How To Clean Your Ear Piercing With Salt Water

This article was co-authored by Roger Rodriguez and by staff writer, Amber Crain. Roger Rodriguez, also known as Roger Rabb!t, is the Owner of Ancient Adornments Body Piercing, a piercing studio based in the Los Angeles, California area. With over 25 years of piercing experience, Roger has become the co-owner of several piercing studios such as ENVY Body Piercing and Rebel Rebel Ear Piercing and teaches the craft of body piercing at Ancient Adornments. He is a member of the Association of Professional Piercers (APP).

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Your newly pierced ears look absolutely fabulous! To make sure they stay that way, it's important to clean the piercings properly—but what's the process? We've got you! In this article, we'll explain how to clean your piercings during the healing phase, deal with an infection if you happen to get one, and share our best tips for keeping piercings healthy once they're all healed up. Keep on scrolling to learn everything you need to know about ear piercing care!

How To Clean A New Piercing [8 Steps + Videos + Best Aftercare Products]

This article was co-authored by Roger Rodriguez and by staff writer, Amber Crain. Roger Rodriguez, also known as Roger Rabb!t, is the Owner of Ancient Adornments Body Piercing, a piercing studio based in the Los Angeles, California area. With over 25 years of piercing experience, Roger has become the co-owner of several piercing studios such as ENVY Body Piercing and Rebel Rebel Ear Piercing and teaches the craft of body piercing at Ancient Adornments. He is a member of the Association of Professional Piercers (APP). This article has been viewed 797, 221 times.

To clean a new ear piercing, start by washing your hands thoroughly with soap and water. This will prevent you from accidentally introducing dirt or germs into the piercing. Next, dip a cotton swab into a gentle saline cleaning solution. Most piercing experts don’t recommend using harsh disinfectants, like alcohol or hydrogen peroxide, since they can irritate the piercing and slow down healing. Gently clean the area around the piercing on the front of your ear with the cotton swab. Soak a new swab in the solution and clean the back of your ear as well. While you’re at it, gently turn the jewelry in the piercing about half a turn to keep it from sticking to your healing skin. Finish up by dabbing a small amount of antibiotic ointment on the front and back of the piercing with a fresh cotton swab. Give the jewelry half a turn to help work the ointment into the hole. Aim to clean your piercing at least once or twice a day, and don’t switch out your jewelry until the piercing is completely healed. In your earlobe, this should take about 6 weeks. If it’s in the cartilage, it may take a few months. Once the piercing is healed, take the jewelry out every night before you go to bed. Clean the jewelry with rubbing alcohol before putting it back in. Continue to wash your piercing with saline solution and treat it with antibiotic ointment at least once a month to prevent infections and keep the area healthy. If you see signs of an infection, such as redness, pain, bleeding, or discharge from the piercing, call your doctor for advice. To learn how to maintain healthy ear piercings, scroll down!Congratulations on your new piercing! The success of your piercing depends heavily on the aftercare. While we do our part to ensure that your piercing is performed with the utmost care and precision, the client must also carefully follow all suggested aftercare tips to help the piercing recover and settle.

The most important focus when caring for your piercing is hygiene. Try your best to keep the area as clean as possible, away from contamination and irritants.

How To Treat Infected Piercings: 6 Expert & Medical Tips

⚠️Wash your hands prior to touching the piercing; leave it alone except when cleaning. If you need to touch the piercing site, only do so with clean hands!!

⚠️Change your pillow regularly if you are healing piercings on the ear and face. Be mindful of bedding hygiene when healing piercings on the body. Wear clean, comfortable, breathable clothing that protects your piercing while you are sleeping.

⚠️Stay healthy! Your body will do most of the recovery work, so staying healthy is actually the most important! The healthier your lifestyle, the easier it will be for your piercing to heal. Keep up with your vitamins, get enough sleep and eat a nutritious diet. Exercise during healing is fine but listen to your body.

How Do You Prepare A Saline Soak And How Does It Promote The Healing Process Of A Piercing?

I recommend a two-step process of (1) using a mild skin cleanser in the shower to degrease/ clean the general skin around the site, and also (2) use a saline solution to irrigate/flush the actual piercing.

Clients that are experienced with piercings can develop their own aftercare routine best suited for themselves, but generally the idea is to always keep the piercing site clean and free from bacteria.

🚿IN THE SHOWER: Use a drop of cleanser with your finger’s gentle touch – lather away surface sebum, dead skin accumulation, dried discharge, make up, etc. 

Tips For Ear Piercing Aftercare

❗️DRY the piercing using a clean disposable tissue. ❗️Do not use your old towel as it can harbor bacteria. Do not let your piercing air dry to prevent saline / discharge build-up.

🦠Saline dehydrates the bacteria’s cell effectively killing it, and the soaking method helps reduce inflammation. The focus is to envelop the entire piercing site into the saline so the solution can penetrate into the piercing channel to flush out irritants. This can also help dissolve away dried matter and help irrigate hard to reach piercings.

Other brands of Sodium Chloride can be readily purchased at Watson’s RX and local Chinese drug dispensaries (approx. $30 – $80 hkd).

Easy Ways To Clean A Daith Piercing

SPRAY the entire piercing site with NeilMed Piercing Aftercare Spray. Make sure you are blasting the piercing site with the saline mist. Use a clean tissue to dry the area. Make sure to dry the piercing after spraying because moisture is a breeding ground for bacteria!

NeilMed Piercing Aftercare spray is the only sterile saline spray that is designed to assist in healing fresh piercings. This spray is used by the piercers at Maria Tash and also highly recommended by many APP piercers. Can be purchased for $150 hkd by itself (or +$100 with piercing service).

• During healing: some discoloration, itching, secretion of a whitish-yellow fluid (not pus) that will form some crust on the jewelry. The tissue may tighten around the jewelry as it heals.

How To Make Your Own Earring Solution

• Once healed: the jewelry may not move freely in the piercing; do not force it. If you fail to include cleaning your piercing as part of your daily hygiene routine, normal but smelly bodily secretions may accumulate.

• A piercing may seem healed before the healing process is complete. This is because tissue heals from the outside in, and although it feels fine, the interior remains fragile. Be patient, and keep cleaning throughout the entire healing period.

• Even healed piercings can shrink or close in minutes after having been there for years! This varies from person to person; if you like your piercing, keep jewelry in—do not leave it empty.

Do I Have To Really Use Sea Salt To Clean My Piercings? I Haven't Used Any On My Previous Piercings. I Always Use Alcohol And A&d Ointment, And They Healed Properly.

You can change the jewelry after the piercing is fully healed. Use good judgement!! While cleaning the piercing, check if the piercing is sore, does it still feel sensitive? If the piercing is sore, or sensitive do not remove the jewelry!!

• Unless there is a problem with the size, style, or material of the initial jewelry, leave it in the place for the entire healing period.

• Leave jewelry in at all times. Even old or well-healed piercing can shrink or close in minutes even after having been there for years. If removed, re-insertion can be difficult or impossible.

I've Recently Starting Coming Up In A Rash When I Use My Piercing Spray For My Forward Helix, It Becomes Itchy, Red And Burns (spray Is Sea Salt From Piercer). I Have

• Should you decide you no longer want the piercing, simply remove the jewelry (or I can remove it for you) and continue cleaning the piercing until the hole closes. In most cases only a small mark will remain.

• In the event an infection is suspected, quality jewelry or an inert alternative should be left in place to allow for drainage or the infection. If the jewelry is removed, the surface cells can close up, which can seal the infection inside the piercing channel and result in an abscess. Do not remove jewelry unless instructed to by a medical professional.

• A hard, vented eye patch (sold at pharmacies) can be applied under tight clothing (such as nylon stockings) or secured using a length of 3M® bandage around the body (to avoid irritation from adhesive). This can protect the area from restrictive clothing, excess irritation, and impact during physical activities such as contact sports.

Infection In My Lobe, I've Been Cleaning It With Salt Water Twice A Day And Have Removed My Earring As It Was Stinging. Should I Continue Cleaning With Salt Water Or Should

• Use the t-shirt trick: Dress your pillow in a large, clean t-shirt and turn it nightly; one clean t-shirt provides four clean surfaces for sleeping.

When your piercing is irritated, the best way to soothe that issue is to do a Saline Soak (as explained in our Aftercare Guide). Even piercings that are well healed can sometimes flair up if cleaning has stopped. Depending