DON'T twist, turn, or touch your jewelry, and avoid putting any physical pressure on your piercing. This includes sleeping on it, wearing headphones/hats that compress the piercing, or using dry/shedding Q-tips to clean the area. Lastly, avoid snagging the jewelry! You essentially want to keep the jewelry as stationary as possible while it is healing.

DON'T use harsh chemicals or cleaners such as rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, tea tree oil, Bactine, or Neosporin. These products are not recommended for use in puncture wounds by their manufacturers, and can cause more harm than good for your piercing. If shampoo, hair spray, or lotion gets into your piercing, rinse the area well with warm water. A good rule of thumb: if it will sting your eyes, it's going to sting your new piercing! So don't use it.

DON’T remove your jewelry for the duration of the healing period—your piercing will close. Your piercing can still shrink or close even when fully healed; wearing jewelry at all times is the only fail-safe way to keep your piercings open.

DO irrigate the piercing site 1-2x/day by rinsing it under running warm water in the shower, or by using an isotonic/body-neutral sterile saline wound wash spray (0.9% sodium chloride). As you are healing, it will be normal to see clear, white, honey-colored, or amber drainage and crusties (byproducts of the wound healing process) forming around the exit and entry points of your new piercing. This is similar to a scab in that you don't want to pick it off before it’s ready to come off on its own, as that can cause damage to the healing wound; you also don't want this crust to build up excessively on your jewelry. As such, rinsing is the best way to clean because it will encourage any crusties that are ready to fall off to wash away on their own, without you needing to touch the piercing.

DO try to keep the piercing dry in between rinses, as excess moisture can impede the wound healing process. If you shower at night, tie your hair back so the piercing is not left wet. It's an especially good idea to blow dry your daith, rook, tragus, forward helix, or navel piercing on a cool air setting, as those nooks and crannies tend to retain moisture. (Make sure to change the filter on your hair dryer regularly). You can also gently dry your piercing with a single-use paper towel or gauze.

DO downsize your jewelry once the swelling has subsided (typically after 4-6 weeks). We use a longer piece of jewelry initially in order to accommodate for swelling. Once the swelling has gone down, you don't need all that extra length -- and that extra length can actually cause movement and irritation. Downsized posts are on us, free of charge.

DO get plenty of sleep, stay hydrated, eat well, and manage your stress levels. These factors absolutely impact your immune system's ability to heal.