Piercing Aftercare
Aftercare’s important – but it doesn’t have to be complicated!
We’ll do everything at your appointment to ensure a smooth healing process but what you do when you leave us is just as important – if not more.
We understand that people have busy lives, so we’ve made it as easy as possible to look after your new piercing, without compromising on quality or safety.
That’s why we include a free can of aftercare spray from industry leaders NeilMed® with every piercing and simple instructions for cleaning, so it’s simple and convenient to look after your new piercing.
Cleaning Instructions
Keeping your piercing clean is the most important thing you can do to ensure you have a happy healthy piercing.
We’ve written simple instructions and supply cleaning solution, so it’s easy to make cleaning your piercing part of your daily routine – whether you’re at home or travelling!
General Piercing Aftercare
Follow these instructions two to three times a day, until your piercing is fully healed.
- Always wash your hands thoroughly with soap & water before touching your piercing.
- Grab your can of NeilMed® aftercare spray.
- Test the spray by spraying a short stream into the air, or onto intact skin, to clear the nozzle.
- Hold the can 5 to 10cms away from the piercing.
- Spray directly onto the entry and exit points of the piercing.
- Let the solution soak the area for a few seconds.
- Remove any loose matter gently with some kitchen roll or lint free gauze.
- Don’t rotate or move the jewellery and avoid picking or scraping the scabs.
- Dry the area using clean tissue, kitchen towel or lint-free gauze, by gently patting the area dry.
Tongue Piercing Aftercare
You’ll have been given 7 mouthwash tablets.
- Each morning, dissolve one tablet in a glass of water
- Rinse your mouth out with the solution
- Spit it out
- Do this for 7 days
Remember:
- Use Paracetamol & Ibuprofen if you experience pain and swelling
- You can eat & drink as normal. Just be careful when you do
- Avoid spicy foods for a week or so
- Allow hot drinks to cool down more than usual before drinking
- If you use mouthwash, make sure it’s alcohol free
- Eating ice cream, ice lollies etc.. will help keep any swelling down
- It’s important to change to a smaller bar after 2 weeks
- You don’t need to book an appointment for jewellery changes
- Changes are offered on a first come, first served basis
- There may be a wait on busy days
⚠️ If your tongue swells to the balls of the bar, come and see us straight away and we’ll swap it for a longer bar!
The healing process
During the healing period you may find that if you’re stressed, not eating or sleeping well, if your hormones are playing up, or you catch your piercing, you may experience flare ups occasionally.
This is normal, especially with cartilage piercings, and is nothing to worry about.
Just go back to treating the piercing as if it was new, with twice daily cleans with NeilMed® aftercare spray.
If you need additional NeilMed® aftercare spray, you can buy it from us.
Paracetamol & ibuprofen will help to reduce any pain and swelling, and an ice pack will help too.
Don’t panic if your piercing was fine one day and then swollen the next – it’s just a part of the healing process. With care and patience your piercing will eventually settle down.
✅ What's normal?
- Mild pain.
- Clear discharge and crusting around the piercing.
- Bruising around the piercing.
Slight swelling at the piercing site. - Bleeding around the piercing site. If this occurs, cover with a sterile dressing and apply pressure. The bleeding should stop within a few minutes. Try not to pick any scabs that form, as you may find the bleeding starts again.
- Blood spots from the piercing site for a few days.
❌ What's not normal?
- Significant pain
- Significant redness and the piercing being hot to touch.
- A thick, white or green discharge.
- Significant swelling where the body swells to the end of the bar or starts to embed.
Healing times
There are various things that can affect how long it takes for your piercing to heal.
Things like diet, general health, lifestyle, hormonal fluctuations and external irritants can all play a part in how long it takes for your body to heal.
Taking good care of yourself is a great way to ensure that your piercings heal sooner rather than later!
Check out our guide below to see how each piercing takes to fully heal.
Earlobe Piercings
Earlobe piercings generally take around 6 to 8 weeks to fully heal.
Cartilage Piercings
Ear cartilage piercings, like helix piercings, Rooks & Daiths generally take around a year to fully heal.
Nose Piercings
Nose piercings generally take around 6 to 8 weeks to fully heal.
Lip Piercings
It’s not unusual for a piercing to bleed at first, but the bleeding should stop within a few minutes.
If bleeding does occur, use a clean tissue or medical gauze and maintain pressure on the piercing site for a few minutes.
Make sure your hands are clean before you do this. Once the bleeding has stopped, be careful not to pick the dried blood off, as this might start the bleeding again. Allow the scabs to fall off naturally.
If the bleeding is excessive or persistent, let us know as soon as possible, in case you need to seek medical advice.
Facial Piercings
Belly Button Piercings
Tongue Piercings
Cheek Piercings
Dermal & Surface Piercings
Nipple Piercings
Genital Piercings
Possible complications
All piercings carry a small risk of complications but there are things you can do to minimise the risk.
Ensuring you go to a reputable, experienced piercing studio like Metal Fatigue Piercing | Bournemouth is one.
We’ll ensure everything is clean and all jewellery and tools are sterilised. We’ll use single use needles, correctly place each piercing and use the correct jewellery. This will minimise any chance of infection or migration.
Making sure you follow our aftercare instructions is the most important thing you can do to avoid any potential complications.
If complications do occur, most can be solved with prompt treatment.
Don’t be afraid to get in touch with us if you do have any questions or concerns.
Common complications
Swelling
All piercings will swell to some extent and this is normal.
The jewellery we use will be chosen to accommodate for this potential swelling.
Sometimes piercings may swell to the limit of the bar, before settling back down again.
In rare cases, the piercing site will swell excessively and the bar may start to embed. If you think your piercing is becoming embedded, come and see us as soon as possible and we’ll switch it for longer jewellery.
In some cases, you might experience delayed swelling. This could be anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks after having the piercing.
If you wake up and your cartilage piercing is suddenly swollen, throbbing and hot to the touch, don’t panic! It should settle down within a week or two, but if not, then don’t hesitate to contact us.
Bruising
Bruising is common and will fade naturally as the piercing heals.
Bleeding
It’s not unusual for a piercing to bleed at first, but the bleeding should stop within a few minutes.
If bleeding does occur, use a clean tissue or medical gauze and maintain pressure on the piercing site for a few minutes.
Make sure your hands are clean before you do this. Once the bleeding has stopped, be careful not to pick the dried blood off, as this might start the bleeding again. Allow the scabs to fall off naturally.
If the bleeding is excessive or persistent, let us know as soon as possible, in case you need to seek medical advice.
Uncommon complications
Infection
At Metal Fatigue Piercing in Bournemouth, we always pierce with sterilised tools and jewellery.
Infections are rare and occur due to a lack of proper aftercare once the piercing has taken place.
This is why it’s so important to follow our aftercare instructions.
Signs of an infection are:
- Green or yellow coloured discharge with a strong odour.
- The pierced area will be hot to the touch
- Significant redness
- Significant swelling
- Significant pain
- Swollen glands
Infection can be serious.
If you think your piercing may be infected, come and see us as soon as possible or go straight to your GP.
Scarring
Scarring is often a result of trauma, infection or poorly fitting jewellery, which is why it is important to follow our aftercare instructions correctly to avoid these issues.
However, some people are simply more prone to scarring than others. People with more melanin in their skin have a greater chance of developing scarring.
Most scar tissue will settle in its own time as it matures. Oil based moisturisers can help to flatten excessive scar tissue but should only be used on fully healed piercings.
In some cases, the body doesn’t know when to stop producing scar tissue around a piercing, creating keloid scarring.
Keloid scarring is firm, raised, and grows beyond the boundaries of an original piercing.
Although unsightly and sometimes uncomfortable, keloid scarring can go away with patience and proper care.
If you are worried about scar tissue or think you may be developing a keloid scar, get in touch and we can offer free advice & treatment.
Migration & Rejection
In some cases, the body will try to reject the jewellery in a piercing in the same way it would reject a splinter.
The jewellery will move from its original position towards the surface of the skin. This is known as migration.
Migration is more likely to occur if a piercing was not positioned properly and/or incorrect jewellery was used. Our years of experience mean we know the best position and jewellery to use to minimise the chance of migration. This might mean we advise against getting a certain piercing depending on your anatomy.
Migration can also occur if the piercing site experiences excessive irritation, such as wearing high waisted jeans on a navel piercing.
The risk of migration can be minimised by reducing irritation against the new piercing, by wearing loose fitting clothing around the piercing, for example.
In some cases where the piercing experiences excessive friction or your anatomy is not suited to the piercing, the migration process will continue until the jewellery is completely rejected from the body.
Signs of rejection include excessive swelling, inflammation, and hyperpigmentation around the area.
If you think your piercing may be rejecting, contact us and we’ll advise you on the best course of action to take.