Is tea tree oil safe for piercings?
It’s super potent!
Tea tree oil is powerful stuff. That’s why it’s good for various minor skin ailments that are not irritation bumps on your piercing. But because it is SO powerful and because the oil is so incredibly concentrated, it needs to be diluted with a carrier oil (such as sweet almond, emu, or jojoba) before you put it on your skin. Putting tea tree oil directly onto your skin can cause skin irritation and burns. So, putting an irritant on an irritation bump is already a terrible idea and can make your situation that much worse.
It’s also super drying!
Tea tree oil is also super drying. This is why people like to use it for pimples. You do not want to dry out your piercing. This will not help the bump; it will just make it dry and further irritated. An irritation bump is not a pimple, you cannot pop it and should not try. So do not try to treat one as though it were a zit, they are totally different issues.
No standards
Another issue that may crop up is that tea tree oil may not be standardized. Let’s use eyedrops as an example. They are made according to regulations set by the federal government. They are tested for quality and safety and made in a regulated and monitored environment to ensure that there is nothing in them that shouldn’t be there. Tea tree oil doesn’t have that kind of oversight. It can vary in strength and potency and may not be free of contaminants. Simply put, you don’t really know what you’re getting. And you definitely want to know what you have before you put it on the open wound that is your piercing.
What to do instead…
The only thing that should touch your piercing is sterile saline solution for an external piercing and the alcohol-free mouthwash that your piercer recommended for oral piercings. If you are experiencing an irritation bump and don’t know the cause then the only way to get rid of it is to find the cause. The best way to do this is to have it evaluated by a trustworthy piercer to make sure the angle, anatomy, and jewelry are correct for the piercing. If the angle of your piercing is not correct or you don’t have the proper anatomy for it, all the treatments in the world will not make your bump go away. If you suspect that your irritation bump may actually be an infection, please seek medical attention. Don’t post pictures of your infection on the internet, just go see a doctor.
