Aftercare. Having a proper aftercare routine is just as important as choosing the right piercer.
You've had your piercing done. It was sterile, the staff were hospitable, but now you are out the door on your own. Now what do you do?
Before I begin, I will say that the first thing to do is listen to your piercers advice. If they don't give you any, ask. 70% of the time, the advice goes through one ear and out the other so please try to trap it next time you get a piercing. They are professionals and have done this all before so they are your best source of advice.
Okay, so you listened to your piercer and have been going along with it but now its irritatied/infected. Well sometimes you may get incorrect adivce or the advice given just doesn't work for you. Finding another cleaning method is pretty simple.
Firstly, there are some things you should NEVER do. If anyone tells you to do any of these please refrain.
- Do not use chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide, bactine, or rubbing alcohol. They will just irritate the healing skin and prolong the healing time.
- Do not turn or twist your jewellery. This is an old myth, and actually contradicts what it says it should do. Doing this will just irritate and/or rip at new healing skin, bringing you back to the drawing board! Any small build up of crust can get in while you are turning it and cause more damage than you hoped.
- Only be pierced with surgical steel, bioplast or proper silver. Any cheap, coated jewellery can flake and or tarnish inside the hole.
- Sea salt soaks. These are very common and many people swear by them. I have always just used a sea salt soak twice a day as they clean, protect and are natural so you won't be using any harsh chemicals.
- Ice. Ice is great for when your piercing hurts and/or is swollen. Holding some ice over the area for about 10-15 minutes will dramatically reduce swelling and numb the the pain at the same time!
- When you have a piercing in an area that is constantly being touched by clothes, jewellery, etc.. simply putting a bandaid over it can help. I found that my school skirt continued to knock my navel piercing which caused irritation and extended the healing time. Just putting a plaster over it helps a lot.
- If you have a new ear piercing, refrain from using earphones during the healing time. They can carry a lot of bacteria on them. Also, keeping your hair clean works wonderfully too.
- Changing your sheets more frequently! If the piercing is around the head or neck area, new pillowcases would suffice but other body piercings would benefit from clean sheets.
