Navel, Nipple, Nose, Eyebrow, and all Ear Piercings

Cleaning Solutions

Use only ONE of the following solutions

Our Piercing Spray
Packaged sterile saline spray
Liquid antibacterial soap (Softsoap, Tattoogoo soap)

Cleaning Instructions

Our Piercing Spray

Spray Piercing and allow to dry twice daily. Overuse can irritate skin.

Saline Spray

Spray piercing twice a day. After swimming, exercising, oral contact, or anything that may make your piercing dirty, spray an additional time. Do not use more than 4 times a day.
Do not make your own saline or salt water solution. Even with sea salt, this requires boiling, distilled water, and sterile handling.

Antibacterial Liquid Soap

Soak once daily, preferably in the evening if you shower in the morning. One squirt of soap in a fresh disposable cup, then filled with hot water, apply by inverting cup over piercing, or dunking cotton balls and apply dripping wet. Two to three minutes soaking is best, the longer the better. Be patient!

What Is Normal?

Initially: some bleeding, localized swelling, tenderness, or bruising.
During healing: some discoloration, itching, secretion of a whitish-yellow fluid (not pus) that will form some crust on the jewelry.
Even healed piercings can shrink or close in hours after having been there for years! This varies from person to person; if you like your piercing, leave the jewelry in place.
If you fail to include cleaning your healed piercing as a part of your daily hygiene routine, normal but smelly bodily secretions may accumulate.
A piercing may seem healed before healing is complete. This is because piercings heal from the outside in, and although it feels healed the tissue remains fragile on the inside. BE PATIENT, and keep cleaning throughout the entire healing period.
If your piercing is tender or secreting you should continue the care regimen, even if it is past the stated average healing time range and do not change jewelry without help from your piercer.

Helpful Hints

Tighten threaded jewelry daily in the shower. This will help avoid infection & lost jewelry.
Contact your piercer if your jewelry must be temporarily removed (such as for a medical procedure).
Lumps and bumps on cartilage, nose and industrial piercings can often shrink or go away by treating with Mederma scar ointment. Also the scars from removed piercings can be minimized.
You may be able to donate blood immediately with a copy of your consent form.

Do Not Twist, Rotate or Touch your Jewelry!

Your piercing is a wound. All wounds need a scab. When you twist or rotate the jewelry, it rips the scab from the wound. You have essentially just picked the scab. Like any other wound, it will take longer to heal , and creates excessive scarring.
The scab may be blood colored, or more commonly a clear to yellow dried crust. If there is excess crusty scab, allow the water in the shower to run directly over it for a few minutes every day, this should reduce any accumulation of excess scab. Do not pick or scratch off the crusties! They will go away when your wound is fully healed.
It also increases the risk of infection, the scab is protection against bacteria entering.
The jewelry will not bond with your skin. The scab will act like glue, causing the jewelry to be stuck in one spot. As the wound heals, it will not produce any scabbing inside the piercing, and the jewelry will move freely.
This was common instruction in the early days of modern body art. It has been proven to be a poor method of cleaning , it’s old school! Don’t let another body piercer or friend talk you into damaging your piercing daily!

What To Avoid

Never touch your piercing, including the jewelry & surrounding skin. Keep all hands off!
No alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, Betadine, ear care or ointments.
Avoid over cleaning. This can delay your healing and irritate your piercing.
Do not share body jewelry! It is the same as sharing needles. You cannot fully sterilize jewelry with alcohol, peroxide, boiling, bleach or flame.
Unless there is a problem with the size, style, or material of the initial jewelry, Do not remove jewelry for the entire healing period. A qualified piercer should perform any necessary jewelry change that occurs during healing.
Avoid undue trauma such as friction from clothing, excessive motion of the area, playing with the jewelry and vigorous cleaning. These activities can cause the formation of unsightly and uncomfortable scar tissue, migration, prolonged healing, and other complications..
Avoid all oral contact, rough play, and contact with others’ bodily fluids on or near your piercing during healing.
Avoid submerging the piercing in bodies of water such as lakes, pools, hot tubs, etc., clean immediately afterward if you choose to anyway. Saniderm or Tegaderm can be used.
Avoid all beauty and personal care products on or around the piercing including cosmetics, lotions, and sprays, etc.
Don’t hang charms or any object from your jewelry until the piercing is fully healed
You may bathe normally, just don’t purposely apply anything other than the recommended products onto the piercing.
Again, never rotate, twist, wiggle, pick at the crusties, or do anything to damage the internal scabbing!

Problems with Piercings

Infection

Infection is caused by a presence of bacteria and is identified by a thick yellow greenish discharge called
pus.
Soreness, redness and a local fever or warm skin surrounding the piercing are also symptoms.
Infections are easily cured by making a conscious effort to avoid touching the piercing, jewelry, and surrounding skin. Ask a friend to help remind you to avoid touching it.
Abscess infection can occur if the jewelry is removed during an infection, so do not remove the jewelry. Pus may form a pocket or a bump next to the hole. It can have blood inside along with the pus. Do not drain this by pinching or popping it, because it will cause scar tissue.
Do not use antibiotic ointments, alcohol, or peroxide. Continue cleaning your piercing as described in this brochure, even if it is past the stated average healing time range.
Try to evaluate where the bacteria is coming from, for example sexual contact, oral contact, sharing body jewelry, or most commonly, dirty hands. Infection is never caused by cheap metal.
Seek medical attention if you develop a fever.

Allergy to Nickel

When jewelry is not made of implant surgical steel, titanium or 14kt gold, it can have a high content of nickel.
Everyone’s sensitivity to nickel is different, some may be able to wear cheap jewelry without discomfort and others may not.
The absorption of impure metals into the tissue surrounding a piercing can cause granulation or hard lumps.
Symptoms of allergic reactions are itchiness, clear watery discharge, enlarged opening of piercing, redness, pain, lumps in surrounding tissue, and swelling.
Titanium does not contain nickel, and will eliminate allergic reactions.
Avoid jewelry purchased online, or in the mall, it is often made in China with recycled metals, possibly containing lead or other toxic metals.

Nose

It is only necessary to clean the outside of the nostril piercing.

Nipple

A padded bra can help protect the nipple piercing from getting bumped.

Industrial

Because both wounds share the same piece of jewelry, if one side gets bumped, it affects both sides. If you are struggling to heal an industrial, wearing 2 pieces of jewelry instead of one can speed up the process. See your body piercer to have the jewelry switched out in a sterile manner.

Disclaimer: Portions of this brochure are taken from the APP’s guidelines for piercing aftercare. These guidelines are based on a combination of vast professional experience, common sense, research and extensive clinical practice. This is not to be considered a substitute for medical advice from a doctor. If you have a fever, seek medical attention. Keep in mind that the removal of jewelry can lead to further complications. Be aware that many doctors have not received specific training regarding piercing. Your piercer may be able to refer you to a piercing friendly medical professional. See the page “Troubleshooting For You And Your Healthcare Professional”