Before touching your piercing, clean your hands thoroughly with an anti-bacterial soap.

BODY PIERCING AFTERCARE:

SALINE SOLUTION - apply to a q-tip and gently clean all the crusties off. You may need a couple q-tips. Clean every morning and every night. You may clean mid day if needed.

BACTINE FIRST AID SPRAY - apply to a q-tip and gently clean all the crusties off. Use once every other day. If it feels like your piercing is 'drying out', use Bactine once every 3 - 4 days.

Crusties are the body's natural healing fluid, you want to clean them off as you don't want them pulling inside of your piercing. If you get a 'bump' beside your piercing it means that you have not cleaned well enough and you have a crusty inside that is festering. You will want to drain this as it can become infected.

Be careful not to hit or pull on your jewelry for the first week. All piercings need at least a week to toughen-up, they can be torn very easily.

Redness is a normal reaction to a piercing, and you will have white stuff coming out. Avoid peroxide and rubbing alcohol. If you think it is infected come in and show us.

If your friends want to tell you how to heal a piercing, they can open their own shop.

ORAL PIERCING AFTERCARE:

LISTERINE MOUTHWASH - rinse with Listerine for 1 minute when you get up and before bed. For the first 2 days rinse with half Listerine and half water to avoid over swelling. Only rinse with Listerine twice per day to avoid over swelling.

SALT-WATER - mix salt into a bottle of water. If you are using tap water, boil it first then let it cool. Rinse with this after every meal or drink.

**TONGUE PIERCINGS** - Brush your teeth 3 times per day, gently brush the bottom ball for food . Do not brush your tongue. Tighten the balls every time you drink or eat. Alcohol and nicotine encourage swelling and infection and should be avoided while healing a tongue piercing. Avoid all dairy products, citrus products, spicy foods, and other people's bodily fluids for 2 weeks. Slurpees are good as they help with swelling. Pop should be avoided as the fizz can irritate the tongue.

TIGHTEN THE BALLS ON ALL THREADED JEWELRY DAILY.

Changing jewelry too soon can cause infection and delay healing. Be sure you are putting nickel-free surgical steel or titanium in your body. Clean all jewelry before you put it in your piercing.

Here are some general healing times...

Navel -1 year

Nose - 2 - 3 months

Cartilage - 1 year

Brow- 4 - 6 months

Lip - 4 - 6 months

Tongue - 2 weeks

The earliest you can change your jewelry...

Navel - 2 months

Nose - 2 months

Cartilage - 2 months

Brow - 2 months

Lip - 1 month

Tongue - 2 weeks

*If you are having concerns on how your piercing is healing, please come down and show us. It is hard to give answers or advice on the phone , we need to see what is happening with your piercing. If your friends want to tell you how to heal a piercing, they can open their own shop. If you are unhappy with your piercing, please see Sandra or Julia BEFORE removing the jewelry.*

NOT RECOMMENDED

1) Isopropyl Alcohol: It is inappropriate for piercings because it is very drying.

2) Betadine: It can cause an insensitivity to the product as well as an allergy.

3) Hydrogen Peroxide: NEVER use on fresh piercings, as the peroxide breaks down the newly formed tissue.

4) Medicated Ointments: Some people are allergic to bacitracin zinc or Neosporin. Dust and other airborne particles may stick to these types of ointments, causing possible entry to the piercing leading to infection.

Use of these products limits air circulation through the piercing, also these products are not disinfectants and do not clean the piercing.

WARNING
1) Avoid over cleaning as this could bring about more irritation and can cause the openings of the piercings to become dry and cracked.

2) Do not allow your piercing to come in contact with cosmetics, lotions or perfumes.

3) Do not use laundry detergents containing stain removing enzymes.

4) Do not allow your "body" piercings to come in contact with saliva and other bodily fluids.

5) Never swim in public pools, spas and hot tubs, as risk of exposure to bacteria is great. Also chlorine and other chemical agents used for sanitation causes excessive drying.

The Healing Process - After Your Piercing the healing process is divided into two parts

First Healing Phase: During the initial healing phase, the piercing must epithelialize - form new skin cells along the inside of the piercing, to protect the body from the foreign object. This process usually takes 6 to 8 weeks, unless the body rejects the jewelry.

The healing process may also be delayed if the piercing is fitted with jewelry of inappropriate design, gauge, or diameter/length. If the piercing is migrating or rejecting, it is in a continual state of non-healing. During the initial healing phase the piercing is open to infection and disease transmission - thus daily cleansing is essential.

The healing phase is characterized by an off-white, sticky discharge of plasma which dries to a crusty formation around the piercing entrances. There may be slight redness around the holes, swelling immediately around the piercing, and some tenderness; these symptoms should steadily subside during the first few weeks.

During the second and third month, the piercing may feel tight around the jewelry. The entrances of the piercing should start to round inwards, much like a donut hole. This indicates that the piercing has formed its epithelium; the new skin around the inside of the piercing. The newly formed skin can easily be dislodged, so you should not force the jewelry to rotate without first applying a proper cleaning solution and warm water. The piercing may need to soak in warm water to allow the skin to expand so that the jewelry can be rotated.

If you plan to keep your piercing, do not remove your jewelry for any length of time during the healing process. If a jewelry change is needed due to a metal sensitivity or dimension concerns, an insertion taper should be used to keep it open. Some jewelry switches can be executed by pushing the old jewelry out with the new jewelry.

The Second Phase: Healing involves seasoning or toughening of the newly healed tissue, so that it is the same as the skin outside the piercing. Most body piercings require at least a year or two before they can be left empty without the risk of growing closed. After the piercing has toughened, it would probably not grow closed if jewelry is not worn for a length of time, but it may shrink considerably, in which case stretching with an insertion taper is required to reinsert the jewelry.

KELOIDS
Keloids are thick, puckered, itchy clusters of scar tissue that grow beyond the edges of the wound or the incision. They are often red or darker in color than the surrounding skin. Keloids occur when the body continues to produce the tough, fibrous protein known as Collagen after a wound has healed. Keloids can appear any where on the body. They appear more often in dark skinned people than in those with fair skin. The tendency to develop keloids lessens with age. No matter what approach is taken, keloids have a stubborn tendency to recur, sometimes even larger than before.

Please take care in changing your own jewelry as it can easily be scratched, bent or stripped.

Warning
For health reasons, jewelry may not be returned or exchanged.

We do not have a problem taking a look at your piercing if you have concerns... we are professionals and will often be able to help you, even with the most troublesome piercing... but we can also tell when it hasn't been taken care of. If you develop serious problems we will likely send you to see a physician.