Aftercare

Proper aftercare is key! Here are our recommended tips and tricks.

• Wash your hands prior to touching the piercing; however it's best to let it be! You do not need to rotate your jewellery.
• Spray your new piercing with a sterile saline solution twice daily.
• Showers tend to be safer than taking baths, as bathtubs can harbour bacteria. If you bathe in a tub, clean it well before each use and rinse off your piercing when you get out. Wash your hands prior to touching the piercing; however it's best to let it be! You do not need to rotate your jewellery.
• Spray your new piercing with a sterile saline solution twice daily.
• Showers tend to be safer 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.

• 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 unnecessary contact and trauma with your piercing as much as possible; for example, putting on and removing clothing; excessive tucking of the hair behind the ear. These activities can cause the formation of scar tissue, migration, prolonged healing, and other complications.
• Avoid submerging the piercing in unhygienic bodies of water such as lakes, pools, hot tubs, etc. Or, 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.
• Sleeping directly on a healing cartilage piercing can cause irritation or shifts in the piercing’s angle. If you are a side sleeper, place a travel pillow on top of your pillow to cushion the ear area while sleeping.

• WASH your hands thoroughly prior to cleaning or touching your piercing for any reason.
• SALINE rinse as needed while healing. 
• RINSE site as needed to remove cleaning solution residue. 
• DRY by gently patting with clean, disposable paper products. 

• Upon piercing : slight bleeding, localized swelling, tenderness, or bruising.We recommend taking ibuprofen to help manage any discomfort with swelling and inflammation, staying on schedule with dosages according to the instructions provided on the label or bottle. Along with this schedule, you can take a cold compress (for five to seven minutes) to the area to help bring down the localized swelling and alleviate discomfort.
• When healing, some of these symptoms may occur : discoloration, itching, secretion of a whitish-yellow fluid (not pus), dried fluid or "crust" in and around the jewelry. The tissue may tighten around the jewelry as it heals. Once healed: the jewelry may not move freely in the piercing; do not force it. If you fail to include cleaning your piercing as part of your daily hygiene routine, normal but smelly bodily secretions may accumulate.
• Piercing bumps are a common occurrence and can take up to two to three months to fully disappear. Be consistent with your cleaning schedule, and when time permits you can apply a saline compress directly to the bump each day to help with healing.
• 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 keep 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.
• Healing times will vary between different piercings : First to Third Lobes, 2-3 months; Helix and outer cartilage area, 6-9 months; Inner cartilage areas, 9-12 months. 

WHEN TO CONSULT YOUR FAMILY PHYSICIAN 

Signs of infection may include extreme redness and painful inflammation accompanied by fever, vomiting, and dizziness. Your piercing may also continue to seep with fluid, blood, or pus. If this occurs, we recommend contacting your family physician within 24 hours to seek treatment for the infection. Prior to seeing/waiting to see your family doctor, we recommend treating with an over-the-counter antibiotic such as Neosporin, Polysporin, or Bacitracin. 

Packaged sterile saline is a gentle choice for piercing aftercare. Please invest in a sterile saline product specific for wounds and/or piercings.  Contact lens saline, eye drops, and other saline products should never be used on a body piercing. Your saline ingredients should list .09% sodium chloride as the only ingredient.