Stress Free Piercings in San Jose
TELL ME ABOUT THE HEALING PROCESS
The first step to healing is to be healthy! Happy, healthy bodies make for happy, healthy piercings. Just like a pet… or a baby! Good personal hygiene and a stress-free life, complemented by a nutritious diet with proper hydration will enable the body to heal faster. The combination of showering daily along with proper saline irrigation will reduce chances of infection and minimize irritation. (By the way, if you need a reminder to shower, maybe you should re-evaluate your priorities.) Keep it simple: eat your veggies and please, keep your filthy hands off. In fact, go wash your hands right now and don’t touch anything gross on your way out.
DON’T SCROLL PAST THESE: CLEANING INSTRUCTIONS
∘
DON’T SCROLL PAST THESE: CLEANING INSTRUCTIONS ∘
Hey, you stopped scrolling! 5 points for Gryffindor.
It’s easy to get caught up in how great your new piercing looks, but keep these cleaning instructions in mind too:
Wash your hands thoroughly and USE SOAP (running tap water doesn’t count, babe).
Wash your piercing with DR BRONNER'S BABY MILD CASTILE SOAP then rinse well with water.
Spray Brio saline spray directly on the piercing to liberally flush the piercing (grit your teeth and channel the strength of your ancestors if it stings).
You may need to use a q-tip or non-woven gauze to clean away any “crusties” that collect on the jewelry around the piercing. Cotton swabs can sometimes be the go-to solution to remove stubborn lymph or debris from jewelry. But the bleach and cotton swab fibers can damage fragile tissue so dampen with sterile saline and use VERY gently.
It’s not necessary to rinse this product away, however if you do rinse make sure it’s with clean, running water. No “spit shine” here folks.
If your jewelry is threaded (barbells, etc.) check it to ensure it’s still tight! Remember “righty tighty, lefty loosey.”
What NOT to do
DO NOT sleep on a piercing for the entire healing period – especially cartilage! Extra points for Gryffindor (we’re keeping track here) if you use fresh, clean, animal dander and fur-free linens and towels.
NO tanning during healing! Delicate healing tissue can be sensitive to heat, oils, and chemicals used in this environment.
NEVER rotate jewelry through the piercing. Try stroking your chin like a wise old wizard if you need to keep your hands busy.
NEVER use bar, anti-bacterial, fragranced or deodorant soaps.
DO NOT remove your jewelry for any reason during the healing process. Healed piercings may not remain fully open if jewelry is removed for even short periods. If jewelry DOES come out, please return to a professional studio immediately for assistance! We can usually get jewelry back in even if you can’t.
NEVER handle your piercing. Hands are filthy (not just yours, all hands), no matter how clean they look. Most infections come from people touching their piercings so keep your hands on someone else!
Avoid chemicals: DO NOT use rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, Bactine®, Neosporin®, antiseptics, antibacterial soaps or other chemicals.
NO ointments, lotions, creams, hair sprays, dyes or makeup or glitter on or near the piercing site.
NO swimming/submerging: avoid lakes, rivers, pools, bathtubs, hot tubs, oceans, creeks, ponds or mud puddles. Waterproof bandages aren’t perfect and don’t always prevent contamination, so schedule your annual hot tub party after your piercing has fully healed.
Possible Infections
Actual infections are rare. Often what clients feel is an infection is simply an irritation that can be remedied without medical intervention. Signs of infection include pain, swelling, heat, and discolored discharge.
Do Not Remove Your Jewelry!
Bacteria cause infections, not piercings. Stop by the studio at the first sign of trouble. If we can’t help you we will gladly refer you to a physician.
That said, WE ARE NOT DOCTORS. If you believe you have an infection or other medical issues, please consult your physician ASAP
Otherwise…
Please know that we LOVE everything that comes with ear curation – from the designing to the piercing to the maintenance to seeing you return for more! You will be lovingly pierced with intention and care and we can’t wait for you to show off our work.
FAQs
-
Guns? Give peace a chance, man! No, but seriously, a piercing gun can’t be effectively sterilized or accommodate the different thiccness of ears and earlobes. Before you ask, no, it doesn’t matter how much you exercise. You can’t make your ears thinner, sorry.
Sit back and relax as we select and use jewelry at a length chosen specifically for you. I guess it’s true what they say then, the pin is mightier than the gun (no one has ever said that).
-
1). Go commando - that’s a first-date story we want to hear. 2). We recommend the initial jewelry be left in for the FULL duration of the healing period. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a date to impress or you’re staying in and eating a family-sized bucket of KFC (no judgment here), you gotta wait until your new piercing is fully healed before switching it out unless you want to delay healing, lead to infection, and cause abnormal scarring.
For earlobes, this means six to eight weeks; for cartilage, six to twelve months, minimum. And if you’re wondering about bone, this means something went terribly wrong.
-
OK, hot mamma. We love where your head’s at. Here’s the thing though, we’re not gonna pierce you if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. We care about you too much and your system is already under a helluva lot of stress from the whole, ya know, pregnancy thing.
You and your Instagrammable baby are at an increased risk of infection, allergic reaction and/or rejection during pregnancy so it’s best to wait before getting pierced. If you’re breastfeeding, we recommend waiting a minimum of 4 months before being pierced. That might seem like a while, but with the new bub keeping you awake that 4 months is only a few sleeps away! Unsure, or have any other questions? Email us (about piercings, not baby stuff).
-
As much as we love bambinos, we can’t. We side with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) which recommends waiting until children are old enough to care for the piercings themselves. They’re also continuously changing and growing so the piercings can become uneven as they grow.
-
Nah. Numbing agents can cause unnecessary swelling. And, like downing a shot of tequila for some last-minute liquid courage, we’ll smell it. We’ll turn you away if you arrive at your piercing appointment slathered with numbing cream. That means you end up crying in the parking lot because you still have to pay for your missed appointment.
-
Unfortunately, no. We are required by law to maintain records of the manufacturer and metal certification of every piercing. As much as we’d love to vet the legitimacy of your web-certified “surgical steel”, we’re not here to play detective so we stick implant-grade materials that meet the ASTM or ISO qualifications into you. No doubt, your jewelry guy with the tribal arm tattoo is legit no cap, but the only way we can be absolutely certain of your safety is with equipment we have vetted ourselves.
-
Sure thing! Just as soon as your parents sign the consent forms. Boo, we know but rules are rules. It’s straight-up illegal for us to pierce a minor without parental permission. It doesn’t matter if you’re a black belt at forging Mom or Dad’s signature. Save your hastily forged note for ditching Chemistry because you’re gonna have to drag one of your life-givers into the shop with you along with their state or federally issued ID. Two kids standing atop each other in a giant trench coat won’t work here either (we won’t be fooled by that a third time).
Don’t forget to bring your own ID too! State or federal is preferred but a school ID with the same last name as your guardian will get you a lot further than you forging your parent’s signature or wearing a fake mustache attached to a pair of glasses (though we’d have a good chuckle). In the meantime, see if you can convince the folks to get matching piercings or tattoos. What else is family for?
-
Listen, as purveyors of pain, we’d like nothing more to inflict pain errrywhere but we’re ear stylists specializing in ear piercings. That means we work our full magic on your ears and we are ALL about multiple lobe piercings in unique configurations. Stacking lobe piercings close together or one atop the other is one of our favorite things to do AND it’s a clever way to transform those awkwardly placed “Claire's” piercings you got in grade school into a setup that now looks intentional and whimsical.
While we can pierce other body parts, we live for the artistry of looking at your ear anatomy, lifestyle and personal aesthetic to suggest the best placements and jewelry styles that complement each other and you.
-
You can see most of our pieces on our online shop here. Unfortunately, due to the high turn around of our pieces, we constantly sell out quickly. (We’re not bragging here, it’s true… and we’re kinda bragging). If you want to see the world like we do, email a picture of your ear along with a few “inspo” photos so we can curate a specific design that would fit the physical dimensions of your ear.
-
Meh. Kinda. Here are a few things you’ll want to consider when starting with a ring:
1). Rings are more likely to get bumped and snagged (ouch).
2). Physical injuries set back healing and can create unsightly scarring.
3). Initial piercings require jewelry that allows your body to swell. Barbell posts are just slightly longer but the entire diameter gets bigger with rings. This look isn’t as snug or cute as you want.
Feel free to send us a pic of your ear and we’ll give you our professional opinion on whether a ring would fit your ear anatomy and dimension. We might be telling you something you don’t want to hear but it’s alway said with love and based on our professional experience with your best interests in mind. Sometimes it’s best to just leave the rings to fingers and toes.
-
Step One: World Domination. Sorry, wrong plan. The first step to a healed piercing is to be healthy. Happy, healthy bodies make for happy, healthy piercings.
Good personal hygiene, a stress-free life, and a nutritious diet with proper hydration will enable your body to heal faster. The combination of daily showering with proper saline irrigation will reduce chances of infection and minimize irritation. (By the way, if you need a reminder to shower, maybe you should re-evaluate your priorities.) Keep it simple: eat your veggies and please, keep your filthy hands off. In fact, wash your hands right now and don’t touch anything gross on your way out.
Still have a question? Give us a call.
Possible Infection
Actual infections, like Zombie infections, are rare. Often what you think is an infection is simply an irritation that can be remedied without medical intervention. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t sting like a wet tennis ball to the face, but it helps to know you’re not infected (at least your piercing isn’t, we don’t know what else you get up to in life, you wild thing). Signs of infection include pain, swelling, heat, and discolored discharge. Be alert for these.
Once more for the people in the back. DO NOT REMOVE YOUR JEWELRY!
Change your underwear, not your jewelry - not until it’s 100% healed. It’s pesky bacteria that cause infections, not piercings. If you’re concerned about infection, stop by the studio at the first sign of trouble. If we can’t help you we will gladly refer you to a physician.
That said, WE ARE NOT DOCTORS. If you believe you have an infection or other medical issues, please consult your physician ASAP
Oh, a Final Word…
Most people don’t read FAQs from top to bottom so whether you took in every word or you scrolled straight to the bottom (our kind of weirdo), just know that we LOVE everything that comes with ear curation – from designing to piercing to maintenance to seeing you return for more! You’ll be lovingly pierced with intention and care and we can’t wait for you to show off our work.
Feeling stabby?