1. We recommend that our clients wash once a day with a mild, unscented soap. Soap will be able to break down any biological materials that are on/around the piercing.

• Most piercings will need more than one cleaning in a day; especially in the beginning stages, but using soap too often can dry out the skin in the area and inhibit the healing process, so you should only be using soap once a day.

• If you wash your piercings in the shower it is best to do so as your last step, so that dirty water from cleansing your hair/body doesn’t wash back into the piercing.

• You shouldn’t use items like cotton swabs or washcloths to clean the piercings, the fibers from these types of items often get snagged and wrapped around the jewelry, which can cause irritation or snag and pull the jewelry. You should only use non-fibrous, clean paper products, like paper towels.

• We don’t recommend using soaps that are labeled as antibacterial or antimicrobial, as these are generally too strong to use on a fresh piercing. Additionally if you use a bar soap we would recommend using the bar to transfer soap onto your fingers and use those to apply the suds instead of using the whole bar on your piercings.

• You should not use any soaps that contain additional active ingredients like skin softening agents or acne fighting ingredients, these additional ingredients can be incredibly harsh on a fresh piercing and are not intended for use inside of the body!

• The brand of soap that we carry is Dr. Bronners unscented castile baby soap. You can always stop by during regular business hours to pick some up, you don’t need an appointment! Dr. Bronners is widely available both through their website, and at places like Whole Foods, Amazon, Target, etc.

2. Rinse twice a day with a sterile saline solution for wound care (read the label to ensure the product you are using is for wound care, not eye or nasal care; they are similar, but different, products)

• If you notice that your piercings need additional cleaning: maybe they get snagged, you notice they have some crusty buildup, or they bleed a little, you can flush them with your saline wash. While using the soap too often can lead to overdrying, you can use as much sterile saline solution as you need to keep the piercings clean, it won’t hurt them, just remember to dry them after!

• We never recommend clients mix their own salt water solutions to use in place of wound wash. There is no way to make sure the water, soap, and the bowl itself are sterile and you wouldn’t want any debris/particles to get into your mixture and cause an infection. Sterile wound wash is a pre-mixed ratio of purified USP grade water and pure sodium chloride in a fixed ratio. If you don’t get the ratios of water to salt correct you run the risk of burning the flesh around the piercing and accumulating a buildup of salt crystals in the entrance or exit points of the piercings, which can cause major issues to both the health of your piercings and your body.

• The brand of sterile saline that we carry is NeilMed wound wash for piercing aftercare. You can always stop by during regular business hours to pick some up, you don’t need an appointment! NeilMed is widely available online from major retailers like Amazon, Target, Walgreens, etc.

• You should only touch your piercings with CLEAN hands! Including just a quick adjustment! Touching your piercings is the #1 way piercings become infected!

• When cleaning your piercings it is super important that you are fully removing any buildup on the jewelry. You can gently manipulate the jewelry in order to get behind it and make sure it’s clean.

• You should never ‘soak’ your piercings. Occasionally we will suggest that a client use a warm (not hot!) compress on their piercings to help soften dried on blood or buildup that is difficult to remove with just washing, but the compress should only stay on your piercing for a few minutes (no longer than 5) and the piercing needs to be dried VERY WELL so there is no residual moisture around the area. You don’t need to do this unless your piercer specifically suggests this aftercare step, we mention it only to steer clients away from fully soaking their piercings.

• Sleeping directly on a healing piercing is never advised; for ear piercings a travel pillow, with a gap in the center, can be helpful if you typically sleep on the side of your new piercing(s).

• Alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, Betadine, Hibiclens, harsh soaps, and/or ointment(s) are not appropriate products for the care of a healing ear or body piercing. You should not be using topical products like neosporin or aquaphor on your healing piercings.
• You should never apply essential oils to healing piercings

• You should never apply topical ointments and salves, like neosporin or aquaphor, to a healing piercing

• Exercise is fine during healing your piercings, just be sure to do a thorough cleaning immediately after and remember to be mindful not to knock into the piercings or use equipment that has the possibility of snagging, catching, or ripping your jewelry out. Listen to your body! If you find certain stretches, moves, or poses put pressure, rub or irritate the piercing area in any way you should refrain from that specific exercise until further along in the healing process.

• Make sure your bedding and clothing are kept clean while healing your piercings and be mindful of materials that may be fibrous or snaggy, like sherpa or lace.

• Swimming is not advised while healing your piercings, especially in public pools/hot tubs and natural bodies of water like lakes and rivers. If you must swim while healing a piercing it is crucial that you do a thorough cleaning immediately after exiting the water and ensure your piercings are well dried.

• Showers tend to be safer than baths while healing a cleaning piercing. If you do take a bath make sure the water is not too hot, so you don’t scald the delicate skin around your healing piercing, and be sure to clean the tub prior to use. You should rinse your piercings well and pat dry after a bath. You should avoid bath products like scrubs, bath bombs, and bubble baths while healing a piercing.

• Unfortunately there is A TON of misinformation and outdated information available regarding piercing on the internet! The piercing industry is still a rather new industry, with its mainstream popularity growing in the late 1990s; so the information we have regardi

• Discoloration: reddish, brownish, pinkish, or purplish; can remain for many months on navel, surface, and other piercings.

• Swelling/Induration: localized; may be significant with oral piercings such as the lip or tongue, and usually lasts for several days following the initial piercing.

• Excretion: exudate of interstitial fluid, dead cells, etc. that forms a small amount of crystalline-appearing crust at the openings of the piercing; should not be copious, malodorous, or green.

• Bleeding: Some bleeding is normal! If your piercing bleeds for more than 48 hours, please contact us.

• Once healed: the jewelry may not move freely in the piercing; do not force it. If you fail to include cleaning your piercing as part of your daily hygiene routine, normal but smelly bodily secretions may accumulate.

*Signs of infection include: Severe redness, swelling or tenderness at the procedure site, red streaks going from procedure site towards the heart, elevated body temperature, purulent drainage from the site. Discharge from the site may be green/yellow and have a foul odor. If you believe you may have an infection we recommend reaching out to a medical professional immediately.

*Sacramento County EMD

• If your piercing gets a bump next to or on it, please reach out to us; these bumps are usually irritation bumps and can be caused by any number of things- including bumping the piercing, or small particles getting inside the piercing site- and are usually easily resolved.

• If the skin around your piercing site appears to be getting progressively thinner, please reach out to your piercer as soon as possible.

• If your jewelry looks to be sinking into your body or skin has grown over the top of your piercing (front or back) please reach out to your piercer as soon as possible.

INAPPROPRIATE AFTERCARE IS THE MOST COMMON CAUSE OF A DISTRESSED PIERCING. CHANGING AFTERCARE OR JEWELRY SIZE/STYLE/MATERIAL MOST OFTEN RESOLVES PROBLEM