The first is a must, the second is a huge NO-NO. So here we go-go.
Yee-Haw. You just got a new piercing! They say pain therapy is a thing, I just love being bedazzled honestly! Don’t tell me piercings aren’t fun to have. They may not be fun to get, but when they are healed it is fun to switch things up! Go bold, go dainty. Whatever you’re feeling! It’s self expression.
However the next few months to a year (depending on what you got) will be about focusing on the CARE of your piercing.
Part of that care... is DOWNSIZING YOUR JEWELRY, and NOT SLEEPING ON YOUR PIERCING.
Here’s the 411…
1. DOWNSIZING YOUR JEWELRY
You probably heard (baby I sure hope you were listening) your piercer mention that you can “downsize” your jewelry after X amount of time. NOT to change it before X amount of time. Etc.
Now all piercings are started with initial jewelry that is longer than needed to allow for SWELLING room. Do not tell me you will not swell. It is a natural response in all human bodies. You just may not swell enough that you notice it. You will swell. That swelling can occur off and on for the duration of the healing period. You got your helix pierced 5 months ago, it’s been fine, but its now swollen and acting up? NORMAL. It needs some extra TLC to make it happy again. Until a piercing is fully healed... they can get angry. Every piercing has a different healing period, and every piercing needs to have the initial jewelry downsized. This means shortening the post you started with to one that is better fitting and usually shorter. This may happen **a number of times periodically** depending on what piercing you have and how your body heals. Let’s also not forget that everyone heals at different paces, and you should ALWAYS check in with your piercer to ensure it is READY to be downsized. On the flip side… if it gets angry/swells again during healing… you may actually need to go BACK UP to the longer post you were started with (for a while). Its an ebb and flow. It’s a process. It takes time.
“What happens if I don’t downsize?”
I am glad you asked.
There is a significant chance your piercing will HEAL CROOKED AND ON AN ANGLE.
** We usually cannot fix this. **
If this happens, it could lead to the total LOSS of the piercing. Rejection. Migration. Constant irritation bumps/piercing pimples. Excess scar tissue builds up. Yay!
When the swelling decreases, the initial post becomes too long. This creates a greater chance that it becomes tilted, doesn’t sit straight, sits angled for pro-longed periods of time, moves too much, catches on things causing trauma to the piercing, etc.
Ergo: crooked, angled, often unfixable, unable to be saved piercing. Cool. Just what you wanted.
This is why you MUST downsize (or upsize) your jewelry with the help of your piercer when your piercer advises you to do so! It is very important and crucial to the success and longevity of your piercing. IT IS ALL A PART OF THE PIERCING PROCESS.
2. SLEEPING ON YOUR HEALING PIERCING
Big, no-no. Sleeping on your healing piercing, especially ear piercings, can cause it to heal angled and crooked. The pressure from laying on it causes the jewelry to become tilted, and VERY irritated. This will do all of what not downsizing your piercing will do. It’s the same thing. It leads to migration, crooked, angled piercings, and sometimes the total loss of the piercing. DO NOT SLEEP ON HEALING PIERCINGS. If it becomes crooked, we may not be able to save it. Opt for sleeping on the other side or purchasing a travel neck pillow. The hole design in the travel pillow is perfect! It allows you to sleep on your side while not actually laying on your ear.
Another piercing that can be affected by sleep is a NAVEL PIERCING. Are you a side sleeper? Nay nay. Constantly sleeping on one side pushes your stomach in an unnatural position and often leads to the migration of navel piercings (it does not sit straight anymore). Once this happens, we cannot straighten it. Sleep on your back or prop yourself up to create a more straight position where your stomach isn’t being pushed more to one side than the other!
Moral of the story…
Want your piercing to heal happily, with less issues, and STRAIGHT?
Piercings NEED to be downsized (or up sized) accordingly at the discretion of your Piercer.
You should NEVER sleep on a healing piercing.
Lets keep those piercings perfect!
Sea Dawne
Senior Body Piercer
Luar Body Piercing