Getting a new piercing is super exciting, but there are a few things to consider to help your piercing to heal well so you can start enjoying it! From choosing the right studio initially through to cleaning and things to avoid doing, we’ve got it all covered.

Choose Your Piercing Studio Carefully

The first thing you should do is to choose your piercing studio carefully. We’d always recommend choosing either a legitimate piercing studio or a tattoo studio. Choosing a shop that also does piercings will likely not be as safe and sterile as studios specifically designed for piercings, so we’d recommend doing local research to find one, or asking family and friends for recommendations. From the hygiene procedures through to the technique used to pierce with and also the type of jewellery they will pierce with (should only ever be solid gold earrings or sterling silver), the overall expertise in the industry will help you to get the best and safest results.

Be Prepared For It To Take A Few Months To Heal

Before you have your piercing, you should be prepared for it to take a few months to heal. It will take at least 6-8 weeks, or closer to 12 weeks or more for cartilage piercings. So, during this time, you will need to be careful with the piercing, ideally keeping it out of pools and the sea. If you’ve had a cartilage piercing and you have something like a tragus earring, you also need to avoid sleeping on the piercing, as it can cause it to move out of position in the ear. Being patient here is key and don’t be tempted to rush and change your piercing sooner than your piercer suggested.

Clean It Every Morning and Evening

When your piercing is healing, you need to be cleaning it once or twice a day for at least 4-6 weeks, or however long your piercer advises. You may think that your piercing is healed, however it’s not always fully healed when we think it is, so this helps to prevent infections and help it to heal in a healthy way. You may need to clean cartilage piercings for slightly longer to assist with the healing process.

Don’t Twist!

Something that is really tempting when we get a new piercing is to twist it to help with healing, however this isn’t the case! You shouldn’t twist a piercing unless it’s a small twist when cleaning, as it can irritate the skin and delay healing, as well as leading to infections or even scarring if your hands aren’t completely clean. So, make sure that you keep your hands away from the piercing aside from when you’re cleaning it, and try your best to avoid twisting it.