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Piercings are a beautiful form of self-expression, but the healing process requires patience, discipline, and proper care.
While the initial piercing may take just a few seconds, healing can take weeks or even months depending on the location, jewellery type, and aftercare.
Here are ten common errors that slow down piercing recovery and solutions on how to avoid them.
1. Touching your piercing with unwashed hands
One of the most frequent mistakes people make after getting a new piercing is touching it with unwashed or dirty hands.
Throughout the day, our hands come into contact with various surfaces—phones, door handles, money—all of which harbour bacteria.
When you absentmindedly touch your new piercing, you transfer these bacteria to an open wound, increasing the risk of infection.
Even a quick adjustment or scratch can introduce harmful germs. This not only causes inflammation and irritation but can delay the healing time significantly.
Worse still, in some cases, it may lead to abscesses or require medical treatment if the infection spreads. But to make it easier, If you don’t need to touch your piercing, don’t.
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2. Changing jewellery too soon
Swapping your jewellery too early is one of the most tempting but damaging things you can do after getting pierced.
You may be excited to try a different style or want to wear a piece that matches your outfit—but changing jewellery prematurely can reopen the healing wound and disrupt tissue regeneration.
During the early healing stages, your body is still forming new skin cells around the piercing.
Removing the jewellery too soon can tear this delicate tissue, causing bleeding, scarring, and increasing the risk of infection. In some cases, the piercing may even start to close up, forcing you to get it re-pierced.
To avoid complications, follow the timeline given by your professional piercer.
3. Sleeping on the piercing
Sleeping on your new piercing might seem like a minor thing, but it can significantly affect how quickly and cleanly your piercing heals—especially for ear, nose, or facial piercings.
When you sleep on the pierced side, you put constant pressure on the jewellery, causing irritation and possibly even migration or rejection.
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This pressure not only distorts the shape of the piercing hole but can cause the jewellery to embed or scar the surrounding tissue. Many people wake up with swelling, redness or discomfort, not realising their sleep habits are the cause.
To protect your new piercing while sleeping, try to lie on your opposite side for the first few weeks or months. You can also use a travel pillow (the donut-shaped one) or create a gap with your pillowcase so the jewellery doesn’t get compressed.
Some people even sleep with a rolled-up towel under their head to elevate and relieve pressure.
4. Ignoring signs of infection
It’s easy to mistake minor irritation for healing, but dismissing obvious signs of infection can make things worse and stretch out the recovery period.
Common signs include increasing pain, heat, excessive redness, swelling, and discharge that’s yellow or green and smells foul.
Some people hope that ignoring it or cleaning more will fix the issue, but infections rarely resolve on their own. Left untreated, they can lead to abscesses, keloids, or systemic infections that affect your overall health.
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Mild redness in the early stages can be normal, but if symptoms worsen or persist beyond the usual timeframe, it’s best to seek help.
5. Wearing tight or irritating clothing
For body piercings like belly button, nipple, or even surface piercings, the type of clothing you wear can significantly affect healing.
Tight clothes that rub or cling to the area may cause constant friction, which irritates the skin and slows down the natural healing process.
The same applies to synthetic fabrics that trap sweat, bacteria, and heat, all of which create an unfavourable environment for your piercing.
Irritating clothing can also lead to snagging—a painful and potentially damaging issue where the jewellery catches on your shirt or waistband, pulling or tearing the piercing.
To avoid this, opt for loose, breathable fabrics like cotton during the initial healing phase. If you have a navel piercing, avoid tight high-waisted jeans or belts that press against your stomach.
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6. Not following aftercare instructions
Each piercing is different, and so are the aftercare guidelines that come with it. Ignoring or deviating from the professional advice given by your piercer is one of the most overlooked reasons piercings heal poorly or take longer than expected.
It’s easy to think you know best, especially with so much information online. For example, cleaning a nostril piercing with tea tree oil might have worked for someone else, but it could cause severe irritation for you. Always follow your piercer’s instructions to the letter.
If something feels wrong or your symptoms change, don’t rely on guesswork online tips, go back to your piercer or a trusted medical professional.