You finally took the big leap and got your belly button pierced. You’ve wanted it for so long and now it’s finally done but what now? In order to enjoy your new belly button piercing to its fullest, the next step is proper care and maintenance for proper healing. So, exactly how are you supposed to care for this new piercing? Fortunately, it’s quite simple with a little diligence.
The Healing Process
The first thing you need to be aware of is that to go from fresh piercing to fully healed takes a minimum of 6 months and even 12 months is not unheard of for complete healing. That means that to make sure you stay infection free and your piercing is as healthy as possible, some time will have to be invested in the long term care of your new piercing.
After Care Spray
Most piercing shops will recommend that you purchase an after care spray. These sprays help the skin around the piercing stay sterile and expedite the healing process with natural oils and minerals. When you first get the piercing, it is recommended that you use the spray 3-6 times a day evenly throughout. This might seem like a lot but a bottle of this spray can usually last for a month with this kind of rate of use. This spray can also help avoid scabs/keloids from forming around your piercing. You definitely don’t want to have a scab around your beautiful new body jewelry do make sure to take ever precaution necessary.
At Home Care
The easiest initial step is to thoroughly wash it in the shower at least once and preferably twice a day. It’s best to use clean, flowing water and cup your hand around the ring to rinse it. You can use soap but you want to make sure it’s dye free. You also don’t want to apply the soap directly. Simply lather your hands then use the lather on the piercing. In addition to soap, and Antifungal Tea Tree Oil Body Wash can be used for extra cleaning power. This body wash has powerful natural ingredients that will help protect your sensitive piercing area.
In addition to showering, you can also rinse and soak with a simple saline solution. You want to use sea salt and sterile water for this process. After soaking for 10-15 minutes, rinse the piercing then use a disposable drying method such as a paper towel. If your jewelry accumulates any crusting, use a wet cotton swap to clean it off.
Do not use alcohol or peroxide on your piercing at any time. They may seem like a logical choice but they dry out skin which often leads to irritation. Another common mistake is over cleaning the piercing. Once or twice a day is sufficient to keep your piercing clean and healthy but as with peroxide and alcohol, over cleaning can cause drying. Another temptation that needs to be avoided is moving the piercing in the early stages of healing. This is because the pulling or twisting in the early days of the first three to four weeks actually slows the process by aggravating skin cells during healing.
Changing The Stud
Knowing how much you want to start changing your stud, it is still vital that you leave the piercing piece in place during healing. Especially during the early stages, the piercing can close very quickly. In addition to losing your piercing, in the event that there is any type of bacteria in the opening, you run the risk of developing a sever infection since the bacteria would be completely closed up inside the skin. It has the potential to become a much worse infection before you even see an indicator of trouble.
Yes, there is some work involved in the initial care of your new belly button piercing but being proactive and taking a few simple steps will insure a great end result. The work is well worth the final product where you have a beautiful piercing to enjoy for years to come.