We’ve talked before about what you should know and do before getting a piercing. But have you ever really thought about what you should know after you get a piercing and before you leave the piercing studio? Today we are going to take a moment to discuss the things that either your piercer should tell you or that you should ask before leaving. A five-minute conversation with your piercer can save you an hour of frantically searching for information online that may be incorrect or out-of-date or not suited to your new piercing.
One thing that is probably most asked about after the fact is jewelry size. What gauge, what length or diameter, what size can you wear when it’s healed. This is stuff that you really need to know, even if you love the jewelry you were pierced with. Even if you don’t need to downsize your jewelry, you will at some point need to know how big it is. While there are some extremely common sizes for piercings, they are not an across-the-board, universal standard. Some nostrils are pierced with 16-gauge jewelry and some industrial piercings are not 1 ½ inches long. Stuff happens in life and preparedness is the best way to go. You may need to put in a retainer, you may need to replace your jewelry or simply fall out of love with the jewelry you were pierced with. If you go to have your jewelry downsized, you need to know what size your new jewelry is. You always want to know what gauge and diameter or length the jewelry you are wearing is.
The other question that gets asked a lot is what kind of aftercare is needed for my new piercing. This is DEFINITELY something your piercer should review with you before you leave the studio and if they do not discuss it with you, you should consider finding a different piercer. Many studios even sell the necessary products, even if only in travel size. What should you use to clean your new septum piercing? If you got an oral piercing, what product should you clean the inside of your mouth with and how often? What about the first week after piercing, should you do anything differently while it’s still quite swollen and tender? These are all things you need to talk to your piercer about before you walk out the door.
A question that often gets forgotten about but really shouldn’t be, is the closure style of your new jewelry. Is it internally threaded? Is it threadless, aka: push-in, style jewelry? Nothing is more aggravating than struggling to remove a ball end only to discover that it wasn’t twisting off because you need to use a twist-and-pull motion or attempting to pull off a ball end only to find that you needed to twist it.
A final thing you should be aware of before you walk out is healing. Roughly how long will it take before your piercing is fully healed? Do you need to return to the piercer to have your jewelry downsized before it is healed? Downsizing is incredibly important to making sure that your piercing heals properly and changing your jewelry before it is ready can significantly set back your healing process.
Let’s recap: before leaving make sure you know…
- The gauge of your new piercing
- Diameter/length of your jewelry
- If/when it needs to be downsized
- The type of threading on your jewelry
- Aftercare instructions
- Typical healing process
By being prepared with your questions in advance, you are less likely to forget them in the moment. This will also save you from uncertainty and trying to find the answers for yourself. Don’t be afraid to ask if your piercer doesn’t address these questions. Knowledge is power. Happy piercing!
