Suggested Aftercare for Cartilage, Ear, Navel, Nipple, and Nose Piercings

Be sure to thoroughly wash your hands before and after any time you touch your new piercing.

In the shower, rinse your piercing thoroughly with warm water once a day for about 2-3 minutes. Then spray each side of the piercing with sterile saline solution twice a day, ideally after waking up and before going to sleep. (One of those times being after your shower rinse)

Do not use contact solution, eye drops, nasal rinse products, alcohol, sea salt solutions, peroxide, oils or anything other than sterile saline wound wash on your piercing. The use of an antibacterial soap is not suggested as it may dry out and irritate your piercing.

Avoid all beauty and personal care products on or around the piercing including cosmetics, lotions, and sprays, etc.

Do not pick at your piercing or remove any scabs or “crusties” that the saline does not take away. Your body will get rid of it when it is ready!

Avoid over cleaning as this can cause irritation to the piercing.

Do not twist, turn, play with or remove the jewelry.

Do not sleep or put pressure on your piercing. Sleeping directly on a healing cartilage piercing can cause irritation, and can even cause shifts in the piercing’s angle. We suggest placing a travel pillow on top of your pillow, and then placing your ear in the opening to avoid this if you sleep on the side you were pierced.

Do not submerge your piercing in any standing bodies of water for the first 8 weeks. This includes swimming pools, hot tubs, baths, etc. Standing water can hold bacteria that is not safe for a new piercing!

After about 4-8 weeks, we recommend coming back for a piercing check up! At that time we can downsize your jewelry if necessary to the new appropriate size if swelling has reduced.

For any piercing troubleshooting, we highly recommend coming back to your piercer and going over any issues the piercing is having. The healthier your lifestyle, the easier it will be for the piercing to heal! Because piercings heal from the outside in, your piercing may look or feel healed sooner than it actually is. The piercing is still fragile, so continue to follow your aftercare instructions routinely until the healing period is complete. Each person is unique so healing times may vary. Even when a piercing is fully healed, removal of jewelry for an extended period of time may result in shrinkage or closing. We recommend always wearing jewelry in a piercing you wish to keep. Happy healing!

Suggested Aftercare for Oral Piercings (Lip and Tongue)

Be sure to thoroughly wash your hands before and after any time you touch your new piercing.

For the inside of the piercing, use an alcohol free mouthwash twice a day, ideally after waking up and before going to sleep. It is important to use a mouth rinse free of alcohol as the alcohol will dry out your piercing and slow down the healing process! Be sure not to over use the mouthwash. Rinse with water (bottled or filtered) thoroughly after every time you eat, drink or smoke.

For the outside of the piercing, be sure to rinse your piercing thoroughly with warm water in the shower once a day for about 2-3 minutes. Then rinse with sterile saline spray twice a day, ideally after waking up and before going to sleep. (One of those times being after you get out of the shower)

Do not pick at your piercing or remove any scabs or “crusties” that the saline does not take away. Your body will get rid of it when it is ready!

Do not twist, turn, play with or remove the jewelry.

Do not sleep or put pressure on your piercing.

Avoid spicy, sour, salty, acidic, and/or high temperature foods for about the first two weeks. Cold foods and beverages may help sooth the piercing and possibly even reduce swelling. Avoid using straws, as they can trigger swelling and bleeding.

After about 4-8 weeks, we recommend coming back for a piercing check up! At that time we can downsize your jewelry if necessary to the new appropriate size if swelling has reduced.

Suggested aftercare for dermal anchors

A dermal anchor is surface piercing that sits 2 layers in the epidermis skin. We offer them on different locations of the body such as faces, chests, and sometimes back piercings! It's natural for the body to work to eject an object that's been inserted below the surface of the skin, the way it does with a splinter. If you practice faithful piercing aftercare, and you do your best to protect your dermal piercing, you could have it for years to come.

Try to touch your dermal piercing as little as possible while it's healing. Whenever you need to touch it to clean it, make sure you've just washed your hands with antibacterial soap.

Clean the piercing 2 times a day with a sterile saline solution.

We recommend doing this in the morning and at night, also after rinsing it during a shower.

After cleaning you must put on a clean bandage at night when you sleep to protect it while healing and keep the dermal flush to the skin. We recommend doing that for 1-2 weeks after getting the piercing.

The dermal can take up to 2 to 6 months to heal. Usually around the 3 month mark your dermal top will be fine to change, but it depends on how fast you heal. If you do decide you would like to have your dermal removed our piercers specialize in taking them out very quickly with minimal pain.