CAN I MAKE A PIERCING HEAL FASTER?

It’s understandable that once you have your new piercing, you want it to be healed as soon as possible. Aftercare gets annoying, and you probably can’t wait to start wearing all sorts of new jewelry.

Unfortunately, patience is imperative when it comes to healing. Everyone heals at their own pace, and even if you do everything right, your piercing still might take a while to heal.

However, while you can’t do much to make your piercing heal faster, there are ways to keep your piercing from healing slower.

Here are some ways that you can ensure that you don’t delay your piercing healing period.

CLEAN YOUR PIERCING 2 – 3 TIMES A DAY

This is the basic rule of aftercare, but some people have a hard time adhering to this rule. However, it’s so important that you do so.

Using a high-quality piercing aftercare solution, like Neil Med Piercing Aftercare will help keep your piercing clean and free from harmful microbes. Infections or other complications from microbes will surely slow down your healing process; if you want your piercing healed as quickly as possible, make sure you keep it clean.

DON’T PICK AT THE CRUSTIES

Crusties are a natural part of any healing piercing, but they can be annoying. It might be tempting to pick at them in order to remove them. However, this can cause skin irritation and/or damage to the piercing site that will impede healing.

YOU MIGHT BE TEMPTED TO PICK AT CRUSTIES, BUT THAT COULD PROLONG HEALING.

Instead, lightly dab at the crusties with a paper towel soaked in clean, purified water to gently soak the crusties away. Be careful when you do this; you should never twist or pull at the jewelry. Once the crusties become damp enough, they should go away on their own without any scrubbing.

MAKE SURE THAT YOUR PIERCING IS FULLY HEALED BEFORE STOPPING AFTERCARE

Often, a piercing appears healed before it’s fully healed on the inside. This makes it easy to assume that the piercing is healed when it isn’t. If you change the jewelry or stop aftercare practices before the piercing is fully healed, it could cause complications that prolong healing.

Be sure to talk to a piercing professional to make sure that your piercing is fully healed. Even if you’ve waited the complete healing period, you should have a professional take a look. The estimated healing times for each piercing are minimums, and some people see longer healing periods. Play it safe and talk to someone before stopping aftercare practices.

KEEP YOUR PIERCING DRY

Many piercing complications arise because the piercing gets damp and isn’t properly dried.

You should always stay away from pools, hot tubs, oceans, and any body of water as your piercing is healing, but you can’t avoid taking a shower. As you shower, do your best to keep your piercing free from any soap or shampoo, and ensure that your piercing is rinsed thoroughly before you’re finished.

DON’T TOUCH YOUR JEWELRY

When you have a new piece of hardware in your body, it can be easy to absentmindedly mess with it. Do your very best to refrain. Moving the jewelry too much can cause trauma to the skin or encourage other issues.

This goes for your clothing and other things you put near your piercing as well. For example, if you get a new daith piercing, it’s probably a good idea to stay away from ear buds for a while.

Be careful when you’re around things that might snag your piercing, like when you’re changing your clothing. Besides being painful, snagged jewelry may traumatize the piercing site.

Most of us would love to have the shortest healing time possible, but that’s not always in our control. What we can control is any delays in healing. Be mindful of your piercing throughout the healing process, make sure that you’re keeping your piercing clean, and leave it alone as much as you can, and you shouldn’t see any complications that lead to delays in healing.

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The Pierced Athlete: How To Enjoy Your Piercing While Staying Fit

So, you’re an athlete, an outdoorsy type, an adventurer, someone who likes to stay active in life.

And, you want to get pierced.

Although it’s rare that a piercing will ruin your active lifestyle, there are some things that you need to keep in mind as you participate in your activity. (The last thing you want is to have your helix hoop get caught in your baseball/softball helmet when it flies off as you’re stealing second base.)

Here are some things that you need to keep in mind and tips on how to minimize snags, tears, and other complications.

MAKE SURE TO KEEP IT CLEAN AS IT HEALS, ESPECIALLY AT THE GYM

Keeping your healing piercing clean is a no brainer. Any piercer will tell you that you need to clean your piercing 2 – 3 times daily with a piercing aftercare solution. When you’re more active, you have to be extra mindful of this, especially when you’re at the gym.

While it is more than possible to continue your workout regimen as your piercing heals, there are a few hazards at the gym to avoid.

1. The mats and equipment are not clean. Even if you’re supposed to spray down your equipment after you use it, be honest, do you really wipe it down all that well? There’s going to be a lot of sweat, debris, and bacteria left on the equipment from hours of use. Just be sure that you keep your healing piercing off of the equipment, and don’t touch your jewelry until you’ve had a chance to wash your hands. It’s also a good idea to save one of your 2 – 3 cleaning times for immediately after you work out. Or, simply shower as soon as possible.

SWEAT WON’T HARM YOUR PIERCING, BUT WIPING IT AWAY WITH A DIRTY TOWEL MIGHT

2. Some workouts might require you to put pressure on the jewelry. Depending on the workout and the placement of the jewelry, you might have to put pressure on the jewelry as you go through your normal routine. One of the biggest rules of healing a piercing is that you shouldn’t touch or put pressure on the jewelry since it can impede healing. Before you get a piercing, consider your workout routine and whether it puts your piercing at risk. You can adjust your workout routine during healing to protect your piercing or choose a piercing that won’t be in the way.

3. You’re going to sweat. While sweat itself doesn’t harm a healing piercing, touching your piercing while wiping away sweat might. Remain mindful of your piercing as you work out, and refrain from wiping away sweat if it’s in the area of your piercing. When it becomes uncomfortable, you can dab away the sweat with a clean paper towel. Keep those sweat rags away; they can easily catch on the jewelry, and they harbor dirt and debris that’s best kept away from the piercing.

Your piercing shouldn’t pose a problem to your workout as long as you stay mindful of it and clean it immediately post-workout. But, it is something to keep in mind.

CHOOSE PROPER JEWELRY THAT WON’T SNAG

As your piercing heals, you’ll be limited to the types of jewelry that are safe for a healing piercing, and often it will have to be a little larger to accommodate any swelling. As it heals, remain mindful of your piercing, especially when you’re active.

Once your piercing heals, you’ll have a larger choice of jewelry to choose from. It’s a good idea to have jewelry picked out for when you’re participating in your activity of choice.

WEAR JEWELRY THAT SITS FLUSH WITH YOUR SKIN SO THAT IT DOESN’T SNAG WHILE YOU PLAY.

Jewelry that won’t easily snag is a must. Find some smaller pieces that will sit flush with the skin. If your piercing takes studs, choose flat back options with a small charm or bead. If it takes a hoop, circular barbell, or curved barbell, choose the smallest piece as possible (without pressing against the piercing holes). Consider a small circular barbell or a seamless hoop that sits close to the skin. (When in doubt, talk to your piercer about it.)

Stay away from organic materials, like wood or glass, because they are more likely to break, which could injure you.

CAREFULLY CONSIDER THE PIERCING THAT YOU’RE GETTING

You need to seriously think about the piercing that you want and whether its location and healing time will affect your active lifestyle.

As a piercing heals, it’s important that the jewelry stays as still as possible. So, if you get a navel piercing, and you have the goal of doing 50 sit-ups a day, it’s probably not going to work out.

YOU CAN’T GO SWIMMING UNTIL YOUR PIERCING HAS FULLY HEALED. IF YOU’RE A SWIMMER, THIS COULD BE A PROBLEM.

If you can put your activity on pause for the healing period, then you should be fine. However, depending on the location of the piercing and how well you take care of it, piercings can take anywhere from 6 weeks to one year or more to heal. This can pose an issue for your training.

If you’re unsure, consult a piercer, and talk to them about your training, activities, and anything that might impede healing for the piercing that you want to get, and they’ll let you know whether or not the piercing is a good idea for you.

A note for swimmers: You cannot swim while your piercing is healing. There are some piercing types, like the lobe and the septum, that can take as little as 6 weeks to heal (but it could take longer), so if you can stop training for that long, those piercing types could be for you. Otherwise, you probably shouldn’t get pierced.

PROTECT THE PIERCING AND JEWELRY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE

Many people are tempted to bandage new piercings with an adhesive to protect it as it’s healing, but this is a bad idea; the adhesive bandage doesn’t allow the piercing to breathe, and it could cause some issues.

Instead, if your new piercing is in an area that poses a snag risk, you can wear cotton garments that cover the jewelry (as long as they’re not too tight).

For example, if you are healing nipple piercings, you can wear a cotton tank top or tee shirt that’s tight enough to secure the jewelry without placing pressure or a cotton bra to keep the piercing safe as you play.

While being active in itself won’t keep you from being pierced, there are unique considerations that you need to make. For any activity, the most important things to remember are that the jewelry needs to move as little as possible, there shouldn’t be too much pressure on the jewelry, and you should shower and/or clean the jewelry with a piercing aftercare saline solution immediately after your activity. If you pay attention to those things, then you should be able to enjoy your new piercing just fine.

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Navel Piercing Aftercare: Everything You Need To Know For Healthy Healing

Because the navel piercing is located in the abdomen, there are certain things that you need to avoid throughout the healing process to ensure that your piercing heals safely.

• Try not to put pressure on the jewelry. This means that you should stay away from tight clothing, and try not to slouch when you sit to avoid squishing the jewelry between the tummy rolls that the majority of us tend to have.
• Avoid sandy beaches as well as pools, lakes, and baths. This means that you should probably wait to get your navel pierced in the fall when you have plenty of time to let your piercing heal before beach season hits.
• If you are engaging in activities that cause your piercing to hurt, you may be setting yourself up for a piercing that wants to migrate or reject. Be careful with any activities where your fresh navel piercing is severely irritated, like certain yoga poses.
• If you plan on getting pregnant, then you should wait to get your navel pierced. Similarly, if you plan on going through an extreme body weight change, a new piercing might be better saved for later.
• Choose looser clothing. Tight clothing can put pressure on the jewelry, poses a snag risk, and it could irritate the area.
• Take care of yourself, and limit alcohol intake, cigarettes, and other substances that may be harmful to the body.

Overall, navel piercing aftercare is no different than any other piercing. However, it is unique because of the significant healing period and its vulnerable position. As long as you keep your piercing clean, take care of yourself, and remain mindful throughout the healing process, then you shouldn’t encounter any issues.

CAN EVERYONE GET A NAVEL PIERCING?

The truth is that your anatomy will determine whether or not you can get a navel piercing.

If your belly button frequently folds inward, particularly when you slouch or sit, your piercer might advise against the navel piercing only because the healing process might be more difficult for you. Too much pressure will likely be placed on the jewelry, increasing risk of rejection. This can happen in any body type, so you shouldn’t take offense if your piercer suggests another piercing; they want your piercing to be successful, and not all bodies can accommodate every piercing, regardless of location.

If you have an outie belly button, you might not be able to get the navel piercing, depending upon the type of belly button you have. If this is the case, have a piercer take a look to determine whether a navel piercing is suitable for you.

IF YOU’RE TRYING TO GET PREGNANT, YOU SHOULD WAIT TO GET YOUR NAVEL PIERCED UNTIL LATER

If you’re pregnant or trying to get pregnant, you shouldn’t get a belly piercing simply because it takes a long time to heal, and your growing belly will impede the healing process. However, a healed belly piercing usually does just fine during pregnancy, and many pregnant women enjoy their belly piercing for the entire pregnancy.

If you’ve had surgery in the belly button area, you may or may not be able to have your navel pierced, depending on the scar tissue in the area and the type of surgery that you’ve had. Have your piercer take a look to let you know whether a navel piercing is possible for you.

Keep in mind that the piercing might have to be done at an angle, according to your anatomy. Your piercer will let you know the safest way to get your belly button pierced. If it’s not exactly in the location that you pictured, remember that your piercer wants your piercing to look good and be healthy. Their placement will be determined by the shape of your belly button.

The belly button piercing is an adorable addition to your summer look, but it does take a considerable amount of time to heal. Make sure that you’re willing to commit to aftercare practices before you get your navel pierced. If you’re able to take care of it for the entire healing period, and you have the suitable anatomy, then you shouldn’t see any issues.

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