How to Not Over Clean a Piercing?

One of the first thing people learn after getting a piercing is to clean it regularly. Piercers always emphasize the importance of regular cleaning, particularly of new piercings. Cleaning is crucial for protecting your piercing and your health. This is the best way to avoid infections and other problems. Remember, not cleaning your piercing regularly can get ugly pretty fast. On the other hand, there is such a thing as over-cleaning your piercing. This may sound like a good idea, but it isn’t. In order to keep your piercing safe, you should not over clean it. This is why it is important to learn how not to over clean a piercing you have.

Over Clean a Piercing: What Does it Mean?

What does it mean to over clean a piercing, exactly? Many people assume that cleaning is always a good idea. It removes dirt, bacteria and other harmful things, right? Well, not exactly. While it is true that regular cleaning does remove all these harmful things and it keeps your piercing healthy, there is such a thing as doing it too much.

People who feel that they need to clean their piercing every half an hour or so are not doing their piercing any favors. Regular cleaning is important, yes, but to over clean a piercing is actually a very bad idea.

See, too much cleaning can irritate your skin and make it more susceptible to infections and other problems. This is a very bad idea if you have a new piercing in healing. Also, to over clean means to over-apply a cleaner on your new piercing. Even with salt and water, this can cause irritation to your piercing. This is the last thing you need when you have a new piercing that is trying to heal.

Remember: a piercing that is sensitive is more likely to cause trouble. What makes a piercing sensitive varies, but cleaning too much is one of the things that can make even the best piercing sensitive in no time. People who do this are putting their piercings in danger of the same problems they wish to avoid. In short, it is a bad idea to over clean a piercing.

Am I Over Cleaning?

So, how to know if you have a habit to over clean a piercing? It is actually not so easy to know, because you typically cannot tell when your piercing will become sensitive. It is not easy to tell what is “too much” and when your piercing will become sensitive and prone to troubles.

One way to tell is by looking at your piercing. If you notice redness or scaling of the skin around the piercing, this may be a sign that you are cleaning way too much. Other signs include burning or pain when you touch the skin around the piercing.

However, keep in mind that a piercing does not need to show any signs for it to suffer from over cleaning. This is why it’s best not to rely on physical signs when deciding what is adequate cleaning and what is too much.

The best way to prevent over cleaning and to never over clean a piercing is to follow your piercer’s guidelines. Each new piercing has care recommendations that you need to follow. Cleaning is one of the most important aftercare steps so you should follow it according to the instructions.

For example, if you piercer says to clean your piercing twice per day, do not do it five or ten times per day. If they recommend to do it in the morning and after going to sleep, do not clean in the middle of day. If they say to clean after a meal, do it how you are instructed. This is the best way to prevent over cleaning and to keep your piercing healthy and strong.