for any reason.
- Rinse with saline as needed during healing. For some placements, it may be easier to apply using clean gauze saturated with saline solution. A brief rinse afterward will remove any residue.
- If your piercer suggests using soap, lather gently around the piercing and rinse as needed. Avoid using harsh soaps, or soaps with dyes, fragrances, or triclosan.
- Rinse thoroughly to remove all traces of soap from the piercing. It is not necessary to rotate the jewelry through the piercing.
- Dry by gently patting with clean, disposable paper products. Cloth towels can harbor bacteria and snag on jewelry, causing injury.
What Is Normal During Healing?
- Initially: some bleeding, localized swelling, tenderness, or bruising.
- During healing: some discoloration, itching, secretion of a whitish-yellow fluid (not pus) that will form some crust on the jewelry. The tissue may tighten around the jewelry as it heals.
- A piercing may seem healed before the healing process is complete. This is because tissue heals from the outside in, and although it feels fine, the interior remains fragile. Be patient and continue cleaning throughout the entire healing period.
- Even healed piercings can shrink or close in minutes after having been there for years! This varies from person to person. If you like your piercing, keep jewelry in—do not leave it empty.
What to Do While Your Piercing Heals
- Wash your hands before touching the piercing; leave it alone except when cleaning. During healing, it is not necessary to rotate your jewelry.
- Exercise during healing is fine; listen to your body.
- Wash and change your bedding regularly. Wear clean, comfortable, breathable clothing that protects your piercing while you are sleeping.
- Shower rather than taking baths, as bathtubs can harbor bacteria. If you bathe in a tub, clean it well before each use and rinse off your piercing when you get out.
What to Avoid During Healing?
- Avoid cleaning with alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, antibacterial soaps, iodine, or any harsh products, as these can damage cells. Also, avoid ointments as they prevent necessary air circulation.
- Avoid Bactine®, pierced ear care solutions, and other products containing Benzalkonium Chloride (BZK). These can be irritating and are not intended for long-term wound care.
- Avoid over-cleaning. This can delay your healing and irritate your piercing.
- 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 oral contact, rough play, and contact with others’ bodily fluids on or near your piercing during healing.
- Avoid stress and recreational drug use, including excessive caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol.
- Avoid submerging the piercing in unhygienic bodies of water such as lakes, pools, hot tubs, etc. Protect your piercing using a waterproof wound sealant bandage. These are available at most drugstores and work best for nipple, navel, and surface piercing placements.
- Avoid all beauty and personal care products on or around the piercing including cosmetics, lotions, and sprays, etc.
- Do not hang charms or any objects from your jewelry until the piercing is fully healed. Sleeping directly on a healing cartilage piercing can cause irritation and shifts in the piercing’s angle. Placing a travel pillow on top of your pillow and then placing your ear in the opening can help avoid this.
Professional Piercing Care in North Miami
Your piercing experience does not end when the jewelry is placed. Good aftercare, quality jewelry, and professional guidance all play an important role in how your piercing heals.
At Alex Chiong Tattoo Studio, our team will explain how to care for your new piercing and help you choose the right placement and jewelry for your style.
Ready for your next piercing? Book your appointment at our North Miami studio and let our team guide you from placement to aftercare.
Specific Piercing Care Recommendations
After getting a new piercing, it is important to avoid long baths, pools, hot tubs, and direct sun exposure during the initial healing period. Depending on the placement, the healing process can take several weeks or longer.
Body piercings
These require two to three washes a day for 6 to 8 weeks and do it by cleaning your hands first with a neutral soap and then, carefully clean the piercing and its surroundings and if any scab forms, moisten it gently to be able to remove it more easily No problem.
Do not rotate, twist, or move the jewelry while cleaning. Instead, clean gently around the piercing with sterile saline solution, rinse away any residue if needed, and dry the area carefully with clean disposable paper products.
Facial piercings
Wash these piercings three times a day with a neutral soap. Gently massage the area with your fingertips. When washing, move the piercing carefully to allow water to enter and clean it thoroughly. Avoid using creams or makeup during the healing process to prevent possible
Healing processes: Lobe, 4-6 weeks; ear cartilage, 8-12 weeks; eyebrow, 6-8 weeks; nostrils, 6-8 weeks; frown, 6-12 weeks.
Lip and Oral Piercings
During healing, both internal (tongue) and external oral piercings should avoid alcohol, spicy foods, and oral sex. Most discomfort diminishes within the first three days, but for the next 4 to 6 weeks, internal piercings should be cleaned after eating, drinking, or smoking. For additional disinfection, use an unflavored antibacterial mouthwash. External piercings should be cleaned 2-3 times daily for 6 to 8 weeks.
Ear Stretching and Dilations
The most common area of the body where they are performed is in the ear lobes. Although more and more people choose to dilate in other parts of the body.
To achieve the best hygiene and to cure the correct way as soon as possible, the dilatation must be washed daily with neutral soap and dried well. Do not touch the area for the rest of the day.