by Melanie Treinen

Created on: October 28, 2009   Last Updated: October 30, 2009

First, you should always think ahead before getting a piercing. If you have a job or are trying to get a job, will they allow this piercing? Do you have enough time for the hole to heal up before you are going to have to be taking it out? This generally is only relative for a facial piercing, and for businesses that require you have to work up front with costumers. You should already have hydrogen peroxide in case of an infection and always need to be paying attention to what the piercer tells you about cleaning and taking care of your piercing after it is all said and done. You also want to make sure that you are getting your piercing done professionally. It is important to use the right kind of needle for the type of piercing you are getting, and for the procedure to be completely sterile.

Getting a piercing is just the start of it. Some people think that once that needle goes through your skin it's all good from there, but that's actually the easiest part of the whole thing. No matter what place you are getting your piercing, it is going to swell. How much it will end up swelling depends on where you are getting it. If you are getting a piercing some where like the lip or tongue, you can expect a couple weeks to a month or so of being uncomfortable. This area takes longer to heal because it is open to all the bacteria in your mouth. It is also very uncomfortable because when you are trying to communicate you are using these muscles and they will be sore. If you are a smoker, it is recommended that you use a mouth wash like scope every time after you smoke. It also wouldn't hurt to brush a couple extra times a day either to help keep those areas clean. This also means no deep kissing or any other kind of oral play for at least a month and a half. Give your piercings time to heal!

Other body piercings such as nipples, belly buttons, private parts, and the rest of the facial piercings are relatively easy to take care of. You want to make sure to wash them when you are in the shower daily, and to not put pressure on them. You want to wash them with an anti-microbial soap and let the warm water clean off any of that crusty build up. They will heal up on their own very nicely if they don't encounter bacteria or get messed with too much. To help your piercing heal you don't want to play with it too much.

What about a surface piercing? Surface piercings are going further than the normal piercing. They go through a lot more skin and are a lot more painful. They also bring up the question of is this going to reject? When getting a surface piercing make sure your piercer is experienced with them and runs a clean shop. Some piercers refuse to do this simply because the piercings will reject if not taken care of properly. You should also clean them out with a tsp of rock salt made with a pint of boiling water. Let the boiling water cool down and it will really help keep the surface piercings clean.

Piercings are a great way to show individualism. If you are getting a piercing make sure you realize this is going into your body and it will only turn out as well as you take care of it. Never take the risk of piercing on your own, you can cause a lot of damage if you do not know what you are doing. Also remember to never go swimming in public places for at least a month.

Learn more about this author, Melanie Treinen.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.