Body Piercing Aftercare

Cleaning Instructions for Body Piercings

The only product you should be using to care for your new piercing is a sterile 0,9% sodium chloride like “Neilmed Piercing Aftercare”.

Minimize picking, playing with, and touching your new piercing with unclean hands. Similar to a cut, your piercing will scab around the sides and accumulate some discharge (typically a yellowish/white color, which can harden into a crust). This is the sign that your piercing is healing healthily. Do not panic. Picking this away will cause irritation to your piercing, prolong healing time, and leave a more pronounced scar once healed. To safely clean discharge/crusty matter, only use the aforementioned saline and warm water to gently wash it away.

1. Wash your hands thoroughly.

2. Either spray the saline directly on the piercing to liberally flush the piercing, or soak a non-woven gauze in saline and apply that to the piercing.

3. You may need to use a q-tip or non-woven gauze to clean away any debris or “crusties” that may have collected on the jewelry around the piercing.

4. It is not necessary to rinse this product away, however if you do rinse make sure it’s with clean, running water.

5. If your jewelry is threaded (barbells, etc.) check it to make sure it’s still tight! Remember “righty tighty, lefty loosey.”

Remember, over-cleaning your piercing can cause more harm than good. Minimal care is best.

What to Avoid While Healing a Body Piercing

Avoid touching your piercing, except when you are cleaning it.

Avoid contact with other people’s body or animal’s fluids.

Avoid using any aftercare products or ointments that were not suggested by your piercer.

Avoid getting lotions and/or makeup in or around your piercing.

Avoid pools, hot tubs, lakes, rivers, etc. Using a waterproof, breathable bandage (such as Tegaderm) is a viable option for some piercings.

Addition Tips for Healing Body Piercings

Make sure your bedding is clean.

Wear clean, comfortable, breathable clothing.

For EAR/EAR CARTILAGE AND FACIAL: Maintain cleanliness of telephones, headphones, eyeglasses, helmets, hats, and anything that contacts the pierced area. Use caution when styling your hair and advise your stylist of a new or healing piercing. You can use a travel pillow to sleep.

Contact your piercer for a non-metallic jewelry alternative if your metal jewelry must be temporarily removed (such as for a medical procedure).

Oral Piercing Aftercare

Cleaning Instructions for Oral Piercings

The only product you should be using to care for your new piercing is a an alcohol-free mouth rinse such as Crest Pro-Health, or Colgate Advanced Care, and dilute it 50/50 with distilled or bottled water

1. Wash your hands thoroughly.

2. Swish gently with an alcohol-free mouthwash, diluted 50/50 with distilled or bottled water, for 30-60 seconds.

3. If your jewelry is threaded (barbells, etc.) check it to make sure it’s still tight! Remember “righty tighty, lefty loosey.”

Remember, over-cleaning your piercing can cause more harm than good. Minimal care is best.

What to Avoid While Healing an Oral Piercing

Touching your piercing, except when you are cleaning it.

Oral contact or contact with other people’s body fluids.

Sucking thick beverages (such as milkshakes) though straws.

Hot, spicy foods and excessive consumption of alcohol, aspirin, and caffeine.

Smoking. If you do smoke, rinse with cold bottled water afterwords.

Chewing on gum, tobacco, fingernails, and other things that are not food.

Playing with your jewelry; it can cause irreversible damage to teeth and gums.

Addition Tips for Healing Oral Piercings

Gently suck on ice for the first few days to reduce swelling.

The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory products such as Ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil etc.) can reduce swelling.

This is a good time to replace your toothbrush with a new one!

Be sure to brush your tongue and jewelry (gently at first) to ward away plaque build-up.

Come back in for JEWELRY DOWNSIZING at the end of your initial healing time.

Oral piercings have a tendency to swell and need extra room for cleaning during the initial healing time. For your safety and comfort, we provide you with jewelry that has some extra length on the post. Once swelling subsides, it is advisable to replace the initial jewelry with a shorter post. Failure to do this will result in greatly increased chances of tooth damage (chipping, cracking, etc.), gum recession, and bone loss.

Do not clean your piercing more often than is suggested, as over-cleaning can slow the healing process and cause more harm than good.

Taking a multivitamin containing zinc and vitamin C can boost your body’s healing abilities. • Keep in mind that stress, poor diet, drug abuse, or illness can cause extended healing times or other difficulties.