These are some of the questions I heard the past year. If your question isn't amongst them, let me know :)
1. How long does it take for a piercing to heal?
On average I would say 6 to 9 months for cartilage piercings. A pierced lobe (pierced with a needle) will heal a lot faster, 6 to 8 weeks.
For more information, read the following blog.
There are multiple stages to healing a piercing, in theory we talk about healed, when the scar tissue has been formed, which takes a year or longer.
In practice we talk about healed when the piercing doesn't feel sensitive to the touch, which takes around 6 months (for cartilage).
2. Do piercings hurt?
The pain level varies from person to person and from piercing to piercing.
The tools used for piercing and skills of the piercer have a lot of influence, but also your health or immune system; if you've eaten well that day, had a good nights sleep...
Common misconception is that a piercing needle hurts more than a piercing gun, this is absolutely false. A piercing blade hurts the least, followed by the European canula needle that's often used in European piercing studio's and the most painful is the piercing gun.
3. Can I swim with a fresh new piercing?
No. This includes, bathtubs, jacuzzi hot tubs, swimming pools, lakes, ocean...
Reasons are the cleanliness of the water, chemicals in the water, bacteria in the casing of the tubs...
Chlorine is a very harsh chemical for piercing and does almost as much damage to a piercing as alcohol.
Side note: the yellow color and shine of your gold can lighten when submerged in chlorine regularly.
We advise to not submerge your piercing in 'pools' of water during the first 6 weeks of healing. Longer is preferable.
4. What's the best jewelry for initial piercings?
Quality wise, I would say implant grade titanium for the post of a fresh or healing piercing. The top can be implant grade titanium or anything from 14 karat gold.
Style wise, it depends per piercing, but rings or not suitable to start most piercings.
5. How can I clean or care for a new piercing?
You can find my aftercare instructions here.
Taking care of the jewelry after the initial healing phase can be done with a soft baby toothbrush. I always keep one in the shower, whenever I wash my hair an have submerged my piercings for a long time under streaming warm water. Any crusties or buildup I might have, have loosened. I then brush them away gently in the shower with a very soft tooth brush. Don't forget to check that all your piercings are tightly closed after doing this.
6. Can I change my piercing jewerly during the healing stage?
Yes, your piercer can change your jewelry almost always, regardless how far along in your healing you are.
However, depending how far along in healing you are, the jewelry always has to be suited for the healing stage you are in.
Always consult with your piercer.
7.What should I avoid after getting a piercing?
Avoid touching or twisting the piercing.
Avoid direct pressure on the piercing.
Avoid chemicals or alcohol on the piercing.
Avoid snagging the piercing when changing clothes, when hugging someone, when washing / styling your hair...
8.Can I get pierced while pregnant or breastfeeding.
No, you can't get pierced while pregnant. Yes, you could get pierced while breastfeeding (not nipple piercing)
2 reasons. 1, you need a healthy immune system to heal a piercing, when you are pregnant you're immune system is totally busy doing other stuff and has no spare energy to heal a piercing on the side. Healing goes extreeeemely slow while being pregnant which brings me to reason number 2, when healing goes this slow, or when your immune system is busy doing other things, your piercing has a much bigger window and risk of getting infected, getting irritated... If you are pregnant, and your piercing gets infected, this can be very harmful for the foetus.
While breastfeeding, your immune system is still a bit weakened but better already. So healing will be a bit slower than normal, but doable. The only thing I like to mention is that you can't sleep on a healing piercing. Depending if it's your good side or bad side, your sleep is very important as a new mother.
If you are comfortable sleeping with a travel pillow etc than you are more than welcome.
9.How do I choose the right piercing studio?
Your first red flag should be, when they own a piercing gun. Any piercer that has even a minimum knowledge of how a piercing heals and how it impacts the body, automatically knows why we would never use a piercing gun under any circumstance. If you do use it as a professional, you do not care about your clients health or have no knowledge of the above.
Studios using externally threaded jewelry (jewelry that has the threading on the post) or studios piercing with silver and / or surgical steal, should be another red flag. More info, click here.
For hygiene, sterility and safety reasons, you should be pierced in a separate piercing room, dedicated to piercing only. Not in the front or somewhere in the studio.
Your jewelry and piercing tools should be sterilised while you are watching.
10. Can I bring my own jewelry for a piercing.
99% of the time, no you cannot.
If the jewelry is still inside an unopened sterilisation sealbag, the brand and quality of the jewelry is verifiable and the jewelry type + size are suitable for the piercing you want. Then it would be possible.
If you need any help during your healing journey, styling your piercings or deciding on what piercing is actually a good fit for you, go book yourself an appointment and we'll take it from there.