During piercing a deep wound is created that needs time to heal. How quickly this wound heals depends on the location of the piercing, the type of jewellery, the skill of the piercer and the quality of the aftercare. If you take good care of the piercing, it takes on average 4 to 12 weeks for the wound to heal. The following applies: the larger or deeper the wound, the longer the healing will take.
During the entire healing period, rinse the piercing twice a day with saline. You can buy this ready-made as a Neilmed Sterile Saline Spray canister. Spray and rinse (no exposure time). Then gently dab the piercing dry with kitchen paper, Tork paper and / or the hair dryer (on a cool setting and further away from your head than usual to dry your hair). Keep the piercing as dry as possible for the rest of the day.
Tip: Virtually all piercing problems can be traced to causes related to pressure and friction.
In addition, during the healing process, note the following:
- Do not touch the piercing. Never turn or slide the jewellery;
- Do not apply ointment to the wound and do not drop any disinfectants on it;
- Ensure that no hair spray, gel or other products come close to an ear or other piercing; watch out with make-up, remover, powders, lotion, deodorant etc.
- Do not wear plasters over the piercing;
- Do not wear tight or dirty clothing over the piercing to prevent friction, irritation and inflammation;
- Avoid (bubble) baths, swimming pools, saunas and steam baths … because of the risk of infection;
- During healing, never remove the jewellery yourself, ask for help from the piercer or contact us for suitable advice. This also applies during the care of it or if you are tired of the piercing again, for example.
- Do not use cotton buds, cotton pads, tissues, toilet paper or towels on the piercing. Kitchen paper is of course allowed again.
- When showering, rinse the piercing well before leaving the shower to ensure that there are no soap residues, etc. have remained behind.
- Do not sleep on the piercing during the entire healing period.
- In the case of an ear or face piercing, sleep on a clean pillowcase daily and ensure that no pets are on the bed.
With a microdermal / surface anchor piercing, also note the following:
- If a piercer or gauze has been placed on it by your piercer, you want to leave it on for the first 4-6 hours. In such a case you also want to cover the piercing at night. Use sterile gauze and Leukosilk hypoallergenic plaster tape for this, available from drugstores and supermarkets, among others. Make sure that you breathe well during the day (so no more covering).
- Once the piercing is completely healed, the dead skin cells – which can build up under the surface of the tip of your dermal piercing – must be regularly but carefully removed. This way you prevent rejection / migration / irritation of the piercing. Carefully remove this dirt with the help of unscented floss or a thin paper towel. Place this between the top of the jewellery and the skin. Be careful! If it doesn’t fit, don’t force it.
- Changing the stone or other top can eventually lead to growth. Therefore, choose your top wisely and do not change too often.
With an oral piercing, note the following:
- Use 2x / day mouthwash based on a chlorhexidine solution for the first 2 to 4 weeks.
- Rinse mouth with water after eating, drinking, smoking or other oral contact.
- Cool a tongue or lip ring regularly (water ice pops, ice cubes) against swelling.
- Watch out for food allergies or hypersensitivity.
- An extra pillow under your head for 2 weeks when sleeping to limit swelling.
- The first day after piercing is the most sensitive.
- Never play with the piercing, even when it has healed for a while.
- A painkiller can help with pain in the first week.
- Avoid kissing and oral sex during the healing process;
- Avoid alcohol, dairy and hot or spicy food or drinks because of swelling and risk of infection.
- For lip piercing, avoid cream, lip balm and lipstick during the healing process due to the risk of infection.
- Brush your teeth regularly.
With a genital piercing, also note the following:
- Drink a glass of water approximately one hour before cleaning your genital piercing. This way you can pee out possible residues of the aftercare product faster after washing.
- Always protect genital piercings during sexual contact with an extra strong condom (such as an anal sex condom) or a flap.
- Protect any underwear with panty liners (this applies to both men and women) to prevent stains.
- Only wear cotton underwear so that the wound can breathe. Avoid lace underwear during healing because of risk to get stuck.
- Do not use Chilly, Lactacyd and other products in the vagina or on the vulva, this disrupts the natural balance.
- Preferably do not have sexual contact during the healing process to prevent friction. Friction can damage the wound and sometimes leave unsightly spots.
Tip for sleeping: So, when piercing the ear, avoid lying on that ear as much as possible. There are various tricks for that. For example, a neck pillow can help to avoid pressure by using it as a "haemorrhoid pillow" for your ear. Put a pillowcase around it. Another trick is to first fold a bath towel (such a large towel) in half lengthwise and then roll it up into a kind of sausage. You then place this under your knee cavities when you lie on your back. This means that you usually no longer turn completely on your side in your sleep. Another tip is a hairpin behind your newly pierced ear, this will prevent you from turning it on in your sleep.
Tip for your pillow: Use the T-shirt trick for piercings on the head: Put a clean T-shirt over a clean pillowcase over your pillow.
Sleep the first night on one side of the pillow, the next night you turn the pillow over, the next night you turn the T-shirt inside out and put it back over your clean pillowcase over your pillow. Then you sleep another night on one side, the next night turn the pillow again.
After 4 nights you only slept on the clean shirt as a pillowcase. Then you do this in the wash and you do the same with the underlying clean pillowcase.
Note: the skin around your piercing can turn red immediately after piercing and swell considerably. This is normal. But contact the doctor (and reliable piercer) if:
You are concerned about the cure; You become ill or have a fever within a few days of putting the piercing on; Physical complaints such as itching and redness have not subsided within 48 hours of being put on; You suddenly get new complaints 24 hours after you put them, or the complaints get worse; You want to remove the piercing during the healing process (for example due to complaints or migration or rejection symptoms).