Piercing Aftercare 

You received a body piercing by a skilled and knowledgeable professional who cleaned and disinfected the area pierced, used sterile instruments, jewellery and single use needle.

NOW ITS UP TO YOU TO TAKE PROPER CARE OF YOUR PIERCING DURING THE CRUCIAL HEALING PERIOD. HOW YOUR PIERCING HEALS ITS UP TO YOU AND YUR BODY

WHAT IS NORMAL?

• Initially, some bleeding, localised swelling, tenderness or bruising.
• During healing: some discolouration, itching, secretion of a whitish-yellow fluid (not pus) that will form crust on the jewellery. The tissue may tighten around the jewellery as it heals.
• Once healed: the jewellery may not move freely in the piercing. DO NOT FORCE IT. If you fault include cleaning your piercing as part of your hygiene routine, normal but smelly bodily secretions accumulate.
• A piercing may seem healed before healing is complete. This is because piercings heal from the outside in and although it feels healed the tissue remains fragile on the inside. BE PATIENT and keep cleaning throughout the entire healing period.

WHAT TO DO

• Wash your hands prior to touching the piercing; leave it alone except when cleaning.It is not necessary to rotate the jewellery while healing except during cleaning.
• Make sure that your jewellery and skin are free from any discharge before you attempt to move jewellery. Irritation can occur when crusty matter is accidentally forced into the piercing.
• Stay Healthy! Eat a nutritious diet. The healthier your lifestyle, the easier it will be for your piercing to heal. Exercise during healing is fine, just “listen” to your body.
• Make sure your bedding is kept clean and changed regularly. Wear clean, comfortable, breathable clothing that protects your piercing while sleeping.
• Showering is safer than taking a bath, because bathtubs tend to harbour bacteria. If you would like to take a bath, clean the tub well before each use.

CLEANING SOLUTIONS

Use either one of the following solutions for cleaning body piercings”

1. You can buy special Aftercare solution for body piercing (H2Ocean) or deep cleansing soap for tattoos and piercings (TattooGOO or H2Ocean)
2. Take 1 teaspoon of Vodka dilute it with 1 teaspoon of distilled water.
3. Packaged sterile saline solution with no additives (read the label) or non-iodised sea salt mixture: Dissolve 1/8-1/4 teaspoon of non-iodises (iodine free) sea salt into half glass of warm distilled water. A stronger mixture is NOT better. Saline solution that is too strong can irritate the piercing.

CLEANING INSTRUCTIONS FOR BODY PIERCINGS

1. WASH your hands throughly prior to cleaning or touching on or near your piercing
2. VODKA will be the best way of healing your piercing as it will kill ALL bacteria inside and outside the piercing. Take a tsp of vodka, a tsp of water and mix together. Using a cotton bud and tissue clean all around the piercing (front and back) clean 2-3 times a day. Make sure there is no body residue and soap on the piercing and on the jewellery. Clean immediately to prevent infection. Ask for help if needed.  
3. SALINE soak at least two  to three times daily. Simply invert a cup of warm saline solution over area to form a vacuum for a few minutes. The longer you soak, the better. For certain placements such as belly and nipples piercings.It may be easier to apply using fresh gauze or a cotton disk saturated in saline solution. A brief rinse will remove any residue.
4. SOAP no ore than once or twice a day while showering lather up a pearl size drop of the Tattoo goo deep cleansing soap to clean the jewellery and the piercing. Leave the cleanser on the piercing no more that thirty (30s)seconds, then rinse throughly to remove all traces of the soap from the piercing.
5. DRY with disposable paper products such as paper towel, gauze or tissues, because cloth towels can harbour bacteria and catch on new piercings causing injury. Pat gently to avoid trauma.

WHAT TO AVOID

• Avoid undue trauma such as friction from clothing, excessive motion of the area, playing with the jewellery and vigorous cleaning. These activities can cause the formation of unsightly and uncomfortable scar tissue, migration, prolonged healing and other complications.
• Avoid the use of hydrogen peroxide, “Betadine", “Hibiclense“ or ointments.
• Avoid over cleaning. This can delay your healing and irritate your piercing (Saline solution).
• Avoid all oral contact, rough play and contact with others bodily fluids on or near your piercing during healing.
• Avoid stress and recreational drug use including excessive caffeine, nicotine and alcohol.
• Avoid submerging the piercing in bodies of water such as lakes, pools, jacuzzis etc. or protect your piercing using a special water-proof bandage such as “Tegaderm”, which is available in drug stores. 
• Avoid ALL beauty and personal care products on or around the piercing including cosmetics, lotions, sprays, etc.
• Don’t hang charms or any objects from your jewellery until the piercing is fully healed.

HINTS AND TIPS 

JEWELLERY

• Unless there is a problem with size, style or material of the initial jewellery, leave it in place for entire healing period. A qualified piercer should perform any necessary jewellery change that occurs during healing.
• Contact your piercer if your jewellery must be temporarily removed (such as for a medical procedure). There are non-metalic jewellery alternatives.
• LEAVE JEWELLERY IN AT ALL TIMES. Even old, well healed piercings can shrink and close in minutes after having been there for years! If removed re-insertion can be difficult or impossible.
• With clean hands or paper product, be sure to regularly check the threaded ends on your jewellery for tightness (“Righty-tighty, Lefty-loosey”).
• Carry a clean spare ball in case of loss or breakage.
• Should you decide you no longer want the piercing, seek professional help in the removal of the jewellery and cleaning the piercing until the hole closes. In most cases only small indentation will remain.

FOR PARTICULAR AREAS

NAVEL (BELLY BUTTON)

A hard, vented eye patch (sold at pharmacies) can be applied under tight clothing (such as nylon stockings) or secured using a length of ace bandage around the body (to avoid irritation from adhesive). This can protect the area from restrictive clothing, excess irritation and impact during physical activities such as contact sports. 

EAR/EAR CARTILAGE AND FACIAL

• Use the t-shirt trick: dress your pillow in a large, clean t-shirt and turn it nightly; one clean t-shirt provides four clean surfaces for sleeping.
• Maintain cleanliness of telephones, headphones, eyeglasses, helmets, hats and anything that contains the pierced areas.
• Use caution when styling your hair and advise your stylist of a new or healing piercing. 

NIPPLE

• The support of tight cotton shirt or sports bra may provide protection and feel comfortable, especially for sleeping.
• After having your nipples pierced the piercer will put a plaster over the piercing, we advise you to cover your piercing with clean tissue for 2 weeks under your bra. Make sure that every time you clean the piercing to change the dressing, to prevent bacteria from forming.

TONGUE / LIP / CHEEK

• Swelling will normally occur within the first 72 hours. It is important to drink lots of cold liquids as gently suck on ice to help minimise the swelling. Use ice 30minutes on, 30 minutes off to help keep maximum blood flow.
• Don’t share plates, cups or eating utensils with others. Replace your toothbrush and keep it clean during the healing period. Keep dirty fingers, pencils, sunglasses etc. out of your mouth.
• Avoid excessive talking, playing with the jewellery and all oral sexual contact (including wet kisses) during the healing time.
• Check that threaded ends of the jewellery are on securely. Tighten them each day to ensure the jewellery stays in place.
• Those with tongue piercings should be cautioned that playing with the jewellery excessively is frequently the cause of reported tooth and gum damage and should be avoided.

EACH BODY IS UNIQUE AND HEALING TIMES VARY CONSIDERABLY. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR PIERCER.