The short answer
Wash, spray, dry, and leave it alone.
Wash your hands before touching the area, use packaged sterile saline wound wash as directed, rinse away soap and shampoo in the shower, and dry gently with a clean disposable product. Keep the piercing dry between rinses, and do not twist or rotate the jewelry.
Cleaning routine
Keep it uncomplicated
- Wash your hands firstOnly touch the piercing when cleaning or when you genuinely need to check it.
- Use sterile saline wound washLook for packaged saline with 0.9% sodium chloride as the active ingredient and no added moisturizers or antibacterials.
- Rinse as instructedDo not force jewelry to move. Rotating it is unnecessary and can irritate the healing tissue.
- Soften buildup; do not pickLet warm shower water or sterile saline soften dried matter. Gently remove only what comes away easily with clean disposable gauze or a cotton swab.
- Dry gentlyUse a clean disposable product and pat carefully. Avoid snagging the jewelry with a cloth towel.
Protect it during everyday activities
Be mindful while washing or styling your hair, changing clothes, using headphones, wearing hats or glasses, and sleeping. Pressure, friction, and snagging can irritate a fresh piercing or affect its angle.
Exercise and sweating are generally fine if the activity does not jostle or press on the piercing. Keep it away from shared gym equipment and mats, and choose clean, comfortable clothing that does not rub the area.
What to avoid
- Mixing your own salt solution unless your piercer specifically instructs you to
- Alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, harsh soaps, antibacterial additives, or unapproved ointments
- Over-cleaning, picking crust, or repeatedly checking and moving the jewelry
- Pressure, friction, snagging, and sleeping directly on the piercing
- Changing or removing the initial jewelry without professional guidance
- Submerging the piercing in pools, hot tubs, lakes, oceans, or other shared water while it is healing
Showers are generally preferable to baths. Rinse soap and shampoo completely away from the piercing, then dry it carefully.
Healing is not always perfectly quiet
Early tenderness, localized swelling, mild discoloration, or a small amount of whitish-yellow fluid that dries into crust can occur. Piercings heal from the outside inward and may look settled before the channel is fully healed.
Healing time varies significantly by placement and person. Ask Felicia before downsizing, changing, or removing jewelry.
When to ask for help
Contact Felicia if the jewelry feels too tight or too loose, keeps catching, appears to be shifting, or the routine seems to make irritation worse.
Seek medical advice for severe or rapidly increasing swelling, new or worsening warmth, redness or pain, red streaks, pus, fever, signs of a serious allergic reaction, or anything that causes concern. These symptoms should not automatically be dismissed as irritation. If infection is possible, do not remove the jewelry on your own unless a qualified healthcare professional directs you to do so.
Sources and further reading
General information only. It does not replace placement-specific instructions or medical advice.