Basic Care

First and foremost, trust your body. There is no magical aftercare product that will make your new piercing heal, your body does that. In keeping with that mindset, a healthy body is the main contributor to a healthy piercing. If you aren't normally the healthiest person, consider adding a multi vitamin to your daily regimen and above all else HYDRATE. Healing wounds will leach moisture from your body and most people are dehydrated to begin with. By really focusing on your nutrition and hydration you will be optimizing your body for quick and easy healing of your new piercing.

Rather than using harsh products that work against your body, we advocate the use of sterile saline (without added preservatives) as your primary cleaning agent. There are several brands of this but Neil Med Wound Wash is the most common. However, any sterile saline solution that is 0.9% isotonic, preservative free and sold in metal can (so it doesn't get contaminated after use) will be just fine. Using this 2-3 times a day is sufficient for almost all of the daily cleansing for your new piercing and it will also aid in loosening the tissue, as well as help drain bacteria that may be trapped inside of the piercing.

During your daily shower you should use the water pressure from the shower head to remove any "crusties" or other discharge from the piercing. This is the only thing you should do to remove crusties or other build up. Anything not coming off with water pressure should be left alone. You should never pick at or physically scrub your piercing.

Following your shower and one or two other times a day you should rinse off the piercing with the sterile saline solution then blot it dry with clean gauze or a paper towel (or, even better, use a blow dryer on the low setting) to avoid the piercing becoming water logged.

For unusually dirty situations such as falling in the mud, having a dog lick your piercing or other similarly filthy scenarios we recommend using a gentle fragrance and triclosan free soap. It is also wise to use this soap as your primary body wash because inevitably, even when you are extremely careful, some soap will get in the piercing. A mild soap will be far less harmful than a typical fragranced and/or gritty body wash. That being said, most people living normal lives should NEVER need to use soap directly on the piercing. As I mentioned before, doing so is only for extraordinary circumstances so please do not think you are helping your piercing by using soap on a regular basis. Doing so will, at a minimum, slow down the healing of your piercing.

Oral Piercings

For piercings inside the mouth simply rinse with bottled water after eating or drinking. Mouthwash, of any sort, is detrimental to your healing. Water rinses will remove the loose debris while allowing your oral tissue to heal itself. Toothpaste, especially the type with abrasive particles can be extremely irritating to your fresh oral piercing. For this reason we suggest brushing only with water for the initial healing period (4-6 weeks). A new electric toothbrush is a good investment as it helps make up for the lack of abrasive cleaning agents, and it being new will not harbor the amount of bacteria an older one would. Once more let me suggest that you really up your water intake to reduce swelling and healing times significantly, that is particularly important for oral piercings.

*For piercings such as lips, that are both oral and external piercings simultaneously treat the inside with the oral care and the outside with the basic care.

Other Guidelines

-Whatever clothing will come in direct contact with your new piercing should be washed with sensitize skin, fragrance free detergent (or no detergent at all).

-Other people’s bpodily fluids should be kept off of your healing piercing, even if you are in a fluid sharing relationship with them.

-If you are doing something, and it is causing your piercing to hurt, stop and figure out a way to do said thing without causing pain ton your piercing. DO NOT try to tough through pain that can be avoided, doing so will always be detrimental to your healing process.

If you have any questions regarding your piercing, please contact us. DO NOT listen to your friends, family or internet gurus, they are not professionals and more than likely have no clue what they are talking about.You are always welcome to email, call us, or stop in, but it is often difficult to tell what is going on with a piercing without seeing it so, whenever possible, please come by in person.

We are open 1-7 pm everyday. So if you ever have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to stop by, call or email.

*Let it be noted, we are not physicians and our opinions are not a substitution for medical attention.

The client should consult a healthcare practitioner at the first sign of infection or allergic reaction, and report any diagnosed infection, allergic reaction, or adverse reaction resulting from the piercing to the piercer and to the Texas Department of State Health Services, Drugs and Medical Devices Group, at 1-888-839-6676