Facial piercings or piercing general are a great form of self expression, but it can be scary. There’s a few key tips you should know before starting your piercing journey. 

KEEP THEM CLEAN

Keeping your piercings clean is crucial. I recommend using NeilMed saline spray before bed and when you wake up in the morning. Cleaning your piercings avoids infections and the piercing wound closing. It also really helps to spray the saline spray on a Q-tip and gently rub the wound.  Using petroleum jelly on the pierced area will help keep the wound moist, which helps it it heal faster. 

KNOW YOUR ANATOMY 

Before you get a piercing consult with your piercer to make sure you have the correct anatomy for the piercing. Having the incorrect anatomy for a certain piercing can cause the chosen jewelry too intricate with your face correctly and put pressure on your tissue. You can also consult with a piercer to be fitted with the correct jewelry for your anatomy. 

KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR PIERCINGS

When you start noticing that the skin around your pierced area is looking red, puffy, or oozing yellowish liquid your piercing may be infected or showing signs of a starting infection. If you notice the skin around the piercing being raised you may have a keloid. When you believe you are starting to get an infected piercing wash your hands thoroughly before dealing with the infection,once you washed your hands soak a cotton ball in salt water and leave it on infected area for a few minutes, once you’ve done that spread some antibacterial cream. You can also turn the jewelry a few times to prevent it to sticking to the skin

HEALING PROCESS 

During the first few weeks of having your new piercing you can expect some slight bleeding, swelling, tenderness and/or bruising. It may seem a bit gross however it is normal and common to expect crust to build up around the jewelry. When you have the jewelry in for a while the tissue may tighten around the jewelry while it’s healing. If the jewelry isn’t moving freely around the pierced area, don’t force it!!

PERSONAL EXPERIENCES 

I asked a few people to tell me about their personal experiences with piercings, Emma Karaim said “I have 4 lobe piercings and 1 nostril piercing and the lobe piercings didn’t hurt at all and the nostril piercing honestly hurt pretty bad but I’m a girl so I lived through it”  Secondly I ask a former student at Tahoma, he explained. “I have both my lobes done on both sides. My cartilage is pierced. Then I have my right nostril and my eyebrow. The lobes weren’t bad at all. I had to get my cartilage re-pierced recently, it was only like a bee sting that messes up your nerves a bit. I had an amazing piercer for my eyebrow, didn’t feel anything really, I didn’t even know it was finished. For my nose it really wasn’t too painful but the tearing was kind of annoying.”

If you’re still thinking about getting the piercing after reading these, DO IT!! Have a smooth and safe piercing journey folks.