The Daruma Tattoo & Piercing Company takes great pride in our ability to use our years of experience to provide you with a safe quality piercing that you can wear with pride. A huge part of this process is aftercare. These are some guidelines for you to follow to ensure that you will heal properly.
CLEANING SOLUTIONS
There are many different products out there that are made to promote the healing of your new piercing. We suggest that you keep it simple. A mild liquid soap that is anti-microbial or germicidal is best for most exterior piercings. For anything inside the mouth, we suggest you use an alcohol-free, anti-bacterial/anti-microbial mouth rinse. A sea-salt regimen in your aftercare procedure for all piercings is also recommended. H2Ocean is an amazing product you can use, or the standard sea-salt soak works just fine.
CLEANING INSTRUCTIONS
WASH – Wash you hand thoroughly with warm water and anti-bacterial soap before cleaning or touching your piercing for any reason.
SOAP – You don’t want to use soap more than 1-2 times a day as it may cause your piercing to dry out or become irritated. While showering, lather a pea sized drop of soap to clean the piercing and jewelry. Leave the lather on the piercing no more than 30 seconds.
RINSE – Rinse your piercing thoroughly to remove all remaining soap. It is not necessary to rotate or turn the jewelry as this may cause discomfort or irritation.
DRY – Gently pat your piercing dry with a clean paper towel. NEVER use cloth towels to dry your piercing as they may harbor bacteria and could snag your jewelry causing injury.
SEA-SALT – We strongly recommend using sea-salt as a part of your routine. If you use H2Ocean, spray the piercing and allow the solution to sit for 30-60 seconds, then lightly blot the area dry with a clean paper towel. Do this no more than 3-4 times per day. A light rinse afterward will remove and residue if necessary. If the soak is your route, dissolve 1⁄4 teaspoon non-iodized (iodine-free) sea- salt to 1 cup of warm distilled or bottled water. Be sure not to use too much salt as a stronger solution may result in irritation of your piercing. With the solution in a cup, form a vacuum over the piercing and allow to soak for 5-10 minutes. Certain areas it may be easier to soak gauze or a clean paper towel with the solution, and allow that to rest on the piercing. A light rinse afterward will remove any residue if necessary. The soak should be done only 1-2 times per day depending on the situation.
ORAL – Rinse with an alcohol-free anti-bacterial mouth rinse for 30 seconds after meals and at bed time (4-6 times per day) during the entire healing process. Be sure not to rinse too often to avoid irritation and discoloration of the mouth and piercing. Exterior oral piercings require either sea-salt or a wash with mild antibacterial/anti-microbial or germicidal soap 1-2 times per day as well as interior rinse. Oral piercings are done with longer jewelry to start with to accommodate for swelling. It is important to change this jewelry once it is safe to avoid intra oral damage to the gums and surrounding areas. See your piercer.
WHAT IS NORMAL?
In the beginning, you can expect some bleeding, localized swelling, tenderness, and even sometimes bruising. During the healing process, you may experience some discoloration, itching, secretion of white-yellow fluid from the piercing. The tissue may tighten around the jewelry as it is healing. Failing to clean your piercing, once healed, may result in smelly bodily secretions forming in the piercing. Your piercing may seem healed before it actually is due to the fact that the tissue heals from the outside in. It seems fine, but the inside is not so please be patient and continue cleaning through your recommended healing time. Your piercing, if the jewelry is removed, even after having it for years, may shrink or close. Do not remove the jewelry unless you plan on leaving it out.
WHAT TO DO
Always wash your hands prior to touching your piercing, only touch it while cleaning. Stay healthy, the healthier you are the better your piercing will heal. Sleep well, eat well, and exercise regularly, it can only help. Be sure to take nutritional supplements daily like iron, B vitamins, vitamin C, or a good multi-vitamin. Avoid emotional stress, this can increase your healing time by 20-40%. For swelling, take a non steroidal anti inflammatory as recommended on the bottle. Clean your sheets and pillow cases regularly. Wear clean, comfortable clothing to protect your piercing while you sleep.
WHAT NOT TO DO
Avoid cleaning with Betadine, Hibiciens, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, harsh soaps, or any other product specifically NOT for the use on puncture wounds. DO NOT use ointments as they will prevent necessary air circulation. Avoid Bactine, ear piercing care solutions or anything containing Benzalkonium Chloride, as these may be irritating and are not intended for long term wound care. DO NOT over clean, this will not make anything heal faster. Avoid undue trauma like friction from clothing, excessive motion in the area, playing with the jewelry, and over cleaning. This can cause unsightly scar tissue, migration, prolonged healing, and other issues that can easily be avoided. Avoid any oral contact, and contact with other people’s bodily fluids on or near your piercing while it is healing. Avoid submerging your new piercing in bodies of water such as pools, hot tubs, baths tubs, lakes, oceans etc. If you must, you can use a waterproof wound bandage for the time being. Avoid using beauty products such as makeup & other cosmetics, hair dye, perfumes, lotions, sprays etc. Avoid wearing dangling jewelry until the piercing is fully healed. If an infection occurs, DO NOT remove the jewelry. The surface can close trapping the infection inside drainage of the infection.
GENERAL HEALING TIMES!
NAVEL/TORSO ………………………………………..3-6 MONTHS
NOSTRIL ……………………………………………….2-3 MONTHS
ORAL…………………………………………………….2-3 MONTHS
UPPER/LOWER LIP ………………………………….2-3 MONTHS
CARTILAGE…………………………………………….3-6 MONTHS
LOBES ………………………………………………….2-3 MONTHS
SURFACE ………………………………………………3-9 MONTHS
GENITALS………………………………………………3-6 MONTHS