We all know the importance of taking care of our tattoos, but what about piercings?  Although the piercing process is relatively quick, and the pain tends to be over within seconds, a piercing is still technically a trauma to the body – and after this, a foreign body is inserted into the skin, so it’s no surprise that we need to treat piercings with the utmost care, especially during the healing process.

When I got my very first piercing, (my ears), I was in my first year of High School, and didn’t have a clue about the piercing process, or the importance of doing my research into the salon that was piercing my ears.  I just wanted my ears pierced because all of my friends were getting there’s done, so off I went to a local beauty salon (who clearly didn’t specialise in this kind of thing), and after this I had tonnes of problems with both piercings even though I looked after them really well.

Years later, and equipped with a lot more knowledge on the tattoo and piercing industry, I only went to reputable piercers who had excellent reputations within the industry, and who were always insistent (and rightly so), on talking me through the piercing process, and the aftercare process, making sure I went through the consent form, and making me fully aware of how care for the piercing afterwards.  I never had any more issues with my piercings after this!  It sounds simple, and it should be a given that all piercing studios take these steps, but it’s not always the case, and this is why it’s so important to do your research first!  As a Tattoo Supplies company, our customers buy tattoo ink and tattoo equipment from us, but we also stock a range of piercing products, and have lots of body jewellery customers, so we think it’s important that these customers are aware of are aware of the do’s and don’ts of piercings!

Do keep your hands clean! It sounds pretty basic, but keep your hands clean when you’re cleaning your piercing.  It’s all well and good cleaning and using an aftercare product on your fresh piercing, but if your hands aren’t clean then you’re running the risk of infecting the piercing (and trust me, that’s no fun at all!)

Don’t mess with your piercing.  Try and have as little contact with your piercing as possible.  It’s alright to clean it twice a day, but touching, twisting, or playing with your piercing will only irritate it and slow down the healing process.  Remember, a piercing is a wound, so treat it as such.

Do use one product to clean your piercing.  It’s not advisable to mix aftercare products, so just stick to the one product that you’re happy with.  There are a variety of brands of piercing aftercare out there, and different body piercers will recommend different products to you (same with tattoo aftercare!), so try and find one that works for you, and go with it.

Don’t drink or do drugs - Avoid using alcohol and drugs, before, during (obviously), and after the piercing process whilst your piercing is healing.  New piercings can cause some bleeding, localised swelling and bruising, so whilst your piercing is healing, it’s not a good idea to drink or take drugs as it can potentially mess with your blood flow, and that’s not going to be good news for your new piercing!

Don’t use alcohol to clean your new piercing.  Trust me.  It’s really harsh on the skin, and will only end up irritating the area.

Do have patience!  Your piercing may appear to be healed after the cautionary 6 weeks healing process (depending on the area that’s been pierced), but just because the recommended healing time has passed, this doesn’t necessarily mean that your piercing is fully healed. You may be tempted to change your body jewellery, but I always tend to wait a week or so longer just to be on the safe side, as it’s not a good idea to take the jewellery out and start messing with it if it isn’t fully healed.

Do make sure your piercer uses Titanium (or Stainless Steel, depending on your skin). Although body jewellery comes in all shapes, sizes, and materials, it’s always a good idea to get your piercing done with titanium jewellery.  Titanium is lightweight, and is an elemental metal which doesn’t contain nickel – perfect for the piercing process.  Stainless Steel is also a popular material, and is a very safe material to use (apart from those with hypersensitivity issues, in which case titanium is highly recommended to avoid any reactions). 

So, there you have it guys! Some of the do’s and don’ts of piercings.  If you have any more that you’d like us to add, then please let us know in the comments. Don’t forget, we aren’t just a store that you can buy tattoo inks from, we also stock a huge range of piercing supplies to suit your piercing needs!

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