A new piercing is super exciting, as long as it stays nice and healthy! It’s really important to help your piercing to heal properly in the first few months after it’s done, as this can impact how it looks forever afterwards. There are some simple things you can do to help your piercing to heal. One of the best pieces of advice I’ve learnt from personal experience is to take your time with this and it’ll be worth the wait to enjoy a healthy piercing without having to go through any infections.
Choose The Right Place
The first thing you should do when it comes to properly caring for your piercings is to choose a qualified piercing or tattoo shop. Whilst some jewellery and accessory shops offer piercings as a side service, often the quality and accuracy of the piercing isn’t as good as it could be, which can result in poorer results and potentially infections. Do some research to find somewhere local with good reviews and this will give your piercing the best possible start in terms of being healthy and healing well! I’ve found that when I go to piercing places specifically, the after care is also great. Some people are just more prone to getting infections after having a piercing no matter how sterile the place was, so when you go somewhere professional, they will be happy to provide advice on how to help get your piercing healthy.
Clean Them
When you get home, it’s vital that you clean your piercing twice a day. With a piercing, a wound is created that prevents you from fully healing with the metal of the piercing, and so they’re prone to infections. These can be very uncomfortable, painful and even result in you needing to remove the piercing in some cases, and so cleaning is key. You can often buy cleaning solutions from your piercer that you simply apply to cotton wool and clean the front and back of your piercing, making sure to wash your hands before and afterwards.
You can also make your own cleaning solution at home, which is a combination of 1 cup of boiling water with ½ teaspoon of salt. Stir well to dissolve the salt and then once cool, use the solution. You’ll need to make a new one everyday, so it’s up to you whether this or buying the solution is the better option! Do this everyday, twice a day, for at least three months, or as long as your piercer advises.
Don’t Change Them Too Early
Another key part of caring for your piercings is to make sure you don’t change them too early. We know the temptation when you have a new piercing to change it to something shiny and new for date night or just because you’re excited, because usually the earring used to pierce with isn’t very exciting. However, if you do this too soon, you’ll be at risk of getting an infection and affecting how your piercing heals. The time you’re meant to keep your initial piercing in varies, however for lobe piercings it’s usually around six to eight weeks, or for cartilage, closer to twelve weeks. This being said, make sure you follow the guidance of your piercer for this, and if you have signs of an infection, you’ll need to keep your piercing in for longer. When you do change it, also make sure you’re choosing solid gold earrings or sterling silver and ensure that you sterilise them properly!
Sleep Carefully
Last but not least, make sure you’re sleeping carefully with new piercings. This isn’t so much of an issue with lobe piercings, they may just feel a bit tender so you’ll want to avoid lying on them if possible. However, with cartilage piercings, if you sleep on the piercing, it can actually move slightly in your ear, so the hole won’t be very precise and it can impact how your earring sits. So, avoid sleeping on the new piercing and if you do want to lie on the side your piercing is on, get yourself a travel pillow that has a hole in the middle, then you can place your ear there and sleep on your side without causing damage. We know this can be a pain, so if you are thinking about getting a few piercings anyway, we’d recommend getting them at the same time in one ear to save this process! Try to do this for around a month to give it a chance to heal properly.
Try To Avoid Swimming and Cosmetics
Whilst your piercing is healing, try to avoid swimming or using other cosmetics near your ears. Both of these things can increase risk of infection and that’s what we’re trying to avoid! For example, if you know you’ve got a holiday coming up where you’ll be in the pool lots and applying suncream, perhaps wait until you’re home to get your new piercing. The last thing you want is to get an infection when you’re away and for it to ruin your trip!
