Cleaning your piercings, whether fresh or healed, is an essential part of caring for your jewelry and keeping your ear game shiny and on point! While this task is often overcomplicated, it's not as confusing as it may seem!
FRESH PIERCING CARE
Piercings take quite a while to heal, especially if they are through any of your ear's cartilage (the thicker, less spongy, non-lobe parts). The time to heal varies based on your specific piercing's location, the type & material of jewelry, your diet, your skin type, and many other factors. During the entire healing duration it is imperative that you have a good cleaning routine set up so your piercing will heal successfully and not impair your love of piercings with issues!
DO:
- Set a time in your daily routine to clean your new piercing.
- Invest in a sterile Saline Spray such as NeilMed Piercing Aftercare!
- Spray your piercing with the saline spray 1-2 times per day and rinse your piercing under the water in the shower to rinse away any excessive crust. It's important to remember that the crust is not bad so long as there is not an excess- it is helping your skin heal so a little bit of crust is inevitable.
- If your piercing is feeling sore after using this routine for a while, you can use anti-bacterial soap (such as dial) mixed with warm water to wash your piercing 1-3 times per week. Mix it up in a small bowl and dip your ear in or gently use a q-tip to clean the piercing. Then be sure to rinse it thoroughly! This should get rid of any unwanted bacteria and make your piercing feel much better.
DO NOT:
- Twist your jewelry! you will break the healing tissue and this will cause your piercing to take longer to heal and can even cause the infamous piercing bump.
- Removing your jewelry from a healing piercing is never ever a good idea! Chances are it will be nearly impossible to get back in, and if you do get it back in you will have disrupted the healing process. Goodbye, happy piercing!
- Use alcohol, peroxide, aspirin, balms, or Neosporin on your piercing! Alcohol and peroxide strip your skin of it's natural oils and really dry out the piercing, slowing down the healing process. Aspirin is NOT made to go on your skin, and balms/neosporin do not allow any air flow to the healing piercing, limiting the healing.
- Fiddle with your piercing throughout the day, or touch it with dirty hands. These are surefire ways to get an actual infection!
- Skip your cleaning regimen
- Use Q-tips everyday as they leave cotton residue behind that can harbor nasty bacteria! YUM!
- Hesitate to contact your piercer with any concerns! It is their job to oversee the process of your piercing from start to finish- so don't be scared to ask them for help! If you feel that anything is really wrong with your piercing, make an appointment and go see your piercer.
HEALED PIERCINGS:
The care for healed piercings is even more simple than caring for a fresh piercing! You don't need any specific piercing-care products to keep your healed piercings clean & happy. Things like piercing balm, salves, tea tree oil, or piercing floss are unnecessary and can actually be harmful to the health of your piercing.
To clean your healed piercings simply use whatever mild soap you have on hand! Most facial cleansers are fine to use on your ear piercings. If you use acne-prevention products you may need to invest in a calmer soap for your piercings, as many of the ingredients in those types of face wash can damage your jewelry since they are a bit harsh. My go-to fro washing my piercings is dial! I simply pump some into my hand, lather up, and run it all over my ears- front and back. Then be sure to rinse all the soap off really well in the water. Waterpiks can also be used to clean your piercings, just be sure the stream of water isn't on too harsh of a setting.
It is important to be very careful with your face/body piercings if you use washcloths, loofahs, or any other little exfoliating tools that have loops- they are easily snagged on your piercings and can cause a lot of pain and frustration!
With that, you should be well prepared to care for your piercings for the years to come! 🙌🏻
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Until Next Week,
Kourtney 💕