Anyone who has walked the journey of a piercing can relate to the agony of almost every whimsical movement anywhere near the area of impact.
Taking a shower or washing your hair can be a dreadful experience if you don’t know how to go about it.
Here, we will discover little tricks and tips to help you make these tasks as painless as possible with your new piercing.
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Can I wash my hair after piercing my ear?
Yes, of course, you can wash your hair after piercing your ear.
You need to keep in mind the position of your piercing and work to direct your hair and any loose strands away from the tender site.
If you just got an earlobe piercing, you shouldn’t have much trouble because it’s a little hidden and far from your scalp.
When dealing with new piercings, it is important to remember one very simple rule that is sometimes hard to practice: do not touch the piercing.
These wounds need no more interference beyond the daily cleaning that you will be directed to do by your clinician.
How to Protect Ear Piercing When Washing hair.
Ensure you are always wearing your earrings with some space between the backing and your earlobe.
This keeps the area well-ventilated and prevents and dirt build-up from forming.
It also gives the chance for the pus generated from your ear to flow out and not get glued up with the backing. Which would be even more painful trying to get that undone.
Sea Salt Soaks are an alternative to the clinic’s saline solution which uses strictly non-iodized salt and distilled water.
The water needs to be warm, not hot or cold like a warm glass of milk. Put the solution in a small clean and sanitized container and soak your piercings in this solution.
You also have the option to capsize the container and its contents directly onto the wound. The third option would be to soak a gauze in the saline solution and placing it over hard to reach piercings to allow the saline to bleed into the inflicted wounds.
Just like taking showers, sea salt baths also open up the skin’s pores.
Can I Shower with New Ear Piercing?
Of course, you can! As this is an earlobe piercing, it should be less painful taking a shower as compared to a cartilage piercing.
This is because the earlobe is more hidden and has softer tissue.
All you need to be careful about is any strands of hair or strings of fabric like the ones on your towel that have the potential to pull at your earring.
With that out of the way, you only need to avoid getting soap around the piercing.
As they heal, ears could harbor a funky smell and this might not be pleasant for you.
If you would like to wash your ears with soap, you will need to buy a mild liquid soap that will effectively get rid of sweat, oils and the discharge that the piercing produces after a saline rinse.
How to Shower with New Ear Piercing
You will take a shower just as you normally do just make sure to tuck away any hair strands that might be prone to tug at your earring.
Sometimes these piercings get itchy but you know you shouldn’t touch them because doing that will only make them flare up.
So, the only option you have at that point is to hold onto your earrings crown and slowly twist is clockwise and anticlockwise.
You will find it very soothing and if you do it while you clean with the saline solution, it has a momentary cooling effect. You could try this earring twisting in the hot shower as well, when your pores are all opened up and relaxed. It is far less painful.
After your shower, remember to clean your piercing with an ear saline solution to keep the area sanitized.
How to Wash Hair with New Cartilage Piercing
For a cartilage piercing which is higher up and more at risk of hair strands latching onto the piercing, you will need to exercise great precision and patience.
You may have only one cartilage piercing or two but the way in which you avoid contact of your hair and the piercing is the same.
You need to, ever so slowly, and carefully comb or brush your hair away from the piercing. One very terrible pain is experienced if you hit your fresh piercing so ensure you are paying attention and taking your sweet time.
So, if you have one piercing on your left ear, you would need brush all your hair to the right side making sure there are no loose strands on the side of the piercing.
If you have a piercing on each ear, you could choose to brush it forward or backward based on which angle is more comfortable for you. Hair strands especially when wet, get easily tangled in the piercing and trying to pry it out is excruciating.
Once this is done, tilt your head toward the shower and remember to maintain that angle all through your wash. Any hair products like shampoo should not get onto the piercing as they are irritants that will inflame the piercing. If some of these products get on your ear, be quick to rinse out under the shower.
It is wise to simply wrap your head in a turban and let it air dry. This is because your towel’s fabric could also graze your piercing or worse, it can get snagged and this will literally bring tears of pain to your eyes.
With your hair now clean and safely out of the piercing’s way, you should then clean your piercing.
Cleaning your piercing is mandatory and should be done every 3 to 4 times a day until the soreness dissipates.
You can effectively clean your earring with a solution of saline and a cotton swab or a clean smooth cloth.
Given the option, you should opt for the cotton swab as it is hygienic and can reach the piercing without much prodding.
So, you need to pour some solution into a clean and sanitized container then dip the cotton swab and proceed to wipe off any germs or hair product.
You should use soft swirls up, down, under and all around the piercing.
Depending on where you get your piercing done, your clinician may provide you with the perfect saline solution that is safe for your piercing.
If not, you could try and use the tons of material online to make your own saline solution.
However, you must be aware of how much and what type of salt you use to make it because if it is too strong, it could heave the reverse effect of healing your piercing to causing infections or terrible irritation. It is wiser to buy a solution from your drug store instead just to be safe.
Maybe all this hassle with washing your hair at this time could be altogether avoided.
If it is possible for you, it would be advisable to figure out a hairstyle that you are comfortable with and that will keep your hair out of the way for at least the first week.
Also, taking care of shampoo, conditioning and deep treatment to-dos is important but so is the health of your new piercing.
Try and do the hair routine even the evening before you get your piercing done.
That way, you get at least a week post-piercing with no overstimulation of the area which will translate to a cleaner, quicker and problem-free healing process.
How to Shower with A New Cartilage Piercing?
A cartilage piercing is higher up on your earlobe and is in a very vulnerable position.
The cartilage has a tougher tissue than the earlobe, which is mostly fleshy, and it is more flexile than bone tissue. It is responsible for the shape your ear takes.
Due to their tough nature, cartilage piercings are way more painful than simple earlobe piercings and they take a long time to heal.
While earlobe piercings take anywhere between 4 to 6 weeks to heal, a cartilage piercing may take anywhere from 3 to 6 months and even a year for them to be completely healed. These piercings heal from on the outside first then the inside so it may look fine but it could be very far from completely healed.
When taking a shower with a new cartilage piercing, you will do it as you always have done.
Only this time you will remove any potential pain hazards around your piercing first before jumping into the shower.
These hazards are such like your hair and any chemical products like a harsh anti-bacterial soap.
Though you may consider an antibacterial soap good for germ killing, it is too harsh to your ear piercing and could be a terrible irritant if you expose your cartilage to it.
There are delicate soaps that could be used to wash your ear while in the shower and you could opt to invest in them as well.
Just exercise extreme caution while scrubbing away and make sure to thoroughly rinse it out to clear out any soap residue caught in the piercing.
Make sure your hair and all its tiny strands close to the piercing are safely tucked in your turban or shower cap.
Keep the water at a warm temperature not hot as this will further inflame your delicate cartilage.
You may feel some impact when the water hits your cartilage piercing but embrace it as it can be very soothing and could aid in quick healing.
Take this time to slowly twist your piercing up and down as the water rushes over your ear.
After the shower, follow up with a quick saline rinse on your cartilage piercing to keep it healthy and hygienic.
Conclusion
Whether you have long or short hair or you’re male or female, it doesn’t matter.
When you get a new earring, managing normal daily life routines will be a very involving task.
You might dread being in the shower but now that you know what to do and how to do it, you can confidently surpass that fear.
Tiger is a fashion&jewelry lover. He is also a fashion jewelry manufacturer that help thousands of small business to grow and also do business with some big fashion jewelry brands. He is a truly metal expert and he will share some information you are looking for.