by T. Scott Randolph

Created on: July 15, 2010

Getting a new body piercing is an event that can change a person's life. Some people have many, other's may be getting their first. Finding a safe, reputable shop that has a certified professional piercer is only half of the battle. Taking care of the piercing until it heals is just as important.

Almost every shop that is reputable will give you both oral and written aftercare instructions. As a Master Piercer, I would like to sum up the important parts of the information that you may receive. Unfortunately, there are thousands of amateurs on the Internet that are giving advice that will not only impede the healing process, but they may actually cause harm.

First, we will break piercings down to two basic types. You have the run of the mill body piercings. These include ear, navel, eyebrow etc. The second type is oral piercings. These will have anything to do with the area of the mouth. Examples are lip, Labret, Marilyn, snake bites and of course the tongue.

Body piercings: There are countless products on the market that don't serve any other purpose but take your money. Unfortunately a lot of shops (even reputable ones) will sell these products. They are not unsafe necessarily, but many are uneeded. Even tattoo shops are powered by the all powerful dollar.

The most common products go by brand names like Neosporin, Bacitracin or Bactine. I don't want to take away from the good that these products do, it is just not needed for a fresh piercing. One, they are petroleum based. This will stop any air from getting to the wound. Bacteria can thrive in this oxygen depleted environment and they have an endless supply of food, your body. The temperature of 98.7 degrees doesn't help either. The fact that they are petroleum based also makes all kinds of contaminants stick to the wound. Another big problem is that most of these over the counter ointments have antibiotic properties. This means that you are using a drug that you don't need. You will build up a tolerance, which means when you do need it, it won't work.

The key to proper aftercare is amazingly simple. Keep the piercing clean. Do not touch it unless you have washed your hands first. A good example is a door knob. How many people touch it? When you touch it, then touch a new piercing, you are putting all of those germs right onto a wound, which is a break in your first line of defense : your skin.

Now that we have gotten all the after market antibacterial creams out of the way, what should you use? Antibacterial

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