Thank you for choosing Percus
congratulations on your new piercing!

The Science of Piercing Aftercare

While you may think the hardest part is done, the true challenge for your piercing is successful healing. Aftercare is everything and we at Percus want you to succeed. That being so, we have made this guide just for our wonderful clients.

Essentially it is your body that has the power to heal your new piercing. We have a simple approach. Chemicals will not heal your piercing alone. Based on extensive research and over a decade of experience we find using any harsh products (soaps, chemicals, oils etc) are very counter productive and delay the natural healing process. Instead our aftercare approach relies on a sterile Isotonic saline wound wash, but what does isotonic mean? Isotonic closely matches the bodies fluids, meaning it should not add excessive moisture or dry out the skin. The reason it is sterile is because we do not want to add additional bacteria to your wound (you cannot make sterile saline at home). Sterile Saline has been found to be highly effective for the aftercare/healing of piercings.

Our simple cleaning guide

To ensure proper care initially we recommend following these steps 2 times a day. Resist the urge to over clean your piercing, this will only delay the healing and cause irritation to the wound.

Step One - Thoroughly wash your hands before touching your piercing.

Step Three - With the help of cotton swabs/buds soaked in saline, carefully wipe away any crusty discharge from the jewellery, front and back. Using a new cotton swab/bud for each piercing.

Additionally after showering we recommend using a fresh dry cotton swab/bud to dry around the piercing and for ear piercings we recommend drying your hair after showering/bathing.

Step Two - Using our Sterile Saline Piercing Aftercare solution, gently spray the entrance and exit holes of your piercing.

Step Four - Pat the piercing dry using a dry cotton swab/bud or non-woven gauze.

Downsizing in 4 - 8 weeks

To ensure a comfortable and problem free healing process we recommend downsizing your jewellery length between 4-8 weeks. Initially your piercer would have chosen a longer piece of jewellery to accommodate for initial swelling. Once this swelling has reduced longer jewellery can cause the piercing to drift/migrate which permanently changes the angle of your piercing and can cause "lumps n bumps", which will potentially ruin how your new beautiful jewellery sits flush to your body. This is why we recommend downsizing, it is only the labret/post that needs changed out for a shorter one (the pretty front attachment on your jewellery gets to stay). Book a check up & downsizing appointment here!

Initially your piercer would have picked a longer post (2-3mm bigger) to allow room for your piercing to swell a little, this longer post also allows you to get in a clean all the crusties away, and allows air in to keep the wound dry.

Here you can see we have removed the gold attachment. The swelling stages have passed, there is extra room on the jewellery, and the piercing is looking healthy.

The swelling and crusty stage generally go hand in hand, the timeframes vary person to person, depending on lifestyle and your bodies ability to heal. Typically, providing a proper aftercare routine, you should be passing the stages of swelling between 4 & 8 weeks, unless you injure or irritate your piercing.

With the use of sterile equipment, we have removed and replaced the labret stud/post and installed a new sterile one, appropriately sized in relation to the anatomy and the piercing placement.

Finally we have cleaned & inspected the solid gold attachment and re-attached it, ensuring a secure and proper fitment.

From here on in, aftercare and life gets easier. Typically they won't get anywhere near as much of a build up of crusties/debris, and will require a less intensive aftercare routine. However you still need to be careful with your piercing as it still needs time to fully heal.

Tips and tricks

Always leave your jewellery in!

Piercings, even when healed, can close fairly quickly (in the matter of days... or even hours!). If you want to keep your piercing don't take it out. Never take them out even for cleaning. Please consult Percus for any planned removals, cleaning, jewellery changes.

The aim of the game is not to add any bacteria (infection risk) to the area and not irate the wound more than necessary.

Clean everything that comes in contact with the piercing site. Regular cleaning of bedding, using a clean t-shirt over your pillow case which can be changed regularly until your pillow case is washed, the practise helps reduce the chance of infections.
Ear Piercings and sleep: if you can't avoid sleeping on that side, using a travel pillow can help you avoid direct pressure on the piercing.
Living a healthy lifestyle will help your piercing, healthy bodies heal faster. Eat well, sleep well, and stay hydrated!

Troubleshooting

The majority of issues are not related to infections. Please don't hesitate to reach out to Percus for a free consultation and check up any time you have a concern. We are here to help, but we can't help unless we hear from you. During opening hours you can phone us. Anytime out of hours please email us at info@percus.co.uk and one of us will get back to you as soon as possible.

When to seek medical assistance

While infections are rare, it's crucial to seek professional medical assistance at the first sign of infection. Symptoms to watch out for include: sudden excessive swelling, bleeding, discharge of yellow, green or dark coloured fluid. Some redness is normal but severe redness extending from the piercing site indicates a serious problem. Additionally if you experience a fever/dizziness, these may be signs of an infection, contact medical professionals immediately.

What to avoid....

To ensure successful healing of your piercing please avoid the following:

Touching your piercing with unwashed hands. Contamination from dirty hands will greatly increase the risk of infection.
Rotating or twisting your jewellery: AVOID rotating, twisting or fidgeting with your jewellery while your piercing heals, this will cause damage to the piercing channel, delay healing and encourage irritation "lumps n bumps". (old-school aftercare advise should be left in the past our jewellery is far superior than back in the day!)
Remove jewellery. Unless instructed by a medical professional do not remove your jewellery, even healed piercings can shrink and close in the matter of hours/days, also you may damage the piercing trying to reinstall it.
Avoid makeup or any other cosmetics/sun tan lotions to come in contact with the piercing site.
Swimming. Avoid swimming or open bodies of water (including the sea and hot tubs) during your healing, swimming can lead to infections and irritation.
Harsh chemicals, products, and oils. We strongly advise against these. They can give the illusion of healing but they do not do any favours, instead damaging tissue and delay/push back healing. The magic lies within the healing power of our bodies.

Additional information for Oral piercings

If you have a new oral piercing, these are some additional guidelines:

Get a new toothbrush and keep it in a clean place separate from everyone else's within the household.
Reduce swelling, cold drinks can be soothing - iced water is good for this.
Sleep elevated to further alleviate swelling, consider elevating your head with an extra pillow.
Avoid sharing bodily fluids, including sharing food or beverages.
Rinse your mouth on a regular basis with filtered or bottled water to keep the piercing clean, Rinsing 2 times a day with diluted Zero alcohol mouthwash (50:50 dilution of Zero alcohol mouthwash and water - preferably bottled) is okay but resist the urge to over do it!!!!
Remember your downsize will be earlier, normally we would be hoping to see you around the 2 week point.

Jewellery Info

Congratulations on purchasing jewellery from Percus Luxury Piercing. You are now the proud owner of a piece of jewellery that meet our exceptional high standards. These standards being:

Material that meets the standards set out by the Association of Professional Piercers, your jewellery has been crafted using safe implant grade Titanium, Niobium or solid gold over 14 karats. These have been tried and tested and are known for compatibility with the human body, this minimizes the risk of adverse reactions or complications.
Mirror finished and elegant designs, our jewellery has been polished to perfection resulting in a mirror finish. We strive to supply you with jewellery that is not only safe and comfortable, but simply looks stunning.
Gemstone setting, skilled jewellers have set these stones by hand, ensuring no glues or foil backings are used.
Limited Lifetime warranty. These are guaranteed free from defects, ensuring the durability and longevity of your jewellery.

Jewellery maintenance and upkeep

Although your jewellery is of the highest quality it does require some simple upkeep; here are a few key points:

Keep ends securely attached. While we make every effort to ensure that your jewellery is secure, regularly checking your jewellery parts are securely fastened will help prevent any accidental loosening or detachment of the ends.
As a proud owner of some premium jewellery, your role is to handle your jewellery with care, avoid the use of tools, excessive pulling or tugging, and follow our provided aftercare.
Gemstones can become cloudy if makeup/debris gets in behind them, so try and avoid this. If you need help cleaning your jewellery we can offer a cleaning service for you.

These simple steps can ensure your jewellery lasts a lifetime.

Thank you for choosing Percus congratulations on your new piercing!