• Always thoroughly wash and dry your hands before handling your piercing.

• Do not remove your jewellery to clean the piercing, unless the piercing is fully healed. Removal can cause damage and/or the piercing site to close up.

• Do not touch your piercing at all outside of cleaning, drying, checking ends.

• Only clean your piercing with a sterile saline spray (0.9% - No stronger than that) or plain warm water and ensure the piercing and the surrounding area are completely but gently dried after.

• Do not use any cosmetics, creams or harsh cleaning products on your piercing, these include: homemade salt water, tea tree oil, rubbing alcohol, antiseptic etc.

• Check your attachments are still secure after cleaning. If your jewellery is threaded, turn your attachments clockwise to tighten them. If your jewellery is threadless the attachment presses into the bar. Do not turn threadless jewellery as you may break it.

• Avoid sleeping on your piercing as this can seriously damage it while healing and will be painful. Travel or ‘donut’ pillows provide excellent relief while sleeping and help keep your piercing safe.

• Do not wear any tight waistbands while healing a navel piercing. This can cause infections and increases the risk of rejection. All fresh piercings need to be kept free of pressure and friction.

• Make a downsize appointment at the appropriate interval. When the piercing is first done it will swell and an appropriate size jewellery length will be installed to accommodate this. After a certain point it will need something shorter so it will continue to heal without the added movement, friction, risk of migration, and catching accidents.

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• Guidelines for healing times are:

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• Ear lobe, eyebrow and nasal septum: 12-16 weeks

• Ear (cartilaginous region) and nostril: 6 months to 1 year

• Tongue: 4 weeks to 8 weeks

• Lip: 12 weeks to 16 weeks

• Genital including inner labia and clitoral hood: 4 weeks to 12 weeks

• Nipple: 4 months to 12 months

• Navel: 4 months to 1 year

• Microdermal: 2 months to 6 months

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• Once Your Piercing Has Healed:

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• Once the piercing has healed, you will have an artificial tunnel inside your flesh. This is called a fistula and it also benefits from regular cleaning.

• Infections can often begin as bacterial growth inside the fistula, so flushing through with saline solution every 3 or 4 months (slightly more frequently in the summer months) can help inhibit the build up of germs and bacteria that lead to infections. Some peoples fistula close quite quickly once jewellery is removed so it’s best to have sterilised jewellery and cleaning solutions to hand so the job gets done quicker. Jewellery should be changed by lubricating the tip of the new jewellery with a water based/antiseptic lubricant then slowly insert jewellery in and through the fistula. For more advice approach your body piercer for suggestions.

 

Thank you, Kent Tattoos & Body Piercing xx