Body Piercing Aftercare Suggestions

These are just suggestions for aftercare. Only you will know how your body heals piercings. But please use common sense. And if you think you have an infection please consult a medical doctor. These suggestions are not a subsitute for proper medical care.

Basic aftercare is provided for free at Ancient Art. Sea salt and a mild soap is provided for all clients. Ancient Art also carries H2Ocean aftercare for sale, including the spray and mouthwash.

Over the first few days tenderness, bleeding, and swelling is normal. Bleeding may continue for several days, but heavy blood flow is not normal. Ice can help with swelling as long as it is applied with a clean covering each time. Redness and oozing of fluid can occur for longer than the initial swelling. The healing times provided for you are estimates. Piercings can take longer than expected to heal when trauma has occured. Please continue your aftercare routine for the entire length of the estimate healing time.

Soap or non-iodized sea salt is the only thing you should put on your piercing.The best soap you can use is something very mild. Something natural is best or a mild, colorless, fragrance-free bar soap. The easiest place to clean your piercing is in the shower. Get soap and water going good between your hands and wash your piercing, avoiding direct contact with the actual piercing and jewelry. Make sure you clean it well with water to get all soap off of the your piercing. Do this once a day. Dove, Ivory, and castle soaps (Dr. Bronners) are good examples.

Dial is a harsh soap for piercings. It contains triclosan which can cause problems with overuse. Many new studies are showing that anti-bacterial soaps that use triclosan have the same efficiency as a normal hand soap. An anti-microbial soap is best, but the sea salt soaks are better.

Please wash your hands before you touch your piercing. Please keep makeup and facewash out of your piercing. Do not take out or change your jewelry until your entire healing time is over. Leave your jewelry in. Clean your pillowcases and bedsheets especially if you have pets. Add some Vitamin C to your diet. You can do this by simply taking a daily vitamin. Please only take Ibuprofen (Motrin) for swelling after receiving a piercing and stay away from aspirin.

Do not put anything for cuts or wounds on your piercing including Neosporin, Bactine, Betadine, rubbing alcohol, or hydrogen peroxide. If you need to take your piercing out for a job or interview please call or come by. We have retainers or spacers to keep your hole open. It is best to always keep jewelry in your piercing. Bleeding, bruising, discoloration and swelling are normal. Tightness of jewelry is also normal. Please do not shave any area you have received a piercing.

If you ever get into water or get really dirty you will need to clean it. Please do not do this more than once a day or it can irritate your piercing. The soap is just to clean it during the initial healing. If you are planning on doing something active or just working out it is best to soak it in salt first and get the crusties off before cleaning so they are not pulled through your piercing while you're having fun. You can protect your piercing before getting in water by using a Tegaderm Transparent Dressing, or Nexcare Waterproof Bandage.

For ear piercings, your pillowcase can harbor bacteria. An easy trick is to take a clean t-shirt and use it on your pillow instead of a pillowcase. Use one side the first night, then on the second night turn your pillow over. After the second night put the tshirt in your laundry and start again with a clean t-shirt.

You do not need to rotate your piercing. Instead, please tighten your ends if necessary. If you have received a piercing with a barbell you will need to tighten your balls. Hold the rest of the jewelry firmly and tighten each ball down righty tighty (or clockwise) based on the balls position. If you have a straight barbell holding one of the balls while tightening the other will tighten the one you are holding also.

If you have a piercing that is not protected from physical contact you should cover it to prevent trauma to the area. An eye patch can be secured over the area to prevent contact. Layers of gauze can be placed on the piercing before putting a hard plastic eye patch over top and securing with tape or an ace bandage.

Mild sea salt soaks are strongly suggested for certain piercings. This is non-iodized sea salt not table salt. If you need salt come by the shop. It is free. Please do not try to rotate your jewelry to get the salt on the inside. Put 1/4 to 1/8 of a teaspoon of salt in 8 ounces of water and microwave it. If you have a 16 ounce bottle, it would take 1/2 teaspoon salt; 32 ounces of water takes 1 teaspoon salt. Please measure your salt. If you do not have a teaspoon measure please do not guess. Less is more, adding more to the solution will hurt, not help your piercing.

Please make sure the salt dissolves, but do not put something too hot on your piercing. You can dip Q-Tips into your water to clean off the crusties around your piercing, but actually soaking your piercing in addition is best. Any way to get the solution on your piercing will work, you can put it in a shot glass or on a makeup pad or tissue (stay away from wash cloths they will snag). Submerging your piercing in the solution is best if you have a bowl or cup large enough.

Please do not soak your piercing more than once or twice a day for more than five to ten minutes. After you have soaked your piercing with the salt give it a clear water rinse quickly just to get excess salt off of the area. If you are planning on showering, soak your piercing before getting in the shower.

If you would prefer to use saline instead please be mindful of what you use. Pure saline is best, but if you use a contact solution the least amount of additives optimal. The label should say it contains "isotonic saline" or 0.9 percent sterile saline without additives. Bausch & Lomb Sensitive Eyes Plus saline solution is available at pharmacies in the area.

The first thing you should do is get some ice. Ice chips can slow your swelling and relieve some of the pain associated with the piercing. Please do not share drinks or chapstick after an oral piercing. Try to keep chapstick and other makeup applicators clean. Another trick is to get a new toothbrush. Even if you don't think your previous one was dirty, a fresh toothbrush will ensure there is no extra bacteria around your piercing. Please avoid drinking from a straw.

If you have received an oral piercing you will need to rinse the inside of your mouth as well. This should be done about 5 times a day. You will need to dilute your mouthwash with water 50/50. Simply Rinse for 30 seconds to a minute. If you do not want to pay for mouthwash, or do not like the taste, you can also use the sea salt mixture to rinse your oral piercing.

After about ten days, you will need to return to the studio to get a smaller piece of jewelry. After the initial swelling goes down, you can switch to a smaller ring, labret stud, or barbell. You cannot change your jewelry yourself until your piercing is fully healed, but a trained professional can change your piercing as long as they do so with sterile jewelry.

If the inside of your mouth is irritating you, switching to rinsing using a sea salt solution is advised. If you are excessively swolen the sea salt will help as well. Please use the measurements provided in the Sea Salt section of aftercare.

Excessive talking can prolong swelling, rest is best. If you are having issues eating please try smoothies, ice creams, soups, etc. Please try to eat slowly and take small bites. Use clean utensils each time. Please be mindful of anything you put into your mouth including chewing on pens. Cold foods will help with the swelling. Please do not bite your piercing or move the jewelry excessively.

These are just suggestions. If you believe you have an infection please consult a medical professional. Most of the time piercings are just irritated, but only a medical doctor will know. If you are a student, normally the health clinics are free or discounted, so do yourself a favor and relieve your anxiety and have it checked out. Please see a doctor immediately if you have numbness in the area, red streaking like a sunburst, fevers, chills, vomiting, or if you have large amounts of green pus coming from your piercing.

Most piercing problems can be fixed with doing sea salt soaks. You can also do a warm compress soak. Take a clean washcloth or makeup pad (try to stay away from things that will catch on your piercing), put it in a bowl with a little water, and microwave it. Please use a new paper towel each time and be careful with washcloths as they could snag. Make sure you don't burn yourself and apply the warm compress to your piercing. Continue to reheat the compress as it looses heat and gets cold.

If you have a bump on your piercing, please make sure you are doing both your sea salt soaks and washing your piercing with soap. Ibuproferin can diminish swelling and tenderness. Over the counter anti-histamines can help with itching and inflammation. Do many sea salt soaks and hot compresses. Please continue with them after the bump has gone away for two weeks so it does not reappear.

If you have a bump from a piercing performed by a gun, you can tape it with Micropore breathable tape. This primarily works for healed piercings, tape the bump and change the tape when necessary, this process could take several months to help.

In addition to the sea salt soaks and warm compresses, washing your piercing, if you are not already, can help. The best time to wash an ear piercing is right before you get out of the shower to get all of your shampoo and conditioner out. For facial piercings the best time is after you remove your makeup or wash your face. Please use a mild fragrace-free soap. Lather it up between your hands and rinse your piercing out.

Shampoo, conditioners, and hair products used at salons can irritate piercings. The better or more your products smell the worse it is for your piercing. Garnier Fructis and Herbal Essences are examples of products that cause irritation.

Try to make a mental checklist of all of the items that touch your piercing. Anything that touches your piercing including cellphones, pillows, hats, belts, or clothing, can irritate your piercing if it is dirty. Please answer your cellphone on the side of your head opposite from your piercing. If you have had both ears pierced at once, come by the shop for free alcohol pads to clean your phone with. Do your best to keep anything that touches your piercing clean.

Please make sure you are washing your hands properly before touching your piercing. Count to thirty seconds per hand when washing to make sure all bacteria is removed.