Saline is a sterile mix of water and .09% sodium chloride that is meant to mimic the natural amount of salt that your body produces. It can be found in any pharmacy in the first aid aisle and at many reputable piercing studios.

Hold the nozzle close to each side of your piercing and spray. This will irrigate the area and remove debris. Pat the excess saline dry with sterile gauze or use the cool setting on a blow dryer to help dry the excess moisture. This is an important step as the salt left over in the saline can cause irritation and in some cases, cause the piercing to become "waterlogged".

Alternatively, you can also saturate a piece of sterile gauze with your sterile saline and hold it on your piercing for a few minutes to soften the debris. Gently wipe away the debris and pat dry.

Alcohol will burn and dry out your piercing completely. Peroxide kills all bacteria and our bodies need healthy bacteria to heal. Ointments clog the area which prevent it from getting the oxygen needed to heal; they can also introduce bacteria into the wound. Soap has too many ingredients and will inevitably cause unnecessary irritation to a healing piercing. We could go on…

There is no conclusive evidence that supports the idea that tea tree oil is safe to use on puncture wounds. In addition, tea tree oil has been known to cause chemical burns when used on skin.

This will cause irritation and introduce bacteria to the piercing site. There is a common misconception that you need to twist your jewelry to prevent the skin from growing around it, by twisting it, you are damaging a healing fistula (the piercing channel that forms).

This will slow down the healing process, cause irritation and in some cases, cause your piercing to heal on an angle. Travel pillows are a great way to get comfortable while your piercing heals.

The salt to water ratio must be very specific in order for this to work and there is no way for it to be sterile at home. The major benefit of a sea salt soak is the heat itself and not the salt mixture as non sterile forms of saline can be naturally dirtier. There is also the risk of your sea salt being contaminated, which can introduce a large amount of bacteria to your piercing.

Sterile saline is available just about anywhere in the US and is the superior option to homemade soaks.

We start Daith piercings with rings. Initial piercings require room to compensate for swelling. When pierced with too small of a ring, the curvature will put unnecessary pressure on both the entrance and exit wound. This pressure can cause pain, discomfort, irritation bumps, and/or additional swelling. This additional swelling can cause the ring to cut into the piercing from the sides and actually force your piercing to migrate to a different location. You can end up with excess scarring and scar tissue build up.

Cotton swabs are made up of many loose fibers. These loose fibers may disperse during cleaning and lodge themselves inside the piercing channel, causing unnecessary irritation during the healing process. Additionally, many use cotton swabs in a rough manner causing inflammation. Please avoid cotton swabs unless absolutely necessary. This is our preferred method for aftercare.

We suggest waiting a minimum of 8 weeks before submerging a piercing in water for extended periods of time. While salt water may be good for your piercings, the bacteria in the ocean, as well as pools are not.