Basic Cleaning Instructions for Piercings

Each body is unique and every piercing is different. In general, here are some piercing tips from EZ Tattoo to keep your piercing clean:

1. Wash your hands with an antibacterial soap.

2. Gently remove the lymph discharge by spraying sea salt solution onto the piercing and the jewelry. Q-tip may help but watch those cotton fibers. The discharge/crust is hard and sharp and will form around the piercing holes and onto the jewelry. If you notice discomfort when trying to move the jewelry, repeat removal until the jewelry moves freely. Never force the jewelry to move because this may draw waste back into the piercing or dislodge the piercing tunnel. …. This could cause tearing also. Doing this once a day after your shower is best.

3. Once the jewelry and piercing holes are free of discharge/crust on both sides, gently re-apply a small amount of sea salt to the piercing area.  Allow to absorb into piercing. Spray piercing every 4-6 hours until bedtime. Repeat every day until healed. It is also good to clean your jewelry once healed, it keeps up good hygiene.

Tips on healing a new piercing properly. Until the healing is complete….

1. No oral contact (including your own saliva) or exchanging of bodily fluids in/on or around the piercing.

2. Always Wash Your Hands with an antibacterial soap if have to touch your piercing.

3. Avoid handling the piercing or jewelry after touching anything because it will increase the chance of cross contamination. DON’T CHANGE TO EARLY.

4. Make sure that everything (clothing, towels, sheets, pillow cases, hats, etc) that may come into contact with the piercing are clean.

Also avoid contact with shampoos, cosmetics, hairsprays, sun block, tanning oils, lotions, and sand etc.

5. Do not submerge the piercing during the first stage of healing into any body of water (natural waters, hot tubs, swimming pools, etc.) Take a shower, not baths.  Especially chlorine waters avoid. NO BANDAIDS.

6. No fake or real tanning, no direct sun to piercing.

Avoid abuse and irritation: LEAVE YOUR PIERCING ALONE! ONLY TOUCH IT TO CLEAN. The more you baby your piercing the better it will heal. Here are some tips of things to avoid while your piercing is healing:

1. Avoid clothing that is too tight, abrasive, irritating and/or may limit oxygen flow to the piercing. For Navel Piercings wear low waist pants. No belt buckles that will rub when you sit.

2. Avoid sleeping on the piercing or other contact.

3. Avoid using harsh cleaning agents like Alcohol, Witch Hazel, Hydrogen Peroxide, Bactine, and Betadine.

4. Avoid Using antibacterial and any other ointments. (ex. Neosporin). They tend to block the flow of oxygen to the piercing hider the natural discharge development and/or provide a place for contaminants to breed.

If you have any questions or concerns about the healing process feel free to call the shop and talk to your artist at: (480) 941-8720.

For Tongue/Oral Piercings

The first three days are the most important: ….

1. Keep ice in your mouth constantly for the first three days or longer. Cold water also helps the swelling.

2. Don’t talk  much. Don’t stick it out, play with it, or move it around at all (if you can help it) for the next few days or longer. ….

3. Rinse after anything goes in your mouth for the first two weeks. The best rinses are alcohol-free such as H2Ocean, Tech-2000, Be-Fresh and Biotene.

4. In a few days, a small amount of body fluid discharge will form around the hole. It will go away. For lip piercings you have surface and oral tissue to heal so follow general piercing aftercare instructions as well.

5. Continue aftercare until fully healed. Everyday good hygiene keeps piercing from being stinky or tasting bad.

Some bruising, redness, swelling and white skin tissue inside is normal for the first few days.

Try to refrain from any smoking or straw usage as it creates a vacuum in your mouth and could pull and irritate your piercing.

It is important to down size your jewelry after swelling has gone away to avoid it clinking around, chipping teeth, etc. Acrylic balls are also useful to avoid breaking or chipping teeth on tongue barbells.

It is good to brush your jewelry once you’re fully healed as plaque will build up on barbell. Changing your jewelry to new pieces every few months is also good, too, considering it’s inside your mouth.

Refrain from kissing, licking, sucking as well as any oral situations, body fluids, semen and others’ saliva.

Do not use peroxide as a mouth rinse.

When in doubt, give us a call!

EZ Tattoo is Scottsdale’s oldest and most respected tattoo shop. The Scottsdale tattoo shop employs some of the best tattoo artists in the Phoenix area. These artists also specialize in body piercing.

EZ Tattoo is one of the only tattoo shops in Phoenix that performs spore tests every two weeks on its equipment. The shop sends the samples it gets from itsautoclave (an instrument used to sterilize equipment) machine in to an independent lab regularly, ensuring that all equipment is sterile and your tattoo experience is a safe one.

Next, EZ Tattoo promotes safe tattoo work by utilizing stainless steel wherever it can (stainless steel is much easier to clean and sterilize) and employs separate “clean” and “dirty” rooms for its equipment, removing the rick of cross-contamination.

EZ Tattoo offers innovative and professional service in a clean, safe and state-of-the-art studio located conveniently one mile of Loop 101 at 909 N. Hayden Road in Scottsdale. For more information on the Scottsdale tattoo shop, please call (480) 941-8720 or visit www.ez-tattoo.com.