There's three rules for a new piercing:
Keep it clean. Keep it still. Keep it dry.

Cleaning:
Dry matter (scabbing) will come away by itself when the shower water passes over it. During your shower, remove the shower head and lightly rinse the piercing off. Be sure to remove product throughly; shampoo and conditioner.

Out of the shower, make sure you DRY the area thoroughly. A hairdryer on a cool setting is best, but clean kitchen towel or non-woven gauze works also. DO NOT use a towel or cloth as these harbour bacteria.

DO NOT use cotton buds or pads as these can leave little fibres behind on the piercing. 
Make sure your hair is COMPLETELY DRY before going to bed. Moisture from your hair can sit on the piercing and harbour bacteria overnight.

 

If you shower daily this will more than likely be enough to keep your piercing clean.

If you do not, you may have some build up in between your shower days. To remove this, use some clean kitchen towel or non-woven gauze with water or sterile saline on to gently wipe away any dry matter. Make sure you dry the area thoroughly afterwards!

REMEMBER:

Dry matter (scabbing) will come away from the tissue when it is ready. DO NOT force it off as this will break the skin and open that wound up which can make it bleed and sore. This also means NO PICKING!

 

For Lip Piercings:

Care for the outside wound as explained above. For the inside, maintain your usual oral hygiene routine. Brush, floss and use mouthwash (non-alcoholic) as you normally would. After food, it can be helpful to rinse your mouth out with some cool water to make sure no food debris is trapped around the flat base. You may want to avoid certain food for comfort and to stop any potential irritation. Foods include anything spicy, acidic or citrusy!

REMEMBER:
Only clean your piercing when it needs it.
If you see crust, give it a clean. No crusty? no cleany!

What's Considered Normal?

Bleeding, localised swelling, heat, tenderness, redness and bruising.
This is all very normal for the first few days/weeks!

During the entire healing period your piercing can remain sore. You will likely also get some dis-colouration, itching and secretion of a whiteish/yellow fluid (not pus) that will form as crust around the jewellery.

Downsizing:
As mentioned during your appointment, your piercing may need a downsize.
For swelling purposes we always pierce you with a slightly longer bar to allow the area to get a bit puffy as it enters the first stage of healing. Once that swelling subsides (4-8 weeks typically) you will want to go shorter with that bar to allow the piercing to heal without being caught or snagged. It is importation to NOT sleep on your healing piercing as this can change the angle of the jewellery.
Downsizing is free and can be booked via the website OR by messaging or emailing me!

Failure to downsize when it's ready may lead to lumps/bumps/angle change/embedding/irritation.
Please message me if you're having trouble healing due to not being downsized.

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Lumps & Bumps
We often refer to these as irritation bumps. These bumps will form when something is irritating the piercing.

For example: knocking/pulling/twisting/playing with it/sleeping on it/moisture. The only way to get rid of them is to stop the irritation from happening. DO NOT use any chemicals/creams on the bumps, DO NOT pick or squeeze them either. This can make the bumps worse.
Always message me if you're concerned!

Golden Rules:

DO NOT touch or play with it. This means no twisting/turning and don’t pick the ‘crusties’! Clean them off as instructed above!

DO NOT sleep on it, even if it doesn't hurt!! Use a travel pillow or place a large hair clip on that side to prevent pressure on the piercing. Sleeping on it can cause extra swelling, irritation and can lead to the piercing healing at an angle.

AVOID chemicals! Savlon, TCP, Tea Tree, Surgical Spirits, Dettol, Chlorine are very harsh on fresh piercings. Also avoid all shared water sources (lakes, the sea, swimming pools) this can lead to infection.

DO NOT change your jewellery too early! Piercings heal from the outside in, so it may look and feel healed early on but it’s still likely to still be raw on the inside. Please message me to book a check up if you’re unsure.

DO NOT take out your jewellery! Removing the jewellery may cause the hole to shrink or fully close up, which ultimately means you will not be able to reinsert the jewellery and you will have to re-pierce it. Even fully healed piercings can shrink or close, if you like your piercing, keep it in! Where possible, use glass retainers to keep your piercing ‘hidden’ for long periods of time.

AVOID spicy food and foods strong in citric acid for at least 2 weeks with oral piercings. Also try and cut down on smoking and vaping as much as possible during this delicate stage of healing.

AVOID heavy drinking for at least 2 weeks with oral piercings. Alcohol is an irritant and a blood thinner, which can cause your new piercings to bleed.

DRINK plain Chamomile tea if you like it, it's an excellent soothing anti-inflammatory drink for sore or swollen oral piercings. Eating ice cream/ice cubes or drinking cold water is helpful too. You can also sleep with an extra pillow to elevate your head more, this helps keep swelling to a minimum.

NO plasters or band-aids. Your piercing needs to breathe! Clothing is obviously okay, but avoid clothing that is really tight and high wasted clothing over any body piercings, as this will rub and irritate.

AVOID netted shower sponges. Tale care not to get towels and face cloths caught on the piercing, and keep make-up/creams/cleanser out of facial piercings until they are fully healed.

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If at any point you have any problems/issues and you would like some advice, please don’t hesitate to get in touch, I am always more than happy to help!​