After-Care FAQ's

1. What do I use to clean my new piercing?

It all depends on the piercing; genital, navel and nipple piercings should be cleaned with antiseptic soap or an anti-bacterial body wash. Tongues should be cleaned with an antiseptic mouthwash. Any other surface piercings should be cleaned with a piercer-recommended antiseptic lotion.

2. The skin around my piercing has moved away from the jewellery. It's red and itches, and a small rash has formed in the area. What should I do?

It sounds like an allergy to the metal in the jewellery. Change the jewellery to titanium, niobium, pure gold, PTFE or acrylic-containing jewellery.

3. I have a small bump on the bottom of my tongue piercing, what should I do?

This is called a Granuloma, and can be caused by aggravation where the ball sits in the base of the mouth or by collisions with the teeth. To solve this problem, gently brush the area with a whitening toothpaste

4. The ball on my piercing is sinking under my skin - what should I do?

It sounds like you're wearing the wrong size of jewellery. Change the jewellery to a larger size or seek the advice of your local piercer

5. The skin around my piercing is very dry-looking - what's causing this?

The cleaning solution you are using could be too harsh or if you are using salt water, the salt water ratio you are using may be incorrect. Change to a mild anti-bacterial solution or if using salt water make sure the solution is about a quarter of a teaspoon of salt to 8 fluid ounces of water and only use sea salt, not table salt or use a ready made saline solution

6. The skin around my piercing is very dry-looking and there is a small rash - what could be causing this?

This could be an allergy to the cleaning solution or overuse of the cleaning solution; it could also be a reaction to any solutions used to prep the area to be pierced or to any anaesthetics, if used. Once determined where the problem could have been caused, it needs to be rectified, i.e. change the cleaning solution being used or continue to clean with mild antibacterial solution and it will die down.