Popular for both men and women, nipple piercings heal well and are one of the few piercings that you can easily keep to yourself. Nipple piercings are usually pierced through the base of the nipple, not the areola. They can be placed horizontally, vertically or at any angle in between. Nipple piercings can be done with straight barbells or ball closure rings, although many people find that barbells are more comfortable under clothes during the healing period. If you have flat or inverted nipples, please go to an experienced piercer and inform them beforehand. Most people with inverted nipples are able to get them pierced, but it may affect your choice of jewellery.

How To Care For New Nipple Piercings

Nipple piercings should be kept clean and dry. Clean with saline twice daily and avoid submerging the piercing in water. It is important to wear breathable dressings for the first couple of days and allowing the piercing to breathe while healing. We recommend wearing natural fibres and loose clothing – and going without a bra. Take care not to catch the piercing on your clothing when getting dressed and clean the piercing after exercise. Most nipple piercings heal within six to sixteen weeks. If you notice any persistent pain, swelling or unusual symptoms, consult your piercer immediately.

Female Nipple Piercings And Breastfeeding

Having nipple piercings should not cause any problems with breastfeeding in the future, although if you are concerned please consult an experienced piercer or breastfeeding specialist. We recommend that you remove your nipple jewellery before starting breastfeeding. Jewellery can interfere with breastfeeding and make it difficult for your baby to latch on. Nipple jewellery also poses a choking hazard and can harbour bacteria that although harmless for you, can pose a risk for babies. When you are no longer breastfeeding you may be able to reinsert your jewellery, or simply get your nipples re-pierced.

Whether you have two piercings or twenty, the odds are that your first was an ear piercing. Ear piercings are easy to take care of and heal easily, making them a hassle free piercing, no matter which type of ear piercing you get. There are at least ten different types of ear piercing, and in this post I will outline the basic piercing aftercare that you need to keep your ear piercing feeling and looking great.

Ear Lobe Piercing Aftercare

Ear lobe piercings typically heal in six to ten weeks and are very easy to take care of. The most important thing is to keep your ear piercing clean and dry during the healing period. Clean the piercing twice daily with saline solution and avoid swimming or submerging the piercing in water. Try to keep your hair away from the piercing – your hair can introduce bacteria to the piercing and catch on the jewellery.

Always go to a proper piercing studio rather than a hairdresser or jewellery shop. By going to a piercing studio you are more likely to be seen by a fully trained body piercer in a fully hygienic environment. They will be able to answer your questions and follow-up enquiries are usually free. It is also important to choose needle piercing over a piercing gun. Piercing guns cannot be sterilised and can therefore harbour bacteria that impede the healing process.

Cartilage Ear Piercing Aftercare

The aftercare process for cartilage ear piercings is the same as for an ear lobe piercing: clean twice daily with saline solution and keep it dry. It is important to take special care with cartilage piercings, as the consequences of an infected piercing can be more serious. The infection can become trapped in between the layers of cartilage in your ear and in even destroy the cartilage in extreme cases. Fortunately, infections can be prevented by proper piercing aftercare. However you should consult your piercer if you experience persistent swelling, redness, pain or the skin being hot to touch.

Helix piercings are popular, easy to heal and allow you to wear a wide range of stylish jewellery. They are pierced through the outer rim of the ear and can be placed anywhere around the top half of your ear. Helix piercings don’t usually hurt any more than a standard ear piercing and typically heal in eight to sixteen weeks. Although helix piercing healing is fairly straightforward, it is important to go to a proper piercing studio, as opposed to a hairdressers or jewellery shop. Cartilage piercings can be difficult to place and should not be done with a piercing gun. Piercing guns can cause trauma to the cartilage and cannot be completely sterilised, which means that they can introduce harmful bacteria to your piercing.

How To Care For New Helix Piercings

The most important part of caring for your new helix piercing is keeping it clean and dry. Clean your piercing twice daily with saline solution and avoid submerging it in water. Avoid swimming pools in particular, as they contain not only harmful bacteria but also chlorine that will irritate your piercing. Keep your hair away from the piercing and keep consult your piercer if you notice persistent swelling, pain or redness. These can be signs of an infection, which can become more serious in a cartilage piercing than a standard ear piercing. Infection can become trapped in between the layers of cartilage and even destroy it in extreme cases, so get treatment immediately. Fortunately most piercing infections can be prevented with proper aftercare, but it is important to be aware of the symptoms. With proper care your helix piercing should heal up quickly and requires very little care once healed.

Eyebrow piercings are popular, easy to heal and really make a statement. They are pierced vertically through the eyebrow and can be placed anywhere between the centre of the eye socket and the outer edge of the eyebrow. The three major supra-orbital nerves are located inwards of the centre of the eye socket, so placing an eyebrow piercing in this area could damage them. Eyebrow piercings can be pierced with small curved barbells or BCRs. We usually recommend getting pierced with a curved barbell, as they are less likely to get caught on clothing than a BCR. You can change to a BCR once your piercing is fully healed if you wish.

How To Care For New Eyebrow Piercings

Like most piercings, eyebrow piercings must be kept clean and dry throughout the healing period. Clean your piercing twice daily with saline and avoid submerging it in water. Most eyebrow piercings heal within four to eight weeks. Your healed eyebrow piercing requires very little care – just clean with saline as needed.

You should also take extra care to avoid knocking the piercing. Eyebrow piercings are particularly vulnerable to migration and knocks can lead to migration or rejection even in a healed piercing. Despite this, most eyebrow piercings do not reject, it is often simply a case of bad luck! A rejecting eyebrow piercing will scar if left to reject, so it is important to consult your piercer. It is often better to retire the piercing than let it reject and scar. The most common signs of eyebrow piercing rejection are:

1. Constant soreness or sensitivity
2. Red scar tissue forming around the piercing holes
3. The skin over the piercing becomes thinner – you may eventually be able to see the jewellery through the skin
4. The piercing holes appear bigger
5. Jewellery hangs loosely or at a different angle

If you observe any of these signs in your eyebrow piercing, consult your piercer immediately – regardless of whether your piercing is healed or not.

Tragus piercings are one of the most popular ear cartilage piercings and they are relatively simply to heal and take care of. The tragus is the little nub of cartilage in front of your ear canal and although it can vary a lot in size, most people are able to get a tragus piercing. Tragus piercings look great and they are a perfect first cartilage piercing.

Tragus piercings can be performed with small barbells, BCRs or labret. I recommend getting pierced with a simple barbell or BCR – you can always change the jewellery to something more eye-catching when your tragus has healed. Some people find that their tragus jewellery makes wearing in-ear headphones uncomfortable. If you have this problem I recommend wearing a labret stud – the flat back leaves more room for the headphones.

How To Care For New Tragus Piercings

Tragus piercings usually heal well in between eight to eighteen weeks. You should clean your tragus piercing twice daily with saline solution and refrain from changing your jewellery until fully healed. Avoid swimming and submersion in water during the healing period, as this can introduce bacteria to the piercing.

Provided that you care for your tragus piercing correctly, the chance of infection is very low. But is it important to be aware that infections can be more complicated in cartilage piercings, compared to soft tissue piercings e.g. lip piercings. This is because the infection can become trapped in between the layers of cartilage and even destroy the cartilage in extreme cases. For this reason you should be vigilant for any signs of infection such as redness, pain or the skin feeling hot. If you experience any of these symptoms, consult an experienced piercer immediately.

Conch piercings are a popular type of ear cartilage piercing. They are relatively easy to heal but special care should be taken with any cartilage piercing. Provided that you take proper care of your conch piercing, it should heal well. Conch piercings typically take between six and eight weeks to heal.

Conch piercings are usually pierced with a small barbell. Ball closure rings can also be worn in conch piercings, but they are not advised while the piercing is healing. This is because they are more likely to get caught on clothing and can be uncomfortable. A labret stud is also ideal for conch piercings and some people find them more comfortable.

How To Care For New Conch Piercings

Conch piercings require the same aftercare as any ear cartilage piercings. They should be cleaned twice daily with saline solution and kept dry. Swimming and submersion in water can introduce harmful bacteria, so they should be avoided. Try not to fiddle with your piercing or touch it too much, as this also introduces bacteria to the piercing.

It is important to monitor any new piercing for infection but I recommend being especially vigilant with a conch piercing. This is because infection can become trapped in between the layers of ear cartilage. If this happens, infection can spread and even destroy the cartilage. Provided that you take proper care of your conch piercing, the risk of infection is very low. But if you experience pain, redness, swelling or any unusual symptoms please consult your piercer immediately.
Once your conch piercing is healed, it requires very little care – simply clean with saline as needed. If your piercing becomes sore after it has healed, you may find titanium, blackline or BioFlex jewellery more comfortable.

Belly button piercings are popular and stylish, but like all piercings they require proper care to ensure that they heal well. This piercing takes quite a long time to heal fully, so it is important that you keep it clean. The good news is that as long as you take good care of them, belly button piercings very well. They look gorgeous and allow you to wear eye-catching belly jewellery once the piercing has healed.

How To Care For New Belly Button Piercings

Like most body piercings, the most important thing is to keep your new belly button piercing clean and dry. Clean your piercing twice a day with saline solution and do not touch it too much. Healing times vary from 8 to 18 weeks, but we recommend that you continue to clean your piercing for at least 16 weeks even if it appears healed. During the healing period you should avoid swimming or submerging the piercing in water, as this can introduce harmful bacteria. You should also make sure that clothing does not rub the piercing and air it frequently. Alcohol, smoking and poor hygiene will all impede the healing process.

Your belly button piercing should feel increasingly comfortable as it heals. If you experience persistent pain or any unusual symptoms, consult your piercer. You should not change your belly button jewellery until the piercing is fully healed. If you are unsure if your piercing has healed, ask your piercer.

Belly Button Piercing During Pregnancy

Pregnancy puts a lot of pressure on belly button piercings so it is important to either remove your piercing, or switch to a suitable pregnancy belly bar. As your belly grows, it puts pressure on the piercing and stretches it. If you were to wear a normal belly bar during pregnancy, the piercing may reject or become embedded. Both are painful and can be dangerous. If you wish to continue to wear belly jewellery, we recommend switching to a long, flexible belly bar, ideally a BioFlex or PTFE bar. With the correct jewellery, belly button piercings do not pose a risk during pregnancy. However, if you are concerned please consult an experienced piercer or doctor.

Popular but still shocking, tongue piercings are surprisingly easy to heal and take care of. Tongue piercings do carry an increased risk of infection due the high levels of bacteria in the mouth, but with proper care they are a relatively safe body piercing to get. It is also important for the piercing to be placed correctly: there are a number of larger veins on the underside of the tongue and the piercing must not hit any of these veins – for obvious reasons! A good piercer will check the underside of your tongue and ensure that the piercing is correctly placed.

How To Care For New Tongue Piercings

Tongue piercings are usually performed with an extra long barbell to allow for swelling. Your tongue will return to normal size over the next couple of days. Usually you can return to your piercer one week after being pierced and have the long barbell replaced with a shorter one. You should not try to change the jewellery yourself until the piercing has healed completely, which usually takes at least one month.

While your tongue piercing is healing, you should rinse your mouth with a mouthwash specifically designed for oral piercings. I do not recommend using normal mouthwash, as it may be too harsh and impede healing. Your piercer will be able to recommend a suitable mouthwash. Rinse after brushing your teeth, eating and drinking anything other than water. Refrain from swimming, sexual contact, smoking, alcohol and eating spicy foods until the piercing is healed. You should also maintain good oral hygiene and try not to put anything else in your mouth, as this can introduce bacterial to the wound.
Your tongue piercing should feel progressively better as time passes and it heals. If it becomes or remains painful, consult your piercer. They will be able to check the piercing and make sure that it is healing well.

How To Care For Healed Tongue Piercings

Healed tongue piercings require very little care beyond basic oral hygiene. It is common for a little plaque to form on the bottom of tongue piercing bars – you should remove this regularly.

There is always a risk of tongue jewellery leading to tooth or gum erosion. This occurs when your jewellery rubs against your teeth or gums and erodes them over time. Most damage can be prevented by wearing correctly-sized tongue jewellery. The damage is irreversible and can be serious if left unchecked. I recommend checking your teeth and gums regularly for signs of erosion. If you see any changes to your teeth and gums, consult your piercer or dentist immediately.

Along with ear and belly button piercings, nose piercings are one of the most popular body piercings worldwide. Despite their popularity, it is important to remember that they are cartilage piercings and always go to a professional, dedicated piercer rather than a mainstream jewellery shop or hairdresser. A professional piercer will have more training and be able to give you proper advice about aftercare. Another benefit is that if you ever have any problems with your nose piercing, you can go back to your piercer and they will usually advise you free of charge. Professional piercers do this for a living and are much more likely to spend time reassuring you than someone who works in a jewellery shop the rest of the time.

How To Care For New Nose Piercings

Nose piercings take between 12 and 16 weeks to heal, during which I recommend you do not change your jewellery. You will need to keep your piercing clean but otherwise try not to touch it too much – this can interferer with the healing process. You should clean your nose piercing with saline solution at least twice daily. Use a cotton bud soaked in saline to gently clean around piercing site before turning your attention to the inside of the nose. Mucus produced by your nose can “seal” dirt to the piercing site, so take extra care to clean your nose piercing thoroughly. You should also avoid submersion in water and swimming until it is completely healed.

How To Care For Healed Nose Piercings

Once your nose piercing has healed all you need to do is keep it clean and react promptly if you experience any pain or discomfort. A healed piercing should not require daily cleaning, but keep an eye on your nose and clean it when necessary. If you experience irritation or pain, the first thing you should do is thoroughly clean your piercing and your jewellery. Try and think of any reason that your nose piercing could be irritated – the culprit is often cheap jewellery or a cold. If you think your jewellery has irritated your nose piercing I recommend switching to a titanium nose stud or a BioFlex nose stud. These are biocompatible materials that usually reduce irritation. If you have a cold, a little irritation is par for the course. Try to keep the piercing clean and be gentle when you blow your nose. If the irritation persists after you have changed your jewellery or your cold has passed, consult a professional piercer.

Ear piercings are probably the most popular type of body piercing the world and there are many different types of ear piercings to choose from. They are easy to take care of but some people make the mistake of thinking that they do not require the same care and attention that other piercings need. That said, as long as you keep your ear piercing clean and listen to your body, there is no reason for you to have any problems at all. This post will tell you how to take care of a new ear piercing and how to make sure that your piercings stay happy and healthy for as long as you have them.

As with any piercing, I recommend that you go to a professional body piercing rather than having it done by a non-professional or somewhere that does not specialize in piercing e.g. a hairdresser or mainstream jewellery shop. A professional piercer will be specially trained and be able to answer all your question about jewellery and aftercare. They should have clean premises and use new, sterile instruments throughout the piercing process. They should be able to answer all your questions and help you make the right decisions. Most people would agree that this is important for other body piercing, but many are less careful with ear piercings. While well intentioned, staff in hairdressers and jewellery shops are not as well trained and do not have a clean, dedicated room in which to perform piercings. This can increase the risk of poorly placed piercings and the risk of infection – it simply isn’t worth it! Your ears deserve better, so always go to a dedicated piercing studio with professionally trained body piercers.

How To Care For Ear Lobe Piercings

Ear lobe piercings are very easy to take care of. You can clean your ear piercing with saline solution or a body friendly oil such as jojoba or olive oil. Simply dip a cotton bud into the oil or saline and gently remove any dirt or lymph from both the piercing site and the jewellery. A new ear piercing may be tender, but it should not hurt to clean it and healed piercings should not hurt at all.

Healed ear piercings can become sore, usually due to a reaction with your jewellery. This is especially common after wearing cheap earrings or jewellery containing nickel. If you suspect a jewellery-based reaction, clean the piercing and switch to non-irritating jewellery such as titanium or BioFlex. If the irritation persists even after changing your jewellery, a salt soak can help. This means soaking your ear piercing in warm water. To do this, fill a suitable container – a shot glass is ideal – with a warm salt solution made with boiled water. Use the hottest water that is comfortable and soak your ear in the solution until it cools. If the irritation still persists, consult your piercer.

How To Care For Ear Cartilage Piercings

Ear cartilage piercings can be cared for in much the same way as ear lobe piercings. However infections in cartilage piercings can be much more serious, so it is important to be vigilant for irritation or changes in your piercing. If your cartilage piercing becomes infected, the infection can spread into the rest of your ear cartilage and cant be very painful. An infected ear cartilage piercing will be very sore, red and hot to touch. It may also swell up. If you think your cartilage piercing if infected and it doesn’t get better in a couple of days I recommend consulting a piercer. They will be able to tell you whether it is serious and what to do. Most piercing infections are minor, but they can occasionally be serious, so it’s always better to be safe than sorry.