Taking proper care of your piercing and performing your aftercare routine diligently is key for optimal healing and the long term health of your piercing!
To Clean Your Piercing:
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Always begin with thoroughly washing your hands. Other than to clean your piercing, avoid touching it as much as possible. Do NOT rotate or twist your piercing, and do NOT remove your jewelry to clean it!
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We do not recommend removing your jewelry to clean your piercing as new piercing holes can close sooner than you would expect—sometimes within minutes! Rest assured, you can still clean your piercing site just as well without having to remove the jewelry
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Because you are pierced with high quality jewelry, there is no need to remove the jewelry for cleaning, as the material is durable enough to remain in the piercing channel throughout the entire length of the healing process!
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Spray the front and back of your piercing with sterile saline solution, 2 times a day, 3 times a day at most! Spraying your piercing with saline more than 3x daily will not necessarily lead to a faster, more effective healing time frame– over cleaning may actually extend the healing process!
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For certain piercings, particularly piercings located on the outer edge of the ear (such as lobes or helix piercings), it may be easier to apply using a clean non-woven gauze saturated with saline solution
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You can do so by applying the non-woven gauze with saline solution by gently wrapping the pierced site, allowing the front and back of the piercing to “soak.”
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If your piercer suggests using soap, gently lather around the piercing and rinse as needed
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Be sure to avoid using harsh soaps, or soaps with dyes or fragrances! Antibacterial soap can lead to a drying effect around the pierce site, making it difficult for your body to heal!
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Rinse the pierce sites (front and back) and surrounding area with water as needed to remove cleaning solution residue
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Moving or rotating jewelry is not necessary during cleaning or rinsing
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Dry the area by gently patting with clean, disposable paper products
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Cloth towels can harbor bacteria and snag on jewelry causing injury—so we suggest avoiding these!
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Other Healing Tips:
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We recommend that you avoid swimming after you get pierced for at least 2 weeks. No pools, baths, oceans, etc.—Showering is OK! Generally, the longer you wait before hitting the beach again after your piercing, the better.
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Exposing a fresh piercing to a (contaminated) body of water can cause irritation and in some cases, lead to infection. The safest bet is to wait as long as you can before fully submerging your piercing in water!
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Sleeping on your piercing while it heals will cause irritation and extra swelling. We suggest sleeping with a travel pillow for ultimate comfort!
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It is also a good idea to cover the travel pillow with a freshly laundered, cotton t-shirt every night to ensure any surface your new piercing comes in contact with is clean!
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Watch out for towels, scarves, and hair—they can snag and pull out your stud!
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Don’t freak—bleeding, swelling, tenderness, itching, soreness, bruises, and crusties are normal reactions to the healing process!
For more in-depth information regarding aftercare, you can refer to our (Ear)ducation Guide HERE!
If you have any further questions or concerns about how to clean your piercing, or the piercing healing process in general, please contact heystud@studs.com :)
**If you experience any symptoms outside of those listed above, we recommend checking in with your doctor.