Ongoing Care

Aftercare guide

General guidance for healing well — your artist or piercer will always walk you through specifics for your piece before you leave the studio.

Piercing

Clean twice a day with a saline (salt water) rinse — nothing else. Skip alcohol, peroxide, and antibacterial soap; they slow healing more than they help.
Leave the initial jewelry in for the full healing window — swapping it early is the most common cause of complications.
Hands off. Touching, twisting, or rotating the jewelry introduces bacteria and irritates the piercing.
Avoid submerging a fresh piercing — pools, hot tubs, and open water — until it's fully healed.
Healing timelines vary widely by placement — your Piercer will give you a realistic window for your specific piercing.

Keep the initial bandage on for the time your artist specifies, then wash gently with fragrance-free soap and lukewarm water.
Apply a thin layer of the aftercare product your artist recommends — a little goes a long way, don't overdo it.
No soaking — baths, pools, hot tubs, and open water are off-limits until fully healed.
Keep it out of direct sun during healing, and use sunscreen long after — sun exposure fades and damages tattoos over time.
Some peeling and light itching is normal; picking or scratching is not — it risks pulling out ink and scarring.

Expect the color to look bolder for the first several days, then soften considerably as it heals — this is normal, not a mistake.
Keep the area dry for the window your artist specifies — no makeup, sweat, or skincare products directly over it.
A touch-up session a few weeks out is a normal part of the process, not a sign anything went wrong.
Avoid sun exposure and retinol/exfoliating products near the area while it heals.

No special aftercare needed for day-to-day — brush and floss normally.
Avoid biting down directly on hard foods with the gem for the first day or so while the bond fully sets.
If a gem comes loose or falls out, it's not a dental emergency — just book a re-application whenever it's convenient.

Don’t guess — call or email your studio. We’d rather answer a quick question than have you worry.