The single best thing you can do for your piercing is to keep up a regular regimen of salt water soaks. These flush out the piercing, help to draw out discharge, stimulate blood circulation, and soothe irritations. We strongly suggest soaking your piercing at least twice a day—more often if healing is difficult.
Do not use table salt, kosher salt, Epsom salts, or iodized sea salts: Non-iodized fine-grain sea salt is best for avoiding additives, as well as its ability to dissolve into a solution. Do not make the solution too salty: Too much salt can be irritating to the piercing and the skin.
First wash your hands with soap and water. Then prepare a saltwater solution of 1 cup (0.24 liters) water with about 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir until the salt dissolves. Leaving the piercing jewelry in place, soak a cotton ball in the solution and place it on the affected area.
1/8 TEASPOON of SEA SALT
Place sea salt in the water. Let the solution cool to a warm but comfortable temperature. Drench a cotton ball in the salt solution and hold it on the piercing for 3-5 minutes.
It's possible to pick up an infection from any body of water, so while your piercing heals you should avoid swimming in: swimming pools. streams, lakes and rivers. the sea.
First of all, when mixing sea salt with water, you will almost never achieve the correct concentration; too much salt will dry out the tissue and result in complications with healing. Not enough salt, and it will not clean your piercing effectively.
Saline Aftercare
Allow the saline to sit for up to 30 seconds, then rinse away with clean water, and thoroughly dry with a clean paper towel or gauze. To avoid drying out your piercing, do not leave the saline on your skin without rinsing and drying.
tap water or distilled water. non-iodized table salt. baking soda (optional, but it helps make saline less irritating)
Signs of an infection
Your piercing might be infected if: the area around it is swollen, painful, hot, very red or dark (depending on your skin colour) there's blood or pus coming out of it – pus can be white, green or yellow. you feel hot or shivery or generally unwell.
Rinse your piercing daily with fresh warm water in the shower to clean away any excess crusty discharge. Keep yourself healthy! Healthy bodies heal piercings best.
Cleaning Solutions
If sterile saline is not available, a sea salt solution mixture can be a viable alternative. Dissolve 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon (. 75 to 1.42 grams) of non-iodised (iodine-free) sea salt into one cup ( 250 ml) of warm distilled or bottled water.
While sea salt soaks and/or saline rinses are the preferred aftercare for most piercings, soap effectively removes the residue of sweat, dirt, skin oils, cosmetics, cigarette smoke, and natural discharge that can sometimes remain after a salt water soak or saline rinse. Use a natural, fragrance-free and dye-free soap.
But make sure you don't use too much salt or not enough water. If you over salt the mixture, you will not only dehydrate the bacteria but also dry out the upper dermis around the piercing, which can lead to microscopic cracks in your skin.
We suggest cleaning no more than once a day. On average, most piercings will need to be cleaned over the next 3-4 months (unless otherwise stated by your piercer). It is vital that you do not over-clean the piercing. If it has been longer than four months, do not clean the piercing anymore.
Cleaning Solutions
Packaged sterile saline (with no additives, read the label) is a gentle choice for piercing aftercare. This is often labeled as “wound wash saline” and is available on most first aid aisles. Contact lens saline, eye drops, and other saline products should never be used on a body piercing.
Cleaning Solution
1/4 tsp of non-iodised fine grain salt(not regular sea salt, pink Himalayan salt works too) to one cup of pre-boiled warm water is the perfect ratio. Too much salt can irritate your healing piercing.
Saline/Salt Water Soaks:
The best thing you can do for your piercing is a saline soak 2-4 times a day, completely submerging your piercing in the solution for 7-10 minutes. There are many packaged sterile saline solutions available, including Wound Wash and Blairex.
There's no reason to rotate your piercing. You could damage the delicate, healing skin by rotating the jewelry. In the past, rotating the jewelry was recommended, but it has been found to cause damage that can lead to infection and scarring. For happy healing, NEVER rotate your body jewelry.
The major difference between saline soaks and saline sprays is that sprays are intended for surface level cleaning while soaks clean the piercing inside and out. Saline sprays are designed for quick, on-the-go aftercare. The process is simple: spray the saline directly onto your piercing, and let it soak in. That's it.
Sea salt dissolved in warm water is good for cleaning and disinfecting lots of oral wounds, from a bit lip to dental extractions, and that includes oral piercings.
For ear piercings, it is recommended to wait 6-8 weeks before attempting to change your earring. This is recommended as 6-8 weeks is the length of time that it takes for a piercing to heal.
It is generally a good idea to wait 2 to 3 weeks after the ear piercing to go swimming. The first two weeks are when your new piercings are most susceptible to infection and swimming during this time carries some risk. Swimming in lakes or ponds is discouraged due to the high levels of bacteria in the water.