No, you should not use table salt to clean your piercing. Table salt commonly contains additives like iodine and anti-caking agents that can irritate the healing tissue and potentially hinder the healing process.
No. Use sterile saline wound wash bought from your piercing artist or at any pharmacy. Table salt isn't sterile and neither is tap water. You can introduce irritants and microbes into your piercings and cause infection.
Any antibacterial soap should work. Even dishwashing liquid, take a small amount with water and make it foamy, use just the foam to clean it thoroughly then rinse with some cold water, it's what my piercer suggested, I've done it for all my piercings and havent had ant issues.
Depending on size of the salt crystals most salt can be substituted for each other. If you are substituting table salt for regular sea salt (not coarse or flaked) you can substitute one for the other in equal amounts. The majority of the difference will come when you use larger amounts.
While sterile saline is usually better, sea salt solution is generally fine for most people when cleaning their piercings -- if they keep it up. The solution is made by mixing a cup of boiling water with 1/4 teaspoon of non-iodized sea salt (not table salt).
Directions to Prepare a Nasal Saline Solution
Add 1 or 2 heaping teaspoons of pickling or canning salt, or Kosher salt. If you use table salt, you may be getting a preservative and/or additive which might irritate your nose. Add 1 rounded teaspoon of baking soda (pure bicarbonate).
The "2:3 piercing rule" is a curated ear guideline suggesting that for every two piercings, you should have three units of space between them, aiming for a balanced look, often by placing two piercings on the lobe and three on the upper cartilage, or by using larger jewelry at the bottom (lobes) and smaller pieces (studs/huggies) as you go up the ear for a cascading, uncluttered aesthetic. It's a styling tip, not a strict rule, for creating harmonious ear stacks.
Sea salt is a general term for salt produced by evaporation of ocean water or water from saltwater lakes. It is less processed than table salt and retains trace minerals. These minerals add flavor and color.
What's Table Salt? Table salt is predominantly mined from underground salt deposits. It is usually heavily processed, removing other minerals that may have originally been present. This results in a salt that is almost all sodium chloride, with very little else.
In a clean container, mix 3 teaspoons of iodide-free salt with 1 teaspoon of baking soda and store in a small airtight container. Add 1 teaspoon of the mixture to 8 ounces (1 cup) of lukewarm distilled or boiled water. Use less dry ingredients to make a weaker solution if burning or stinging is experienced.
Your piercing might be infected if:
Avoid sexual contact until the piercing is fully healed, from 6-10 weeks. To clean use warm water with a cleansing agent or antibacterial soap. (ie, Phisoderm, Bactine, or liquid antibacterial soaps such as Dial, Lever 2000, or Softsoap) and avoid perfumed products.
Cleaning With Soap
Once per day you should clean your piercing with a mild soap. Soaps containing the ingredient triclosan should be avoided. Our recommendation is PurSan, a medical-grade antimicrobial soap specifically designed for piercings. You can also purchase clear, unscented glycerin soap from a pharmacy.
Wound care using natural materials has been done a long time ago, including wound care using sodium chloride from seawater. Soaking wounds in 7% table salt concentration with osmotic salt properties can provide a drying effect on the wound so that the growth of new tissue accelerates skin contact more quickly.
Do no use table salt. Some may swear they've done it and didn't have any consequences but you're introducing chemicals to a new piercing on a microscopic level. Please don't take a shortcut here, it's horrible for the piercing and can really irritate it. Use non-iodized Sea Salt.
Although one usually can be substituted for another, the swap is not always equal amounts. The reason: Their crystals are not the same. Standard table salt is the smallest. Fine sea salt crystals are the same size as table salt, but coarse sea salt and kosher salt are bigger and hollower.
The minerals sea salt contains depend on the body of water where it's evaporated from. This also may affect taste or color of the salt. In terms of health, the minerals are minor and easily consumed through daily food intake. Regular table salt comes from salt mines and is processed to eliminate minerals.
Sodium chloride /ˌsoʊdiəm ˈklɔːraɪd/, commonly known as table salt, is an ionic compound with the chemical formula NaCl, representing a 1:1 ratio of sodium and chloride ions.
1 TSP of Sea Salt is equivalent to 1/2 TSP of Table Salt. Table Salt is fine & granulated thus much harsher/stronger. That's why you can get away with using less of it compared to Sea Salt while still having the same flavor profile.
Try Salt-free Cooking
A nose piercing typically ranks around a 5-7 out of 10 on the pain scale, feeling like a sharp pinch or sting, but it varies greatly by placement (nostril vs. septum) and individual pain tolerance, with septum piercings often less painful if the "sweet spot" is found, while high nostril piercings can be more intense but heal differently.
Don't touch your piercing.
The best approach is a hands-off approach. Avoid touching your piercing to prevent the transfer of bacteria and infection. If you do happen to touch your piercing, make sure your hands are washed and clean. Also, avoid applying pressure to your piercing.
THE LOVISA PIERCING EXPERIENCE
We offer free ear piercing and nose piercing services in selected stores, with the purchase of a piercing stud. Our team of expert professional piercers will take you through the piercing process, from piercing placement to choosing jewellery and piercing aftercare.