HOW TO CARE FOR NEWLY PIERCED EARS

24 February 2020 - H.Samuel | Editor

Getting your ears pierced can be a fairly daunting experience. Once the anticipation, excitement and anxiety are out the way and your ears are freshly pierced, the journey with your new earrings is by no means over. Sure, you’re now donning your stunning new silver studs, but aftercare of a fresh piercing is so important.

8 Tips For Caring For Newly Pierced Ears

The first few days and up to six weeks after you’ve had your ears pierced are when the healing process takes place. During this time, it's important to keep your piercing nice and clean and healthy. Here are some tips to help you to do so:

1. Clean your hands
2. Keep the piercing clean
3. Rotate your earrings
4. Go easy on cosmetics
5. Avoid bumps and knocks
6. Avoid swimming
7. Keep your earrings in
8. Look out for infection

Keep Your Hands Clean

A simple and easy tip. Before touching your piercing make sure you wash your hands thoroughly. Just normal soap and water is great, and then dry your hands with a clean towel.

Your hands can be a conduit of dirt and bacteria, neglect to wash them before touching your newly pierced ears and you could risk introducing bacteria to the site of the piercing.

Keep the Piercing Clean

Another essential when caring for newly pierced ears is to clean the actual piercing. This needs to be done at least three times a day. To remember, why not do this after you’ve cleaned your teeth, or after meals?

We recommend you use the saline ear care solution provided by our piercing studio. Dip a cotton swab or pad and lightly clean the area around the front and back of the piercing.

Rotate Your Earrings

Newly pierced ears heal better if you rotate the earrings on a regular basis. When you clean your piercing, use this time to also gently rotate the earring slightly. Do this when your skin is moistened with the ear care solution so it remains supple.

This ensures the skin doesn’t heal over the earring, and it may even expedite the healing process, just ensure you aren’t twisting the earring too aggressively.

Go Easy With The Sprays And Cosmetics

Your new piercing likes to breathe fresh air. So, if you can, try and keep your piercing away from hair care and cosmetic products, such as hairspray, shampoo, perfume and make-up.

You have to remember that your ear piercing is essentially an open wound that must be kept as clean as possible during the healing process. If you do get a little bit of product on your ears, clean them straight away with the saline solution.

Avoid Knocking Or Bumping Your Piercing

When it comes to how to care for newly pierced ears, avoiding knocks and bumps goes without saying. Simply go easy when doing daily activities, such as brushing your hair and getting dressed. Perhaps swap polo necks for other jumpers so you don’t catch your earrings in your clothes.

Feeling sporty? Maybe give team games a miss for a while or wear a protective sports tape or plaster over your piercing to keep things nice and safe.

Avoid The Pool With Newly Pierced Ears

Wondering how long until you can get into a pool? We recommend waiting around six weeks until your piercing has healed nicely before taking the plunge in a swimming pool, the sea or a hot tub.

Not only can bodies of water be carriers of bacteria, but the chlorine you find in a swimming pool can be an irritant that you won’t want anywhere near your newly pierced ears.

Keep Your Earrings In

After all the excitement of having your ears pierced, you’ll want to make sure that the piercing heals nicely yet doesn’t heal and close over. This means you should keep your earrings in.

In the first six months, we recommend you don’t go without your earrings for longer than 24 hours. If the piercing does heal shut, you won’t be able to get your earring back in.

Look Out For Earring Infection

What you certainly don’t want is an infection. Sometimes, despite all best intentions, you may have a reaction to your piercing. We suggest you keep a close eye on things for a few weeks, so you can nip any issues in the bud as soon as possible.

If you notice any redness, burning sensation, pain, tender or swollen skin, discharge with an unpleasant odour, or ongoing itching around the piercing, please seek medical advice from your GP straight away.

What Earrings Should You Wear After A Piercing?

When you first have your ears pierced, you will be given piercing earrings, which will have to be kept in for a minimum of six weeks (or in the case of cartilage piercing up to 12 weeks). Whilst it may be tempting to wear the earrings you’ve been promising yourself for ages, it’s not advisable to wear anything but your piercing earrings until things have healed nicely.

Once the time is up and all is well, you can swap to some gorgeous light stud earrings for around six to twelve months. Keep those stunning drop earrings for a little bit longer if you can.

Are you ready to get your ears pierced, or know someone who is? Why not book an appointment at H.Samuel today? Recently purchased some earrings and want to find out more about how to clean them? Take a look at our earring cleaning guide.