Piercingsssssss! Your favorite way to rebel as a teenager. Have you ever thought how your skin heals around it though? It heals in just three little steps- Inflammation, Proliferation, Maturation. Inflammation is the first step we’re all very familiar with. The redness and tenderness last about 24-48 hours after the piercing. Then it enters the next stage, proliferation. During proliferation, new skin cells grow, and new blood vessels feed the skin. This phase is for 4-6 weeks which is also why you’re not supposed to take out your piercing during this time. Lastly, maturation occurs, and your skin gains it strength. This can take months to years depending on the piercing and your body. Fun fact!! Well maybe not fun.. but another fact! Smoking delays healing of the skin so if you’re a smoker all these phases of healing can take longer; so put the ciggies away for awhile.
Cleaning the piercing - Soap or Saline?
We all know to clean new piercings twice a day. That hasn’t changed much in my 15 years of getting piercings. But the question of what to clean them with has surfaced. You should use saline spray instead of soap and water. This will help minimize irritation and is gentler leaving out harsh chemicals. The salt in the saline spray dehydrates the bacteria killing them. Anyone who has taken biology is probably thinking “Salt follows water”. I’ve heard this statement too many times. As the piercings heal though, you know when you’ve had them for months and they give you no issues, you don’t really have to clean them. The huge healing phase is over and the skin around it matured and is just like normal skin. I would also try to keep my skincare out of them at first too to keep them clean as possible.
Needle or gun?
A needle is better for your skin to pierce with. The needle can reduce tissue damage and cause less trauma to the skin. It actual lowers your infection risk too. The piercing gun pierces your ear with the stud also. You put the stud in a cartridge and put it on the ear and then boom! A pierced ear. Savannah disagrees with this based on her antidotal experience which means nothing, but whatever.
I impulsively got this nose piercing a few weeks ago. If you know me that’s not very surprising. I’ve had it before and really liked it, but had to take it out for school and it grew up. Then, a few weeks later, I had this migraine and I convinced myself it was the cause so I took it out; but then it wouldn’t go back in. Oh and you knowwww I still had the migraine.
Hope you enjoyed these skin facts and happy piercing!!!
XOXO
Sarah
(It’s so hard for me to not say XOXO Gossip Girl)
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