Piercing Care

Healing time can range from one month, to two years. Naval piercings are generally the piercings that take the longest to heal.

Wash your hands thoroughly before touching your piercing or jewelry. Avoid touching it unless it’s for cleaning.

Clean your piercing once or twice a day using a fragrance-free liquid anti-bacterial soap. Showers provide the best place to adequately lather and rinse piercings, as bath tubs harbor bacteria. If you chose to bathe while your piercing is healing, clean it thoroughly before and after.

Suggested name brands include:

Soaps containing PCMX have been tested to be more effective against a broader ranger of bacteria and yeast than soaps containing triclosan.

Over-cleaning can irritate the piercing so do not clean more often unless the piercing has been exposed to dirt, sweat or bodily fluids. Saline solution may be used to remove dried discharge between cleanings.

Wash and rinse your hands. While showering or bathing, lather up a pearl size drop of the soap to clean the jewelry and the piercing. Leave the soapy ather on the piercing for no more than thirty seconds, then rinse thoroughly to remove all traces of the soap from the piercing. It is not unnecessary to rotate the jewelry. Dry the piercing using a disposable tissue or cotton swabs. Bacteria thrive in warm, moist environments. Do not use a washcloth or sponge to clean your piercing. Cloths and sponges trap and collect bacteria and mildew.

Avoid using antiseptics containing benzalkonium chloride or benzethonium chloride, such as Bactine or ear piercing solutions. These can be irritating and are not intended for long term wound care. Do not use a solution containing isopropyl alcohol. Be careful and avoid friction from clothing, excessive motion of the piercing area, playing with the jewelry, and vigorous cleaning. These activities can cause the formation of unsightly and uncomfortable scar tissue, migration, prolonged healing, and other assorted complications. Avoid all oral contact, roughhousing, contact with others’ bodily fluids on or near your piercing, stress, recreational drug use, excessive caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol.

Saline soaks and non-iodized sea salt mixtures are great cleaning alternatives.

DO NOT use Betadine (povidone-iodine), isopropyl rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or Hibiclens to clean your piercing. DO NOT use antibiotic ointments. Antibiotic ointments are contraindicated for use in puncture wounds and not or the extended period of time required for healing a piercing. Ointments do not clean the piercing, and they prohibit the air flow required for healing.

The most frequent causes of infection are touching the piercing or the jewelry with unwashed hands or contact with unclean items such a bedding, or hair. Do no wear hats or bandanas over ear and eyebrow piercings. In the case of ear piercings, use the opposite ear for telephones, or place a clean tissue between the ear and the receiver. Do not allow your piercing to come into contact with cosmetics, lotions, perfumes, or hairsprays.

After the healing process is complete, you should continue to clean your piercing once a day as part of your bathing or showering routine to prevent build-up of dirt and dead skin cells.