Most piercings can take 2-4 months to heal depending on your health, hygiene, and cleansing. Navel, nipples, surface and some genital piercings can take up to 6 months or longer to heal since they are put through daily abuse and have limited oxygen. Nipples can have poor blood circulation as well. Expect some spot bleeding, redness, soreness and possible bruising. If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to contact your piercer!
Piercing take a lot longer to heal then a tattoo, because we’re trying to have the body heal around an object. Though it can be more effort to maintain a piercing it’s really not that much more complicated. You just have to remember that healing a piercing is a easy three step process. All you have to remember is the three steps.
The first and most important part of healing a piercing is taking care of your body. The cleansers used on your piercing are there to keep the piercing area clean. They DO NOT heal the piercing. Your body is what is healing the piercing, thus it is important to take care of yourself through eating well, getting plenty of rest and remaining stress free while keeping yourself very well hydrated. Keeping a balanced vitamin C and B complex intake is important. Vitamin C helps with immunity as well as maintains and restores tissue cells. B complex supports energy metabolism among many other things. Stress is a source of vitamin deficiency, so some clients will take an anti-stress caplet with B complex, vitamin C, zinc and copper. Do not take with caffeine, as you will kill the vitamin. Keeping yourself hydrated will minimize inflammation, possible bruising and help speed up healing. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, as they will cause dehydration. Drinks lots of water daily (1 litre or more if your active or it’s a hot day) to aid in flushing toxins from the body and to keep your self well hydrated. For additional pain or swelling take IB Proferin (Advil, Motrin IB, Reg Strength Midol) while avoiding Acetaminophen (Tylenol) as it doesn’t take care of swelling. Getting plenty of rest (8 hrs nightly) is important for a well functioning immune system.
Keeping the piercing clean and comfortable is just as important. Keep dirty hands, body fluids (yours and others), dirty clothing/bedding, soaps/shampoos, tight clothing away from your piercing. Letting dirty hands, clothing, bedding, body fluids to come in contact with your piercing is just introducing bacteria or dead skin cells into your piercing and can cause an infection. Tight clothing puts un-needed pressure on the piercing, which can cause complications. Avoid products with dyes, fragrances and deodorants, as they are irritants. Certain soaps and shampoos can irritate your piercing. Soaps like ivory are alkaline which is too harsh for healing tissue. Soaps like Dove are too moisturizing which won’t allow the piercing to dry up enough to heal properly. Anti-bacterial soaps tend to be too drying. We also have to consider allergic reactions to natural/organic ingredients. Have spring allergies? Avoid products with floral ingredients like Herbal Essence. Some shampoos/soaps contain hydrolyzed wheat proteins, which can cause problems if you have hay fever.
Do not tan for at least 3 weeks after receiving your piercing as you are essentially frying your tissue and pulling out moisture. Swimming should be avoided for 2-4 months after receiving your piercing as soaking your piercing in pools, hot tubs, Jacuzzis, lake or ocean water is introducing it to harsh chemicals and/or bacteria. Though a waterproof bandage (Tegaderm) can be used to shield the piercing if swimming in unavoidable. Reframe from smoking anything as it will slow blood circulation and cigarettes will pull vitamin C out of your system.
should be done twice daily or after bumping/injuring your piercing, before/after physical activity or when bacteria have been introduced to the piercing.
Expect a yellow/whitish fluid to secrete from the piercing and harden into a crusty matter. This is a normal process of a healing piercing. DO NOT remove the crust from the piercing as it is attached to healing tissue. Think of it as a scab. The piercing will be red/tender for up to two weeks. Be patient, as this will go away.
Clean your piercing LAST in the shower. Apply one of the cleansers with clean hands to the piercing and any tissue above the piercing. Let stand for 30-60 seconds. Do not let the water beat directly on the piercing as it will irritate it. DO NOT ROTATE OR REMOVE YOUR JEWELLERY! Rotating the jewellery will irritate and possibly rupture the healing tissue. The cleanser doesn’t need to get inside. Remember your body does the healing. Removing jewelry gives your body a chance to close the piercing. With clean hands, rinse off the cleanser, starting from the top and working down to the piercing. PAT DRY the piercing FIRST with a disposable towel as cloth towels can harbor bacteria and dead skin cells.
help stimulate blood and oxygen circulation as well as aid in removing crusty matter giving your body a fresh shot at the piercing. A 5-10 min warm soak should be done after cleaning the piercing and before/after physical activity.
Mix 4 measured teaspoons of non-iodized (no iodine) or dead sea salt to 4L of distilled water (this is a perfect isotonic solution; a stronger solution will dry your tissue and burn healing tissue cells). Shake until salt is dissolved and let it stand over night. Make sure to refrigerate the sea salt solution as bacteria can form in room temperature solution. Or mix ¼ teaspoon to 8 ounces of warm water.
Non-iodized sea salt can be found at any pharmacy. Dead sea salt can be found at most herbal/health stores. Make sure you say DEAD sea salt as you want salt from the dead sea since it contains 21 minerals and nutrients not found in any other sea.
Pour the pre-mixed sea salt solution into a mug or shot glass (depending on the piercing). Warm the solution up, not too hot but above room temperature and submerge the piercing into the solution so it is fully soaked in the solution. Gently remove crust with clean solution and a clean q-tip pulling away from the piercing. If you feel a tugging sensation then soak the piercing a little longer as the crust is still attached to the healing tissue. If the crust is being stubborn, leave it alone and let it fall off on it’s own. Pat the piercing dry with a disposable paper towel.
Spectro Jel: unscented for sensitive skin A deep cleaning dermatologist recommended cleanser with a moisturizer. Recommended for people with oily to normal skin.
Cetephil Gentile Skin Cleanser: Fragrance free/non-comedogenic. Will not strip skin of emollients, natural protective oils or disrupt the natural PH balance.
Glycerin Soap (Pears, Neutrogena): Basic unscented clear soap available at pharmacies and health food stores. Great for people with dry to normal skin. note not vegan friendly! Contains animals fats
Castile Soap: Glycerin soap made of olive oil. Recommended for people with very sensitive skin. Note vegan friendly!
Canus Goats Milk Soap: fragrance free A natural skin moisturizer and rejuvenator. Rich in nutrients, proteins and fatty acids.
Blairex Wound Wash Saline: Sterile saline spray which will push bacteria away form the piercing and sooth. This is great for emergency cleansing as well as after the shower and before bed. Hold the spray bottle 2 inches away from the piercing and spray.
Let it sit for a moment and pat dry with a disposable paper towel.
Alcohol, Peroxide, Betadine or Hibiclens as they are overly strong and drying: people with shellfish allergies can have reactions to Betadine.
Bacitracin, Neosporin, Polysporin or any triple anti-biotic ointments on your piercing as they form a sticky residue, which can draw in bacteria and cause other problems. They also restrict oxygen from reaching the piercing.
use the sea salt solution for cleaning as your saliva cleans and heals the mouth thus using the sea salt solution will promote your mouth to salivate and heal. Mouthwash tends to be too harsh when your rinsing more then twice a day (especially when it contains alcohol/fluoride) and can cause thrush (Yeast infection of the tongue).
Mix up your sea salt solution. Rinse for 60 seconds. Spit the solution out and spit twice more as the initial spit will move bacteria to the front of the mouth. The following two spits will remove all bacteria from the mouth. Now your mouth is depleted of saliva so your saliva glands pump fresh saliva in the mouth and thus promote the healing.
The first 2-3 weeks rinse after anything that goes into your mouth (eating, drinking, smoking etc... Excluding bottled water). You have about an hour after these activities to do your rinse so use this hour to get all these activities done. Try to keep your rinses under 8 times a day. For the following 2-3 weeks rinse twice a day.
Buy a new clean soft bristle toothbrush and replace it monthly. Mouthwash can be used twice a day when tending to regular oral hygiene, though make sure it doesn’t have alcohol, fluoride or whitening agents in it. Avoid citrus, hot and spicy foods, alcohol, open mouth kissing and oral sex. Cut down on meat and diary products as they contain a lot of bacteria
the bottom of your tongue will be sore until it gets use to havingt he bead there. You will notice plaque building on your bottom bead. When it’s comfortable, gently hold the bead between your teeth and brush the plaque off.
Swelling will peak around 24-48 hrs and can last up to 5 days. During this time eat soft foods and work your way up to regular meals. Chew slowly. Listen to your body!
Your body is your best indicator to let you know when something shouldn’t be happening! If your piercing is sore during or after eating go back down to softer food! Remember to downsize your jewelry in 3-4 weeks, so you do not damage your teeth!
Use the sea salt solution method. Reframe from any sexual contact (Oral sex included) while the piercing is healing. Once you feel comfortable partaking in these activities always use protection! Listen to your body! It’s your best indicator to let you know when you should or shouldn’t be doing something! If it is hurting stop and resume when it doesn’t. Wear clean cotton supportive underwear during healing. Expect spot bleeding. This is normal. Consume foods that will bring your urine PH to a more acidic level as bacteria (excluding a few) have a harder time surviving in acidic environments.