Aftercare

Aftercare is mostly common sense. Just treat your new piece of art gently, and it will be good to you. For both tattoos and piercings, keep the area clean and avoid any stress on it.

For piercings:

>> Don’t play with them. This can irritate the area.

>> When showering, rinse them thoroughly, pushing the jewelry through the piercing to clean the entire piece.

>> For oral piercings, rinse your mouth out every time you eat or drink anything but water. Use a non-alcoholic mouthwash, such as Biotene. Don’t smoke or drink alcohol.

>> Avoid contact with any fluids except clean water and soap.

>> Don’t remove the initial jewelry until the piercing has healed

completely.

>> See your piercer if you have any questions or concerns.

For tattoos:

>> Keep the area wrapped for 24 hours following application.

>> Wash the area several times daily. Apply lotion or ointment if needed.

>> Don’t remove any scab that forms or expose the area to the sun for very long. Either of these can cause the tattoo to fade.

>> See your tattoo artist if you have any questions or if the tattoo

begins to degrade.

Piercing Terminology

>> CBR: Captive Bead Ring, a metal ring fastened with a bead.

The standard jewelry for many piercings.

>> Gauge: To stretch an existing piercing into a larger one.

>> Industrial: A piercing that passes through two holes in an ear with a single long bar.

>> Labret: A piercing below the lower lip.

>> Monroe: A piercing through the part of the face between the upper lip and the nose, resembling Marilyn Monroe’s famous mole.

>> Retainer: A non-metallic, usually clear piece of material used to keep a piercing open if the jewelry must be removed temporarily.

>> Plugs: Large studs used in gauging, made of either metal or plastic.

>> Stud: A simple straight piece of metal jewelry capped at both ends.