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Piercing Guide

Piercing Aftercare: How to Clean and Heal a New Piercing

A new piercing heals from the outside in, so it can look healed long before it really is. Good aftercare is simple: keep it clean, leave it alone, keep it out of pools and hot tubs, and know the signs that need a doctor.

This guide summarises advice from dermatology, public health and professional piercing sources. Always follow the aftercare instructions your piercer gives you, because they’re specific to your piercing and jewellery.

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Key Points

  • Wash your hands before touching your piercing.
  • Clean gently with sterile saline wound wash or a mild, fragrance-free cleanser and water.
  • Don’t twist or rotate the jewellery. Current guidance says it isn’t needed.
  • Avoid pools, hot tubs, lakes and the sea until it has healed.
  • Leave the jewellery in. Don’t remove it if you think it’s infected, unless a doctor tells you to.
  • Healing takes weeks to months, depending on the piercing.

How to Clean a New Piercing

  1. Wash your hands with soap and water first.
  2. Clean the piercing with a sterile saline wound wash (0.9% sodium chloride), as the Association of Professional Piercers recommends, or with a mild, fragrance-free cleanser and water, as the American Academy of Dermatology suggests. Rinse well.
  3. Pat dry with a clean paper towel rather than a cloth towel.
  4. Don’t pick crusts. Soften them with your cleaning solution instead.

Avoid: alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, antibacterial soaps, iodine and ointments, which professional piercing guidance says to skip. Homemade salt mixes are no longer recommended because they’re often too strong.

For mouth piercings, the NHS suggests rinsing with salt water or an alcohol-free mouthwash.

What's Normal While Healing

According to the Association of Professional Piercers, it’s normal to have:

  • some bleeding, swelling, tenderness or bruising at first
  • later, some discoloration, itching and a whitish-yellow fluid that dries into crust

A piercing can look healed on the outside while it’s still healing inside, so keep up your aftercare for the full healing time.

How Long Do Piercings Take to Heal?

Healing times vary from person to person. Cleveland Clinic gives these typical ranges:

  • Earlobe: about 6–8 weeks
  • Cartilage (helix, conch, tragus, rook, daith): about 6–12 months, because cartilage has less blood supply
  • Belly button: about 6–12 months for initial healing, and 12–18 months to heal fully

Older medical sources list shorter times for some piercings, so if in doubt, assume it takes longer and ask your piercer to check it.

Swimming, Hot Tubs and Travel

Keep a new piercing out of pools, hot tubs, lakes and the ocean until it has healed. That’s the advice from the Association of Professional Piercers, and Cleveland Clinic gives the same advice for ear piercings. The NHS mentions avoiding swimming for the first 24 hours, so advice varies, and the cautious approach is to wait until healed.

Travelling soon? Read travelling with a new tattoo or piercing.

Jewellery: What to Know

  • Leave starter jewellery in. The AAD advises keeping new ear piercing jewellery in for at least six weeks, day and night, so the hole doesn’t close.
  • Don’t rotate it. The Association of Professional Piercers says moving or rotating jewellery during cleaning isn’t necessary, and Cleveland Clinic no longer recommends routine rotating.
  • Wait to change it. Ask your piercer before changing jewellery, and don’t swap it before the piercing has healed.
  • Choose suitable metals. Cleveland Clinic suggests hypoallergenic options such as titanium or 14K gold and avoiding nickel.

In Nova Scotia, the Safe Body Art Standard requires jewellery for new piercings to meet the Association of Professional Piercers’ jewellery standards. Tattoo Lab uses titanium jewellery, with upgrades available, such as studs or gold.

Signs of Infection and When to Get Help

The NHS lists these signs of an infected piercing:

  • swelling, pain or heat around the piercing
  • very red or dark skin
  • blood or pus (white, green or yellow)
  • feeling hot, shivery or generally unwell

If you notice them, contact a doctor or pharmacist. Leave the jewellery in unless a doctor tells you to remove it, as removing it can trap infection. See a doctor or dermatologist too if the skin around the piercing becomes raised or thickened, which can be a sign of a keloid.

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Oral Piercings

Tongue and lip piercings need extra care. A medical review in American Family Physician notes that swelling and chipped or cracked teeth are common problems with tongue piercings. Rinse after eating, be gentle with the jewellery when you eat and talk, and see your dentist if you notice tooth damage.

Piercing Aftercare Questions

Wash your hands, then clean gently with sterile saline wound wash or a mild, fragrance-free cleanser and water. Rinse, pat dry with a clean paper towel and don’t pick at crusts. Always follow your piercer’s instructions.

Cleveland Clinic gives about 6–8 weeks for earlobes, about 6–12 months for cartilage, and 6–12 months for initial healing of belly button piercings. Healing varies.

Keep it out of pools, hot tubs, lakes and the ocean until it has healed. That’s the cautious advice from professional piercers and Cleveland Clinic.

No. Current guidance from the Association of Professional Piercers and Cleveland Clinic says rotating jewellery isn’t needed.

No, leave it in unless a doctor tells you to remove it, and contact a doctor or pharmacist about the infection.

Wait until the piercing has healed, and ask your piercer to check it first. Changing jewellery too early can irritate a healing piercing.

Book Your Piercing in Halifax

Titanium jewellery, single-use products wherever applicable, and clear aftercare from your piercer. Walk-ins are possible depending on availability, so call or text first.

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Body Piercing in Halifax

More Guides

Sources

  1. Suggested aftercare for body piercings. Association of Professional Piercers (industry association), 2023.
  2. Jewelry for initial piercings. Association of Professional Piercers (industry association), 2020.
  3. Caring for new piercings. American Academy of Dermatology, 2023.
  4. Infected piercings. NHS, 2023.
  5. New Ear Piercing: Healing and Aftercare. Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials, 2025.
  6. How to treat (and prevent) an infected belly button piercing. Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials, 2023.
  7. Complications of body piercing. Meltzer, American Family Physician, 2005.
  8. Keloid scars: causes. American Academy of Dermatology, 2022.
  9. Nova Scotia Safe Body Art Standard. Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness, 2018.

This guide is general information, not medical advice. Always follow your piercer’s aftercare instructions, and contact a doctor or pharmacist if you think your piercing is infected.

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