Have you recently got a new piercing, be it ears, nose or belly button? I’ll tell you now, while it’s always fun to have something new and shiny to look at, caring for piercings is not always quite as fun. The regular care it takes to ensure your piercing stays clean and healthy can get tedious, but I promise you that once you’re over the hill of treating it daily (sometimes more!) it will all be worth it. Because I’m sure everyone can agree, while an infected nose ring might distract from that pimple on your forehead, it definitely isn’t doing your face any favours. Follow these simple tips to ensure your new piercings stay clean and oh-so pretty.
Wash your hands
While it’s a given that we all wash our hands frequently throughout the day, when it comes to piercings, things get a little more serious. Make sure you buy an anti-bacterial wash, which will double up as a cleanser for your piercing (and any nasty spots on your face). Wash your hands with a dollop of the cleanser before cleaning your piercing. Something you might want to try (if discount chemist home brand isn’t your style) is La Biosthetique Méthode Clarifiante Likopan, with antibacterial properties that will help prevent inflammation around your piercing.
Don’t touch it!
Following on from the hand-washing, one of the most important things to remember is to not touch it! While a new earring might be fun to swivel around, or a new nose stud might be entertaining to poke, this is the fastest way to spread germs and infect those pretty little piercings.
Spray it
Get your hands on a cute little bottle of antibacterial disinfectant spray. A couple of times a day (generally no more than three), spritz it on your new piercing. This just makes sure that any little nasty germs picked up throughout the day will catch a whiff of your spray and die faster than it takes to touch-up your make-up.
Treat it with care (and don’t be impatient)
The usual time frame to leave your new piercing is 8-12 weeks. After this time, you can change the studs in your ears to lovely long hoops, or swap the boring silver thing in your nose to something a bit more glamorous. It’s best to be cautious when you decide to swap out your original jewellery for something more adventurous. This means using hypoallergenic metals and smaller studs before moving on to the more adventurous styles. Try Blomdahl’s range of jewellery for studs that are stylish and skin friendly.
Trust the Professionals
If there’s any piece of advice I find most important to share, it’s to pick a trustworthy piercing parlour, and stay loyal. For a new piercing, particularly if it’s something a bit trickier, it’s worth doing your homework to see which places are least likely to stuff things up. This is vital because if anything does go wrong, or you want to ask something urgent, it definitely pays to have someone trustworthy to bail you out.
Have you had any new piercings lately? How do you care for your new piercings?
