Piercing Aftercare 

- Always wash your hands before cleaning your piercing.

- Clean your piercing twice a day with a sterilised saline solution. We recommend Neil Meds piercing aftercare fine mist.

- Do not twist or touch your jewellery! Touching your piercing will increase the healing time, increase the risk of infection and can cause pressure bumps. 

- Downsize your jewellery in the timeframe recommended on your aftercare card, generally 2-3 months. 

- Do not sleep on your piercing until you have downsized your jewellery, you run the risk of your piercing healing crooked and forming pressure bumps.

- Return any time for a check up or further after care advice.

- Always consult with your doctor if you suspect you have an infection.

ORAL PIERCINGS:

- Rinse your mouth 2x daily and after every meal with alcohol free mouth wash or mild salt water.

- Downsize your jewellery in 2 WEEKS, you may require a further downsize in the following 2 weeks. 

- Do not twist, touch or play with your jewellery. 

- Do not consume alcohol or smoke cigarettes  for 2 weeks. Alcohol and smoking will increase swelling and can cause bleeding. 

- Do not consume dairy for 2 weeks. Dairy can cause oral thrush.

- Do not consume spicy or acidic food and drinks while you are healing. 

- Cold and Iced drinks are your friend.

PRESSURE BUMP OR KELOID?

A common misconception is that the small pressure bump that can form on your new piercing is a keloid scar. Initially piercing bumps and keloids can look the same. 

Both Piercing bumps and keloids start as are small lumps on the site of the piercing that appear pink or flesh coloured. However, keloids will grow in size, often extending beyond the piercing site and darken in colour.  

PRESSURE BUMPS

Pressure bumps are small lumps of inflammation that occurs due to the bodies immune response. Pressure bumps can occur for a multitude of reasons, these being the most common:

- Touching, twisting and playing with your jewellery.

- Sleeping on your fresh piercing before you have downsized.

- Changing your jewellery too early.

- Leaving your initial jewellery in for longer than the recommended downsize period.

- Trauma from catching or snagging your piercing.

-Picking the scabbing and crusties. 

- Skin irritation due to the metal in the jewellery.

How to treat a pressure bump:

-Clean piercing 2x daily with a saline solution.

-Dry Piercing with a clean cotton pad or hairdryer on the cool setting after cleaning and showering. 

-Do not touch jewellery 

-Do not sleep on piercing 

KELOID SCARRING

The exact cause of Keloids is unclear but they grow when the body produces too much collagen when a scar forms. Keloid scarring is harmless but can grow large in size.

If you suspect you have a keloid scar, seek your doctor for treatment advice.

For more advice on piercing aftercare visit Cat at Shadow Craft Tattoo.