Body piercing in its traditional form is a controversial practice in the fashion industry; it thus comes as no surprise that a majority of piercing practices are veiled with a cloak of mysticism and alternate truths. One aspect that has had more than its fair share of myths is that of piercing aftercare. And sometimes these myths are so delicately crafted that they might pass off as truth even to the better judgment of piercing aficionados. Interested in some weird myths and surprising facts? Read on.

  • Myth – Twisting your piercing jewelry to a particular position guarantees healing

Despite its striking contradiction to all things piercing, this is one myth that goes around quite often. If you’ve been a regular on our blog, however, you probably won’t have a hard time recognizing that it is false. As a rule of thumb, most body piercing artists recommend leaving your piercing in situ not just for the first week, or first month of its healing time but for as long as it takes the piercing to heal. In fact, it is an established fact that the more you touch your piercing, the higher the chances of it contracting an infection.

 

 

  • Fact – You can lose a body part if you fail to take care of your piercing

Sounds plausible, but make no mistake this is entirely true. Lack –of or poor aftercare can have potentially disastrous consequences. Aftercare, for the most part, is practiced to set the tone right for natural healing and most importantly to prevent infections. When it is insufficient, diseases set in, and in the rare but possible instance where such an infection is left untreated/mismanaged, it can escalate to a full-blown medical condition known as necrosis; where otherwise healthy body cells spontaneously die. The culmination of all this is an increased risk of losing the affected part of the body, depending on how severe the necrosis is and what part of the body is involved. Places like the ear and nasal cartilage are high-risk areas.

  • Myth – constant washing of the pierced area is good for your piercing

While it might look and feel hygienic, the fact is washing your piercing intermittently is a recipe for disaster. The reason for this is tied to the explanation for the first myth – your piercing likes to be left alone. Picture it this way you’re trying to get some sleep but hope to wake up early enough to catch the bus. Now your alarm for reasons best known to it decides to go off after every 20 minutes; you probably won’t get any sleep at that rate. Same thing with healing piercing, while they do need to be washed every now and then like you need your alarm to wake you up in the morning when it becomes too frequent, there’s practically no chance to heal.

  • Myth Aftercare solution can be made by mixing salt solution with water

This one is kinda dicey, and the chances are high that you probably thought this was true. Well, sorry to burst your bubble but this is capitally false. The recommended composition of basic aftercare solution is a mixture of SEA-salt and water. Emphasis on sea-salt, not your conventional iodine laced homemade salt and water. This is because though similar the two induce very different responses when applied topically to the skin. If you’re having a hard time locating pure sea-salt why not opt for an off the shelf sea salt based aftercare solution; provided you buy from reputable dealers they’re sure to pack the real stuff in the right quantities.

That sums up our preliminary aftercare myths and facts list. Looking for more facts, feel free to peruse our collection of articles.