The Basics and Common Sense

Aftercare is a simple procedure in the care of any body piercing from simple ear piercings to the extreme piercings, but you have to remember some common points with all aftercare instructions. Many clients quickly forget half of what they are told in the studio after getting a piercing, partly due to the excitement of the piercing and partly from the rush of having just got what they wanted for a while. So that’s why I spent the time to put this little blurb down in writing so you can read it over and recall the words your piercer uttered to you in your catatonic post piercing haze.

More is not better!

Regardless of the piercing you have received, using aftercare products wisely is the best route. Over using soaps, lotions and/or cleaners does nothing to aid the piercing to heal, in fact it just irritates the tissue and prolongs the healing process. This is not cool! Generally cleaning a new piercing once or twice a day is plenty, cleaning a piercing any more than this will lead to the tissue becoming irritated and causing secondary reactions to the cleaning products.

Hocus Pocus and other lines!

Don’t blindly do what you are told unless it makes sense. Many people just do as they are told and don’t stop to think about what they are doing. Nor do these people read what the products they are using are really intended to treat. Read the back of the bottles or tubes of whatever you have been told to use. Many items like Bactine, Polysporin, Neosporin and several other Antibiotic ointments state on the backs of them "consult a physician in the event of deep wounds or puncture wounds". These are Topical solutions or Ointments to be used on the surface of the tissue only! Don’t use these on your piercings because "it’s a puncture wound", and will do nothing other than irritate the tissue if not used correctly.

**Saline solution is nothing other than distilled water with non-iodized salt in it, it serves no purpose to the piercing other than helping soften the crusties from the outside of the jewellery and piercing. If you have been given or told to use sea salt, use mix it up correctly, if you don’t mix it correctly you will again irritate the tissue and slow the healing process. (The same effect can be achieved by using lathered, mild liquid anti-bacterial soap during bathing or showers) Don’t use contact lens solution on your piercing, this contains additives to prolong the life of contact lenses, which do nothing to prolong the life of your piercing. Ultimately unless you go out a buy a bag of 5% Ringers lactate, (pure saline solution used in hospitals for I.V’s) you are wasting time messing around with this stuff.

A word of understanding

**Saline solution is used medically to irrigate open wounds, when warmed slightly, it increases circulation and helps the site of injury to heal. However it does not contain an anti-bacterial agent to clean out or kill infection. Many people have used saline to heal piercings, these are people who know how to properly use saline and have experience in healing piercings. I am not saying Saline is bad, I am saying that misuse of anything on a new piercing is bad. Just had to clear that point up. If you don't know how to use a product correctly, contact your piercer and have them explain it to you again, I am sure they would be happy to guide you through it to ensure your piercing is happy.

Understanding how to use aftercare products is the most important step to healing any piercing. I have seen piercing clients using various methods and products for maintaining their piercings and some have healed very well when other have turned into some really messy affairs. If you are going to use a product, please be sure you fully understand how to use it to it's full potential and only as often as need dictates. At the first signs of trouble seek the assistance of a professional piercer or your family doctor, don't wait till it's really messy and please don't experiment yourself.

Now what do I use?

Well now, what the heck do I use on my piercings to clean them, oh wise guy? Simple as long as the piercing is on the outside of you body use a mild liquid anti-bacterial soap like Soft Soap. With all anti-bacterial liquid soaps be sure you lather it up. Don’t apply this straight from the bottle to the piercing because it just irritates the tissue and does nothing to help clean the piercing. It also takes longer to rinse the concentrated soap out of the piercing when you are trying to flush the piercing out with running water. My piercer said to use Dial liquid anti-bacterial soap, should I change? If you are not having any trouble with your piercing there is no need to change soaps. I have however found that the Dial soap contains scenting and coloring that is quite often irritating to most piercings. It’s up to you how you take care of your piercings, all we are trying to do is point out some of the things we have seen and the observations we have made of the various aftercare routines people have been given.

Oral piercings should be cared for in a like manner, selecting a good mild anti-bacterial mouthwash, again without heavy color or flavoring is the best and simplest route. Swelling should be controlled by ice or crushed ice and the mouth rinsed after everything other than water for the initial stages of healing up to 10 days. The alcohol, non-alcohol argument is a moot point with oral piercings, alcohol based mouth washes tend to trigger the salivary glands to produce saliva, this helps to clean the mouth and piercing. Non-Alcohol based mouth washes have their secret ingredients that do the cleaning without that alcohol burn. We believe that Listerine Original is the best out of the batch, Yes that awful tasting stuff. It's designed to minimize all bacterial growth, and fungal development by it's formulation. It doesn't contain sugar, coloring or any other needless stuff and it works. So it’s up to you which way you want to go as far as mouth wash is concerned just remember no heavy flavoring or colorings.

What about healing agents?

For most piercings a simple healing agent is pierced ears solution, under several brand names this can get confusing. We found the following brands very effective in aiding the piercing to heal if used correctly, (Bio-Septic™ commonly found in British Columbia), (Super-Septic™, Clear Ears™ available in most U.S. outlets). These solutions are intended to be used after the piercing has been cleaned using an anti-bacterial soap and then they should be use sparingly.

Pierced Ear Solution

You must use this in concert with soap cleaning of any piercing (except exotics and orals). This stuff should not be over used or used on it's own daily. This product along with many others will cause trouble if you over use it ( more is not better ). Too much of anything other than water can trigger the formation of Hypertrophic scars, a very common reaction to excessive use of aftercare products. Never use the old bottle of stuff sitting in the bathroom. This like any other  DIN regulated product should be fresh. ( DIN number regulated products have a DIN number listed on the bottle or container, this is a special index number that can be searched to indicate manufacturers name, address, contents, formulation and in some cases lot and production date.) 

These products are designed to moisturize the piercing without being harsh. However using these on exotic piercings may not be a good idea. If it burns then it may be too harsh for the piercing. Generally exotic piercings only need to be washed with lathered anti-bacterial soap and rinsed with running water during normal bathing or showering.

For more direct aftercare instruction click the link to the aftercare for specific piercings for a detailed listing of aftercare for your piercing.

( Products and Brand names listed are trademark to there respective owners )