The proper aftercare for your new piercing is VITAL to its health and longevity. The better you treat your piercing, the nicer it will look and longer it will last.

General Cleaning Procedure

• Wash your hands thoroughly with antibacterial soap before touching or cleaning your piercing. Dry hands with a disposable paper towel.
• Use sterile saline solution to clean piercings. It should be labeled "piercing aftercare" or "wound wash;" it is NOT the same saline solution that is used for nasal mists, contact lenses, or eye drops. We DO NOT recommend using a homemade saline solution to clean the piercing.
  Depending on the piercing, you can spray the solution directly onto the piercing for 20-30 seconds, or saturate a clean Q-tip or cotton pad with the solution to apply to the area. Remove any dried blood or discharge that builds up around the piercing or on the jewelry.
• Dry the piercing by gently patting it with a disposable paper
• Repeat this process 2 to 3 times daily.

Oral Piercings

Use the sterile saline solution described above to clean piercings externally.

Maintain good oral hygiene - brush your teeth & tongue with a soft-bristled toothbrush, floss, and use a mouth rinse at least twice daily. Brush your jewelry gently to avoid plaque buildup.

Make sure products are alcohol-free + hydrogen peroxide-free because these ingredients can imtate your piercing.

- Rinse your mouth with bottled or filtered water after every time you eat, drink, or smoke/vape.

Genital Piercings

• Avoid sexual contact for as long as directed to by the piercer.
• Maintain good hygiene and avoid trauma during the healing stage. This includes avoiding direct contact with all bodily fluids, using barners, and cleaning piercings after sexual contact with additional saline solution.

MicroDermal Piercings

Clean the piercing following the General Cleaning instructions. Keep the area between the threaded top and the skin clean from any build up.

- Keep MicroDermal piercings covered at all times with an adhesive bandage for the first month. It may also need to be covered during sleep for longer. A MicroDermal WILL NOT heal properly without following this aftercare step.
Even with proper care, a Micro Dermal may be less permanent than other body piercings. Ask a piercer for more information.

MORE AFTERCARE INFO

Check your piercing regularly to ensure it is clean and the jewelry is secure.

Do not excessively rotate, move, or play with the jewelry.

• Don't use isopropyl ("rubbing") alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, lodine, or antibacterial soap to clean your piercing. These will irritate your piercing.
• Don't over-clean the piercing with saline. It could dry out the skin near your piercing and cause irritation.
• Avoid applying makeup, lotions/creams, ointments, or perfumes on or near the new piercing.
  Thoroughly rinse off any hair products, body wash, soap. etc. that may come into contact with a piercing.
• Wear clean, breathable clothing and make sure bedding is changed regularly.
• Keep all surfaces that your piercing may come into contact with clean during healing (e.g., a phone, headset, or headphones should be cleaned before placing near a new ear piercing.)
  Do not submerge a new piercing under water while it's healing - no baths, hot tubs, pools, lakes, or ocean.
  Showers are okay.

Don't cover a piercing with a bandage unless directed to by the piercer.

Normal Reactions to New Piercings

Bleeding, bruising, swelling, tenderness, itching, and some white-yellow fluid discharge (plasma) may form crust on the jewelry. This crust should be cleaned off.

Ice and over-the-counter pain medications may be helpful with easing swelling and discomfort during the healing process.

Piercings may seem healed before the healing process is actually complete - our bodies heal from the outside inward, so interior tissue could still be sensitive while the outside could look and feel fine. Be aware of this before trying to switch your jewelry.

Jewelry Information

• Jewelry that is used during the initial piercing process is chosen intentionally to provide you with the best healing possible. Unless there is a significant issue with the jewelry, leave it in place for the entire healing period. If a jewelry change is necessary, see a piercer to perform the change.
• If you need a non-metallic jewelry alternative like a 'retainer," (e.g., you're going in for an MRI or a surgery), see a piercer to switch the jewelry.
• Always leave jewelry or a retainer in the piercing if you want to keep the piercing. Even healed piercings that you have had for years could shrink or close entirely in a short period of time.