What to Use: The best option for cleaning & healing your new piercing is packaged, sterile saline (aka Wound Wash). Mixing your own sea-salt solution is no longer recommended.

Cleaning Instructions:  WASH your hands prior to cleaning/handling your piercing. Rinse your piercing with STERILE SALINE 2-4x daily (or as directed by your piercer). For some piercings, it may be easier to saturate clean gauze with Saline and hold in place over your piercing. RINSE the piercing site thoroughly to remove any cleaning solution residue. DRY the area by gently patting with clean, disposable paper products. Cloth towels/washcloths can harbor bacteria and snag on jewelry, and that's never fun!

What's Normal? A new piercing may bleed on & off for the first few days following your piercing(s). You may also notice some swelling/inflammation, tenderness, and/or bruising as well as a "tight" feeling around your piercing/jewelry. All of these things are common with new piercings. As your piercing heals, you may notice some discoloration, itching, secretion of a whitish/cream colored fluid (not pus) that may form "crusties" on your jewelry. A piercing may seem healed before the healing process is complete as they heal from the outside in. Remain patient and continue your cleaning routine for the entire healing period. Always keep jewelry in your piercings to avoid them shrinking/closing. This goes for healed piercings as well!

What to do: It is not necessary to move/rotate your jewelry during the healing process. Routine exercising during healing is fine. If certain movements/exercises cause discomfort, avoid them temporarily. Wash your bedding and linens regularly (especially if you have pets!). Wearing clean, comfortable, and breathable clothing will help protect your piercing while sleeping. Showering is best as bath tubs harbor bacteria and should be avoided during the healing process. Stay healthy, keep a nutritious diet, and get enough sleep as these things greatly impact a healing piercing.

What to Avoid:  Do not over clean your piercing and do not use rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, bactine, ear care solutions, iodine, antibacterial soaps, and/or any harsh products, as these can damage cells. Also, avoid any ointments as they restrict necessary air circulation.

Avoid undue trauma such as friction from clothing, excessive motion of the area, playing with the jewelry, and/or vigorous cleaning. Avoid oral contact, rough play, and oral contact with your new piercing. Do not hang charms or any other objects from your jewelry.

Avoid stress, recreational drug use. This includes excessive caffeine, nicotine, and/or alcohol. Avoid personal/beauty cosmetics, lotions, sprays, etc. on or around the piercing. Avoid submerging your piercing in water (lakes, rivers, oceans, hot tubs, pools, bath tubs, etc). If this can't be avoided, cover your piercing with a waterproof wound-sealant bandage.

Sleeping directly on a healing piercing can cause irritation, even causing shifts in the piercing's angle. This is especially true for ear piercings. Placing a travel/neck pillow on top of your pillow and placing your ear in the opening of the travel pillow may help to avoid this.

HINTS & TIPS: Unless a down-size of your initial piercing jewelry is necessary (at the appropriate time), leave your initial piercing jewelry in place for the duration of the healing process. In the event of necessary medical procedures that require temporary removal of your body jewelry, contact your piercer for non-metallic jewelry alternatives to wear (i.e. acrylic, glass, etc).

Leave jewelry in at all times. Even well-healed piercings may begin to shrink/close as soon as jewelry is removed. With clean hands, regularly check your jewelry to make sure that all parts are secure (threadless ends, threaded ends, captive beads, o-rings, etc.). 

If you decide to retire a piercing permanently, simply remove the jewelry and continue cleaning the piercing/surrounding tissue until the hole closes. In most cases, a very small mark may remain.

If the event an infection is suspected, quality jewelry and/or an inert alternative may be left in place to allow for drainage of the infection, if approved by your physician. On rare occasions, when the jewelry is removed, the surface cells close up, which can seal the infection inside the piercing channel and result in an abscess. Until an infection is cleared up, discuss with your physician if you should leave in quality jewelry or an appropriate substitute.

What to Use: 

Use one or more of the following solutions for inside the mouth:

-Mouth Rinse that is alcohol and/or peroxide free 

-a dry mouth oral rinse for hydration

-bottled/filtered water.

Cleaning Instructions: 

Internal- WASH your hands prior to cleaning/handling your piercing. Good and routine oral hygiene practices are important in maintaining a healthy mouth and piercing. Rinse with water each time you eat, drink, smoke, etc. Floss, brush, and use mouth rinse twice (2x) daily. Do not overuse the mouth rinse. Gently brush the jewelry often to reduce plaque build up.

External- WASH your hands prior to cleaning/handling your piercing. Rinse with warm water in the shower once a day. In addition, rinse the piercing with saline twice (2x) daily. Gently remove discharge "crusties" that may have built up on the jewelry. Carefully dry the area with gauze.

What's Normal? The first 3-5 days you may experience light bleeding, bruising, tenderness, and/or whitish/yellowish secretion (crusties). Swelling is also common for the first 3-7 days. A piercing may seem healed before the healing process is complete as they heal from the outside in. Remain patient and continue your cleaning routine for the entire healing period. Always keep jewelry in your piercings to avoid them shrinking/closing. This goes for healed piercings as well!

What To Do To Help Reduce Swelling:

• For the first 3-5 days, sipping on ice water throughout the day may help reduce swelling. This will also keep your piercing/jewelry flushed and clean. Try to keep any movement minimal and do not play with your jewelry. Sleep with your head elevated above your heart the first few nights to minimize overnight swelling. If you experience excessive swelling and your skin/tissue seem to be growing over the jewelry (inside or outside of the piercing), contact us so that we can take the necessary actions to get things back on track for you.

• Maintain Good Oral Hygiene:

• Maintain ADA home oral care recommendations- oral hygiene routine of flossing, brushing your teeth and using mouth rinse 2-3x daily. Once healed, gently brush the jewelry with a clean toothbrush to avoid plaque build up.

Stay Healthy:

The healthier your lifestyle, the easier it will be for your piercing to heal. Get enough sleep and stick to a nutritious diet as this will bolster your ability to fight infection. You may also consider taking daily nutritional supplements. Do your best to avoid emotional stress as this can increase healing times by up to 40%!

Oral Piercing Tips:

• Avoid kissing/oral contact during healing

• Once the swelling has subsided, it is vital to replace your initial piercing jewelry with a shorter post/barbell to avoid damage to the teeth and/or gums. Being that this will be done while the piercing is still healing, it is best to be changed by a qualified piercer.

• With clean hands, check your jewelry routinely to ensure that all beads/ends are secure.

• If you're in need of non-metallic jewelry alternatives (i.e. 'retainers'), contact your piercer for info and assistance in changing your jewelry.

• If you decide that you no longer want your piercing, simply remove the jewelry (a qualified piercer can help with this) and continue to clean the area until the hole closes. Typically, only a small mark will remain.

Eating: 

• Take your time eating (small bites and chew slowly!) until you are used to the piercing and the jewelry.

• Avoid spicy, salty, acidic, and/or hot (temperature) foods & beverages for the first two weeks.

• Cold foods and beverages can be soothing and help reduce swelling

• For some oral piercings, be cautious about opening your mouth too wide as this can result in the jewelry catching on your teeth.

What To Avoid:

• Do not play with your jewelry. Long term effects include permanent damage to teeth & gums.

• Avoid undue trauma; excessive talking or playing with the jewelry can cause scar tissue, migration, and/or other complications.

• Avoid using mouthwash that contains alcohol and/or hydrogen peroxide as these can irritate the piercing and delay healing.

• Avoid chewing on gum, fingernails, tobacco, pencils, erasers, sunglasses, and other foreign objects that may harbor bacteria.

• Don't share utensils, plates, cups, etc.

• Using straws may increase the risk of swelling and/or bleeding.

• Minimize the intake of smoking and vaping (tobacco or cannabis). It increases risks and prolongs healing time.

• Avoid aspirin, alcohol, and large amounts of caffeine as long as you are experiencing swelling and/or bleeding.

• Avoid submerging healing piercings in bodies of water (i.e. lakes, pools, rivers, oceans, hot tubs, bath tubs).