What kind of sea salt for piercings

Here's what you need to know before making the appointment. Belly button piercings are pretty common, but what if you have an outie? You might have a few options, depending on your anatomy. Considering a neck piercing? Thinking about back dimple piercings? Spider bites piercings are cheap, simple, and heal quickly. Here's what you need to know about the piercing procedure and care. Thinking about getting a tongue tattoo? Tea tree oil has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antiseptic properties.

Get the details on stick poke tattoos, including why you may want to skip the DIY versions. It can take as long as 2 years for a belly button piercing to heal completely. During that time, you're at risk for infection. Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Preparing for your sea salt soak. How to do a sea salt soak. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile.

Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. From nostril to navel and beyond , a new—or first! But of course, aftercare should not be an afterthought. Your piercer should send you home with some instructions, and most likely, they involve gently cleaning the piercing with mild, non-antibacterial soap and warm water every day.

For extra care, a warm sea salt soak may also be beneficial. Sea salt has long been revered for its potential cleansing and healing properties, so it's no wonder sea salt for piercings has become a recommended method of caring for new jewels. To learn all about sea salt soaks, we tapped dermatologist Dr. Keep scrolling to learn exactly what sea salt soak piercings are all about. Meet the Expert. Cleaning your piercing should be relatively easy.

Keep it simple and gentle with something like Dr. A small amount is all that's needed to cleanse the area. Faris also recommends using a saline solution for piercings twice a day, followed by allowing the piercing to air dry. Nazarian concurs. Typically, healing a piercing is more about not doing things versus specific do's. As Galiano points out, you should avoid using hot water on your piercing, as it can cause inflammation, swelling, and pain.

Instead, use warm water. The location of your new piercing matters when it comes to aftercare. Faris says to avoid high-waisted pants while healing a navel piercing, avoid biting or playing with a tongue piercing, and avoid wearing earbuds while healing a tragus piercing. Make a soaking solution by mixing sea salt and distilled water. Use pure sea salt non-iodized and not table salt, which contains extra chemicals that can irritate your piercing and dextrose sugar that can cause yeast infections.

When buying salt, read the label: it should contain only salt sodium chloride and possibly an anti-caking agent often calcium phosphate, calcium silicate, or prussiate of soda.

Do not use Epsom salts, as this is a completely different chemical compound. Make sure your salt-to- water ratio is correct. A stronger or weaker solution is not better and may actually harm your piercing. Cold soaks can be soothing for the first few days; after, heat as needed to make a warm salt-water soak. To use: Fill a small glass with the solution and warm.

You can heat it in the microwave. Put the solution in a glass, press the glass against your skin to form a seal, and hold it over your piercing for five minutes or until the water cools. For piercings like nostrils, ears, nipples, and some penis piercings, the entire body part should be submerged in the solution. Sterile saline solutions are a convenient, portable cleaning options. The saline products sold for contact lenses or ear and nasal irrigation sometimes contain additives that may not be suited to healing piercings.

Instead, check the first aid aisle of your drugstore and look for saline specifically formulated for wound care. To use, liberally spray the solution, thoroughly saturating the piercing. Your jewelry does not need to be rotated and sterile saline solution does not need to be rinsed off. Do not simply dip cotton balls or swabs in a saline solution and apply it to the skin; you must irrigate the piercing to clean it effectively.

Use a natural, fragrance-free and dye-free soap. Remember: It is the action of washing that is most effective in removing bacteria, not the soap itself. Lastly, be sure to use a liquid soap, because bar soaps collect dirt and bacteria that can easily be reapplied to your piercing.