Piercing Aftercare & Advice

Keep things simple. Wash your hands before touching your piercing and otherwise try to leave it alone.

Clean the area gently with sterile saline wound wash (0.9% sodium chloride) once or twice a day. Allow any softened crusting to come away naturally and gently pat dry with clean disposable paper or gauze.

Avoid twisting, turning or playing with the jewellery. Do not use alcohol, peroxide, tea tree oil or harsh antiseptics unless specifically advised by an appropriate healthcare professional.

Your body does most of the healing — good aftercare is mainly about keeping the area clean and avoiding unnecessary irritation.

Healing isn’t always a straight line. Some tenderness, swelling, redness and occasional crusting can be normal, particularly during the early stages.

You may also notice a small amount of clear, whitish or pale-yellow fluid that dries around the jewellery. This can be normal lymphatic fluid and doesn’t automatically mean your piercing is infected.

A piercing can appear settled on the outside while the tissue inside is still healing, so continue to be gentle with it even when it looks fine.

Not necessarily. Piercing bumps are quite common and don’t automatically mean infection, rejection or a keloid.

They can develop because of irritation from catching or knocking the piercing, sleeping on it, playing with the jewellery, excess moisture, unsuitable jewellery or jewellery that needs professionally downsizing.

Don’t squeeze, pop or try to burn a bump away with strong products. The important thing is identifying what’s irritating the piercing. Contact us and we’ll be happy to take a look and advise you.

Don’t rush it. A piercing can look healed before it has fully healed internally, and changing jewellery too early can damage the fragile new tissue and set healing back.

Healing times vary considerably depending on the piercing, your body and how well the area has been protected during healing.

If you’d like different jewellery, come and see us first. We can check how your piercing is progressing and advise whether it’s ready to be changed.

Initial piercing jewellery is often fitted with a little extra room to allow for swelling.

Once that swelling has settled, some piercings benefit from being professionally downsized. Jewellery that remains unnecessarily long can move around, catch on clothing or hair and cause repeated irritation.

Don’t simply swap it yourself — pop in and let us check the piercing and recommend the appropriate size.

Don’t panic. A knock can make a previously happy piercing become sore, swollen or irritated again.

Wash your hands, gently clean the area with sterile saline and leave it alone. Don’t remove the jewellery simply because the piercing has become irritated.

If the jewellery has moved, become embedded, the area is badly swollen, or you’re worried about how it looks, contact us so we can check it.

It’s best to avoid submerging a fresh piercing in swimming pools, hot tubs, lakes, rivers or the sea while it is in the early stages of healing.

These environments can expose a new piercing to bacteria and other irritants. Showers are generally preferable while your piercing is fresh.

If you have a holiday or regular swimming planned, tell your piercer so we can give you advice appropriate to your particular piercing.

There isn’t one healing time for every piercing. Earlobes generally heal more quickly than cartilage and many body piercings, which can take several months or longer to fully settle.

Your general health, placement, jewellery, aftercare and whether the piercing gets knocked or irritated can all affect healing.

Remember: looking healed isn’t necessarily the same as being fully healed.

Some redness, tenderness, swelling and discharge can occur during normal healing, so these symptoms alone don’t always mean infection.

Seek medical advice if symptoms are becoming significantly worse rather than better, particularly if you develop increasing heat and pain, redness that is spreading away from the piercing, substantial swelling, thick or foul-smelling discharge, fever, chills or you feel generally unwell.

If you suspect an infection, don’t remove the jewellery yourself unless a healthcare professional advises you to do so. Removing jewellery can allow the surface to close while infection remains underneath.

For anything you’re unsure about, you’re always welcome to contact Blinking Violets for advice. 💜