Aftercare

The Gothic A.E.

Piercing Salon

Victoria BC 250-383-2181 250-516-1137

The Piercing Care Pamphlet

It is your responsibility to care for and clean YOUR piercing correctly.

As professionals, interested in the wellness of people, we care about the piercings we do. Through our experience we have both researched and educated ourselves on complications that could arise. By following our suggestions here your piercing should heal in the time estimated by your piercer. If it doesn’t seem to be healing or if something doesn’t feel or look right, contact us as soon as possible. We can usually calm your worries by talking to you again and possibly changing your routine, however we are not doctors and if you feel there is something wrong, it is your responsibility to take care of yourself, we will try help with our experience.

The 5 Step Healing Procedure is crucial to an Aesthetic Piercing, as it aids in reducing swelling which in turn will help in eliminating scar tissue, and unsightly redness.
We simply provide you with a 5 Step procedure to make things easier for you. When you properly maintain your piercing, this enables us to provide successful

Aftercare Service.
MINIMAL SERVICE CHARGES APPLY TO CERTAIN SERVICES PLEASE REFER TO SERVICE PRICE LIST TO CONFIRM
5 Step Procedure for Cleaning

Step 1: Always Wash your hands before you touch your piercing or the area around it.!!!!

Step 2: Clean 3 times daily: morning to start your day fresh, mid afternoon so as not to accumulate white blood cells, that will aggravate your pierce, and in the evening before bed. The body does most of its healing when we are asleep. So soothing the piercing before and after sleep helps it to heal quickly. Over cleaning can sometimes become an issue, so use your own judgment and when in doubt ask. If it looks or feels like it needs to be cleaned take the time to do so. Always Be Gentle

Step 3: Soak your piercing 5 minutes minimum in clean warm water before each cleaning.

Step 4: Soak with warm water until you can clean off all dry matter from the jewellery with a Q Tip before moving it. The dry matter you find on your jewellery is a collection of white blood cells that draw bacteria out of the fresh piercing. REMOVE ALL DRY MATTER. When it dries, it is as sharp as razor blades and will scratch and reopen, and hurt your pierce if turned inside.

Step 5: Apply a small amount of polysporin or bacitracin on the area of the piercing using a clean Q tip.

NOTE:
NAVEL PIERCINGS & EYEBROW PIERCING:

need to be soaked as soon as you wake up before you do anything.

Body Piercing Aftercare The pierce is best left alone, clean dry and moisturized, receiving as much open air as possible. When your swelling has gone down we will change your Ring to a Ring that best fits you and your lifestyle. This is a minimal charge. We are available to change your beads, this a sitting fee.

Facial & Body & Oral Piercing Daily Cleaning Procedure After Care & Maintenance

Oral PIERCING
TONGUE / UNDER TONGUE
*Rinse the inside of the mouth with antibacterial Gargle, 1/.4 of a cap , no less than 5 times and no more than 10 times. Problems may occur if you do this too much.
* Ice Cubes are very helpful during the first 3 -5 days as they will reduce swelling. However be sure not to suck the cube, merely let it melt away on your tongue (the sucking can cause problems with fat cells in the tongue

Oral/ Facial Piercing
LIP/LABRET/MADONNA
See Steps 1 - 7 and following tongue
instructions (avoid make-up)

*Remember*
Tighten Barbell Beads
-Before and after you eat
-Before going bed & when you wake up.
-Before and after cleaning your pierce
-Before and after brushing your teeth.
This important to get used to as it will become part of your life with an oral pierce as it lessens the chances of the bead coming undone in your mouth

*PLEASE WASH YOUR HANDS FIRST AND MOUTHWASH IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS

Oral Aftercare : At 3 or 4 days into healing you must also begin brushing the top and bottom of
your tongue focusing on the beads. This is to remove any plaque that may adhere itself to the jewellery and around pierce.

*We will downsize your healing bar to a more comfortable size for you, once the swelling is completely gone 2 -3 weeks.
There is a $10.00 charge for this jewellery

Reactions and conditions

INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE

This is a slightly red and swollen areas which will occur around the entrances of the piercing. This area may be irritated sore itchy, and contain pus (white Blood Cells) this is all normal healing and these symptoms will go away with proper maintenance , so there is no need to be alarmed. If soreness persists, please call or come by .
(We may need to give you a free cleaning and inspection).

INFECTIONS :are always possible, especially when bacteria is introduced by excessive handling, dirt and sweat. Always clean a piercing that looks dirty or you know should not have been touched...after dancing, exercising or 8 hour shifts! Do Not let dead cells from your skin build up. Be conscious of any abuse the piercing may have received small bumps and bangs. Determine if the whole area is hot, sore, swollen and red. If you feel you may have an infection, do not remove your jewellery, call us or e-mail and we can try to solve the problem. This should not mean the end of your piercing. simply treating the infection with common sense.
Call us, we will go over what is happening, help you relax, getting upset makes it worse. Your immune system will focus on the stress not healing. Usually a long Epson Salt Bath will help the stress and draw out infection. Sometimes a piercing may seem to have the symptoms of infection and not necessarily be infected.

Allergic Reactions

Many people have allergies and in piercing we take that into consideration .The metal and products we use are chosen for there low rejection rate, based on experience and medical information. Not all problems with a new piercing will be infection related, allergic reactions do occur. One of the most common is the cleanser you may be using at home, if an itchy rash or an extremely dry area directly around the piercing persists, you may be reacting to ingredients in the cleanser or bath products you are using.

We suggest
Polysporin or bacitracin , it is antibacterial and anti-germicidal .

Metal allergies are often due to the small amount of Carbon found in Stainless Steel, we use Certified Implant Grade Stainless Steel (virtually no rejection rate) Hospitals use this grade of metal for surgical implants. You can try a different type of metal jewellery.

Products to avoid

People have been using the wrong products to heal PIERCING for so many years, it’s going to be hard to believe that these products are the wrong things to use.

-Alcohol-
-Hydrogen Peroxide,-Biosept-
-Chemical Perfumes-
-Petroleum Products Vaseline-

AVOID :Smoking unless it stresses you out too much. Alcohol breaks down the immune system and dehydrates the body possibly causing problems with healing. Sugar can create bacteria which increase plaque which could cause problems with your healing. Spices & Citrus & Salt react different on the body - all are quite aggressive on the taste buds causing possible irritation and possible problems healing Simply try to avoid extremes

ADDITIONAL HEALING SUGGESTIONS

These are additional healing methods you can use.

**Taking a Multi Vitamin Daily, Drinking Plenty of Water and Getting Ample Rest, aid in healing.

**Epsom Salt, if body pierce is irritated a bath relaxes the body, and is very soothing to your pierce( soak in the bath.) -15 min for relaxation -30 min for an allergic reaction to a cleanser or for permanent removal of jewellery -1 Hour to interrupt the bacterial cycle in an infection.

The water is as hot as you can stand it but still comfortable. will suffocate bacteria and draw poisons out of the body. Rinse and carry on with regular routine .

Making herbal tea ice cubes they are full of Vitamins that boost the immune system. Herbal Teas can be very healing and calming for the * Mind* Body* Soul * which will aid in releasing stress and tension this will help reduce swelling and make your healing time shorter. Please Remember to Keep MAKE-UP & HAIR PRODUCT away from new piercing.

Patience is a Virtue ***NOTE*** We are not Doctors and do not pretend to be. We suggest these options because they have proven to be successful. However if you experience any discomfort, please be advised that a licensed medical doctor is the only guaranteed safety precaution available.

BE WELL HEAL YOURSELF RESPONSIBLY