Genital Piercing Aftercare
It's Time To Start Your Healing Journey!
Now that the piercing is done, it's time to start our healing journey!
At the end of your appointment, we should have given you a card with our info and your sizes and healing information, this indicates what size you are pierced with and when you are due for a downsize and checkup as well as an average healed date, this is approximate due to your piercing location and anatomy, this can change if there are any issues that disrupt healing, you should always consult with me if you have any questions or concerns.
You should not change your jewelry yourself until you are fully healed.
Now that we know how long it is going to take to heal, lets go over how to properly care for your new piercing!
HOW TO PROPERLY CARE FOR YOUR NEW PIERCING!
Clean It
To properly care for your piercing you should start by washing your hands thoroughly with soap, once your hands are clean you can begin to either rinse your piercing with warm running water from the shower head for around 30 seconds or if a shower isn't possible, you should rinse using a sterile saline spray, soaking off any secretions created by the healing skin.
You can use a non-woven gauze to help soak off any secretions but be wary of Qtips, they can sometimes leave tiny fibres behind that can cause irritation.
Downsizing
On the back of your card, you should have been given a downsize date, this means that enough time has passed for the irrigation stage of healing to be over, at this point your swelling should be gone and your piercing is ready to be switch to a more fitted piece which will allow the piercing to continue to heal.
Downsizing does not mean your piercing is healed. Please contact us around your downsize date, we'd be happy to check your progress and switch you out to your fitted piece if you are ready! There is no charge for checkups or changes, just pay for your new jewelry.
THINGS TO AVOID
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No touching, spinning or picking at your piercing. Your hands go through so much throughout the day, bacteria can easily be transferred to your piercing as well as unnecessary touching or spinning can severely damage your piercing.
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No sleeping on your piercing or wearing anything on top of your piercing that applies pressure. One of the biggest issues for healing piercings is pressure, during healing any pressure can restrict blood flow, irrigation and can cause migration leading to the required removal of your piercings. If you are a side sleeper, a travel pillow can help you sleep comfortably without risking your piercing.
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Swelling, redness, dry skin- all these things are natural during the different healing stages. Trying piercing hacks you see on the internet will most likely lead to irritation, infection and possible irreparable damage to not only your piercing, but your jewelry too. So no tea tree oil, aspirin, antibacterial soap, salt water mixes or anything i didn't directly tell you to use.
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Swimming, tubing, lake trips and the ocean all have their own ecosystems and tiny microorganisms that live inside of it, and none of those things are suitable for a healing wound. Public pools, hot tubs and backyard pools have filtration systems and chemicals that help keep bacteria to a minimum, but these precautions are only effective for common bacteria, they have little effect for serious bacteria such as staph and MRSA. You should wait until your fully healed date on your aftercare card until you swim.
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I know, the ring is super cute. But you know what isn't cute?
The dreaded bump! Bumps form when the natural healing is interrupted, this could be from a wide range of things, touching, spinning, sleeping on your piercing, but one of the most common issues is changing to a ring too early.
Changing the shape of the wound part-way through is going to have complications, you should wait until your healed date before switching to a ring. -
Once your piercing is healed, you may be tempted by mall kiosks and cheap body jewelry, these items are usually made of unsafe and toxic materials and can damage not only your piercing, but also your health. Only jewelry made of implant grade materials should ever be worn.
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It's important to give your piercing and your body parts lots of room to breathe and heal. Oral sex and Sexual contact should be avoided until your downsize appointment, this ensures that any irrigations of the wound won't be transferred during sexual contact and minimizes chances of bacterial transfer and trauma. Also, activities like yoga positions that need to put pressure on your piercing should be avoided until you are healed the same goes for any contact sports.