3 Tips For Healing Your Piercing—And The Best Products To Use

This article covers 3 important tips for healing a piercing and the products you can use to achieve a healed and healthy result!

When you’re about to get a new piercing, many people turn to blogs, social media posts, and articles for advice on how to care for it. There are countless “do’s” and “don'ts” in the piercing world, and they often lack the context you might be looking for. For example: “You need to keep the piercing dry.” It sounds straightforward, but when you’re standing in the bathroom with a saline-solution-drowned piercing, you might find yourself wondering whether to use a towel, toilet paper, a Q-tip, or even a hairdryer to dry up the extra moisture! I’m here to add clarification to some of these tips and recommend products that have helped me on my piercing healing journey.

Here are some tips and their respective products that can help heal your piercing.

✅Tip #1: Keep Your Piercing Dry

➡️Reasoning: A new piercing that is frequently exposed to saline solution, water, or sweat and isn't dried properly can harbor harmful bacteria, which can hinder the healing process. While you might be tempted to use a towel or Q-tip to dry the area, these methods can introduce bacteria and small fibers into the wound.

➡️Solution: To dry a piercing without physically touching it, try using air! Some people use hair dryers on a low setting, but they can be noisy and sometimes irritating for a new piercing. Instead, consider using a small handheld fan.

➡️Product: Handheld Fan​​

✅Tip #2: Avoid Overhandling or Overcleaning Your Piercing

➡️Reasoning: Overcleaning a piercing is more common than you might think. While it’s tempting to keep your piercing completely free of crusties, the key is to avoid touching it as much as possible. A piercing is essentially a fresh wound, and handling it too much can increase the risk of infection, irritation, and scar tissue formation.

➡️Solution: Make your cleanings as effective as possible. While in the shower, let semi-warm water run over the piercing to help loosen any dried blood or debris. If you need to touch or remove crusties, use pointed Q-tips, which are more precise and minimize contact compared to rounded Q-tips. Be careful when using them to avoid further irritation.

➡️Product: Pointed Q-Tips

✅Tip #3: Do Not Sleep on Your Piercing

➡️Reasoning: Imagine someone sitting on you for eight hours—by the time they stand up, you’d likely feel sore and irritated. That’s exactly how your piercing will react if you sleep on it! While it may seem harmless, sleeping on your piercing can lead to swelling and discomfort.

➡️Solution: A simple solution is to sleep on your stomach, back, or the opposite side. You can also try bending your arm in a way that creates space between your ear and the pillow. For a more long-term solution, consider investing in a donut-shaped pillow. While some people use airplane neck pillows, they can be too elevated and awkward. I recommend this donut-shaped piercing pillow.

➡️Product:Donut Piercing Pillow