The new piercing era has begun. In today’s world piercings such as Jacobs Ladder Piercing is now just a tip of the iceberg. Indeed behind every corner, there’s at least one person that has a piercing. The rise of getting piercings also matches the rise of people with piercing infections. That’s why you have to read this blog with the 6 essential tips for a healthy and healed piercing. Believe me, aftercare is key.
Be prepared
Do your research on which piercing you want, what jewel, where you want it, and make an appointment. These are the following steps to follow:
- Choose a piercing (e.g. helix piercing, daith piercing, lip piercing, nose piercing, …)
- Find a decent piercing shop
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- Licensed and certification
- Clean and sterile
- Using sterile needles, not piercing guns
The thing with piercing guns is that it doesn’t pierce the skin thoroughly and makes the scarring a bit worse. Especially for cartilage piercings, since they have to go through cartilage, it’s very risky to use:
- Check for any allergies
You might have a nickel allergy without knowing it. Often, “chirurgical steel” piercings contain nickel. If you have an allergy to these and different metals, implant-grade titanium is recommended. It’s a bit more pricy but definitely worth the price, considering the safety of the materials used. - Make an appointment
- During the piercing session: bring your ID and money, wear comfortable clothes and make sure you’ve eaten. The pain factor is often influenced by stress and other personal factors.
- Procedure
- Aftercare is key. Use a sterile saline solution to prevent infections and make the recovery process easier.
Finding the right piercer
Before getting a piercing, it’s important to do your research. Avoid piercing your own ear if you want to avoid the risk of piercing it at the wrong spot, infections and scarring. Find a professional piercer who knows what he/she is doing. For example: to get a smiley piercing, the frenulum (connect upper gum) has to be thick enough or else it can rip. The right piercer should view and assess the frenulum first before piercing a smiley. A septum piercing has to be pierced at the right spot: below the cartilage, through the “sweet spot”, which comes before the tip of the nose.
“A big misunderstanding is that a septum piercing is pierced through the cartilage of the nose. This is not true at all. A professional piercer will pierce it below the cartilage, through the so-called sweet spot.” – Anke Labaere, piercer at Inksane Piercings Roeselare.
When it is not pierced through the soft tissue, there’s a risk of the piercing being either too highly placed or really painful, which makes it take longer to heal. A decent piercer should avoid any scarring and keep the swelling to a minimum.
Do not use tea tree oil or any other oils
The rule is to not use anything that is not meant to be used on a piercing or not recommended by a doctor. Try using a sterile saline solution or water. Alcohol, tea tree oils, olive oil, etc. often do more harm than good. When alcohol is being used on a piercing, the healing process gets disrupted. It sees alcohol as a foreign substance and wants to reject it. Because of this, the piercing might be rejected from the skin as well.
The natural, self-made solutions online are not to be trusted. Follow professional advice the piercer gives you, especially when it has to do with aftercare.
Avoid any pressure
It’s important to avoid any pressure on a newly placed piercing. For example: don’t sleep on the side of your piercing. The pressure can cause a small piercing bump. These are small lumps, often on cartilage, nose, or upper-ear piercings. A small bump isn’t immediately a reason to worry: it’s part of the healing response to which your body’s immune system is responding. It can also be caused by friction and irritate the skin around the piercing. There’s also the risk of the piercing growing crooked.
Avoid fiddling
The urge to fiddle and touch your new piercing is big but don’t make it risk losing your new piercing. When you fiddle and turn around your piercing a lot, there’s a higher chance of infection and a longer healing process. All the germs that were around your fingers and ear get pushed around the piercing you might be fiddling with. Try to leave the piercing alone for at least 6-9 weeks. When changing into another jewel, I would recommend asking your piercer to change the jewel. A piercing, especially a freshly pierced one, can grow closed very fast.
Downsizing
After 6-9 weeks, a cartilage piercing should be downsized. For a mouth piercing, it will be around 3-4 weeks. When getting pierced, piercers often use a bigger, longer piercing to prepare for the swelling. It makes sure the piercing doesn’t get swallowed by the swelling. When the swelling goes down, it’s recommended to change the piercing to a smaller one, thus downsizing.
Since there has been a rise in popularity of getting piercings, it’s important to be prepared for what comes after getting one.
SEO student, born in Belgium.
