To make sure that your piercing heals properly and stays with you for as many years as you want it to, it’s important to brush up on proper septum piercing aftercare if you’re considering getting one or have just had one done. The things you should and shouldn’t do while your septum piercing heals, how to clean it and more will all be covered in our Septum Piercing Aftercare guide.
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Septum Piercing Aftercare
During the healing process of your septum piercing, there are a number of things you should and shouldn’t do. Your septum piercing should heal properly in a typical amount of time if you follow the instructions below in addition to the aftercare instructions your piercer provides you, provided you don’t have any issues with your septum piercing.
What You Should Do While Your Septum Piercing Heals
- Do Maintain Your Septum Piercing. Throughout the healing process for your septum piercing, mist the area around it 3–6 times per day with a high-quality saline rinse like Recovery Piercing Aftercare Spray. You should also perform a minimum of two full sea salt solution soaks per day for the first few weeks. Although they are not advised for everyone, antiseptic piercing sprays can be useful if you have a septum piercing issue. See our “How to Clean a Septum Piercing” section below for suggested sea salt solution soak methods you can try, as well as what type of piercing antiseptic products are best and when you should consider incorporating one into your septum piercing aftercare regime.
- Always maintain good health. Your septum piercing can heal more quickly if you get enough rest, eat healthfully, drink plenty of water, avoid other people’s germs, manage your stress, and maintain general good hygiene. Your immune system will be strengthened by taking care of these general health concerns, which will free up your body to devote all of its energy to healing your septum piercing. As part of the “avoiding other people’s germs” aspect, it’s important to wash your hands regularly and thoroughly. Read our Guidelines for Hand Hygiene for tips on how to properly wash your hands.
What You Should Not Do While Your Septum Piercing Heals
- Do Not Traumatize Your Septum Piercing. During the septum piercing healing process, if you absolutely must blow your nose, blow very gently into a clean tissue. Do not reuse tissues. During the healing process, you should refrain from playing with your jewelry. In fact, it’s best to avoid touching your jewelry altogether, save for when you’re cleaning your septum piercing, and even then, only after you’ve properly washed your hands or put on a pair of medical gloves. Don’t slam your septum piercing against someone’s face when you kiss them; instead, kiss them softly. To prevent slow healing, try to avoid any kind of trauma to your septum piercing.
- Blood should not be thinned. The majority of piercings will occasionally bleed in the initial stages of the healing process. Often it’s because of crusties (dried lymph) freezing jewelry in place and suddenly getting torn loose from the surrounding tissue–
a problem you can mostly avoid by softening crusties with piercing aftercare spray before gently wiping them away with a clean tissue. It’s best to stay away from anything that will thin your blood because bleeding could potentially become a problem for you at some point, especially in the first two weeks of the healing process. That includes high caffeine intake, alcohol (which is also hydrating), and aspirin. - Keep Bacteria Out of Your Septum Piercing. You can take precautions to reduce the number of bacteria and other harmful microorganisms that come into contact with your healing septum piercing. It’s impossible to completely avoid bacteria unless you live in a sterile bubble, but you can’t completely avoid them either. While your septum piercing heals, refrain from taking baths, using swimming pools, or bathing in any other public water. Wash your hands thoroughly and frequently, preferably with antibacterial soap, and then sanitize your hands afterward. Avoid prolonged snogs that might contaminate your face with your partner’s oral bacteria. Instead of using the soak-and-wipe method mentioned in the bullet above, do not twist, turn, or slide your septum jewelry to remove crusts. Additionally, you should refrain from wiping your nose with bare hands or used tissues. Always dab a clean tissue at your nostrils or blow your nose slowly if you need to wipe or blow your nose.
- Do not directly apply soap to your septum piercing. When washing your face, avoid the region around your septum piercing, including your upper lip, as soap is drying. It’s preferable to avoid applying soap directly to your septum piercing; however, it’s acceptable if sudsy water runs over it when you rinse your face or hair. Even if you start having piercing issues, there are better alternatives to soap, with sea salt solution coming in first. Saline wash is the safest, most efficient method for cleaning any healing piercing, according to scientific research. Compared to soap, your body will tolerate it much better.
- Apply No Creams, Oils, Balms, or Ointments to Your Septum Piercing. These items may obstruct the healing fistula (piercing hole), which may trap bacteria and lead to an infection. If the skin around your septum piercing is dry and/or begins to crack, the best thing to do is to enhance your sea salt solution soaks with tea tree oil, as suggested in our “How to Clean a Septum Piercing” section below. Tea tree oil is a natural moisturizer and antiseptic that, when diluted in a sea salt solution, can do wonders for dry, irritated skin.
- Don’t prematurely replace your septum jewelry. Your fistula will still be new and tender even after your septum piercing has healed for six weeks, which may make it difficult for you to change your septum jewelry by yourself at first. Your fistula will become stronger and more resilient over time, which will make switching out your jewelry easier. It’s best to have your piercer make the switch for you if you really want new jewelry inserted as soon as your septum piercing is fully healed.
- Avoid smoking, or at the very least limit your nicotine intake. The body’s capacity to heal is hindered by nicotine’s systemic effects. Before getting any piercing, including a septum piercing, try to cut back or stop smoking if you are a heavy smoker. If you are unable to completely give it up, making some reductions is preferable to doing nothing. You can also try switching to an e-cigarette instead of a traditional cigarette to avoid the drying smoke. You can choose an E-juice with a lower nicotine level if you’d prefer for our Smokenhot electronic cigarettes because they come in different nicotine strengths. In addition, while your septum piercing is healing, you might want to try nicotine gum, patches, or lozenges.
How Long Does a Septum Piercing Take to Heal?
A septum piercing should heal in two to three months, though for some people, depending on a variety of factors, this may take six to eight months. Even though it hurts to pierce the septum, the wound should mend quickly because there isn’t much tissue that needs to be rebuilt there.
But first, you should be aware of a few things before you get overly excited about a speedy recovery. It takes skill and experience to pierce the septum in the proper location. The correct location for a quick healing septum piercing is the fleshy area below your nose cartilage (the columella), and if your piercer misses this area, you could be in for a very long healing time.
You see, your nose is made up of a lot of cartilage, and right above the spot where a septum piercing is best placed is a piece of tough cartilage.
The cartilage can be used to pierce the septum, but doing so will lengthen the healing process and cause more pain. That is simply the way cartilage piercings work.
You should have your piercer examine your nose before deciding for sure to get the septum pierced to avoid a longer healing period. Some people don’t have much flesh below the cartilage, and that may mean the piercing has to go through cartilage.
Just keep in mind that you will likely experience a longer healing process if you choose this.
Factors That Affect Septum Piercing Healing Times
The majority of us desire a speedy healing process for our piercings. So I’m going to help you out with some tips on what may affect your septum piercing healing times:
Pick at Or Pulling Scabs and Crust
Yes, it may sound a little disgusting, but you are aware of your temptation. It can be difficult to resist the urge to remove the crust that develops around your piercing. It will take longer for you to heal if you pull at the crusts and scabs because doing so could lead to minor skin tears. Instead, leave them in a warm saline solution to soak until you can gently wipe them off.
Submerge the Piercing in Water
It is not advised to immerse your septum piercing in water. I am aware that I just advised you to immerse your piercing in a saline or salt water solution. Swimming or using hot tubs are what I’m referring to. You are allowed to do those things, but avoid submerging your face in water while it is still healing. Why? Because almost all bodies of water contain a significant amount of bacteria.
Get a Sunburn on Your Nose
Increased healing times can result from anything that diverts your body’s attention from the piercing. Sunburn irritates the skin, and too much exposure to the sun can increase the likelihood of scarring.
Catch the Piercing on Something
No one intentionally sets out to do this, but it will undoubtedly occur more than once. While pulling your shirt over your head or on your towel after a shower, you accidentally catch your nose piercing. In addition to being excruciatingly painful, it could harm the piercing.
It is likely that your piercing will be sore and require some extra time to calm down and finish healing if you accidentally catch it on something. Just be as cautious as you can to prevent doing this too frequently.
Your Cleaning Regimen
Following a daily cleaning schedule is probably the best way to shorten the time it takes for your septum piercing to heal. It’s ideal to clean the septum twice a day, but don’t overdo it. Your skin may become dry and irritated if you clean too frequently.
Your General Ability to Heal
The healing process will vary greatly from person to person. It takes a little bit longer or a little bit less time for different people. In general, you can anticipate to be on the faster end of the healing time range if your body is in excellent health.
Contract An Infection
This sort of relates to general health, but it’s less predictable than your regular health routines. The healing process may be slowed down if you contract the flu, the common cold, or any other illness during that time.
You may want to temporarily increase how frequently you clean the site if your nose is running and causing a lot of crud to accumulate there.
Reaction to the Jewelry
Choose fine jewelry made of titanium or surgical steel as a favor to yourself. You should do it anyhow, according to a skilled body piercer. Before the aftercare period is over, do not switch out your jewelry for something less expensive.
Cheap septum jewelry frequently causes allergic reactions and irritation, which can seriously harm your piercing and lead to possible infections.
Using Harsh Disinfectants
It’s true that you want to avoid infections, but that doesn’t mean you should soak your piercing in rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide. Those things will only harm your skin’s healthy cells, which you require for your piercing to heal properly.
Stick to the aftercare products designed specifically for piercings and salt water solutions instead.
How to Clean a Septum Piercing?
Use a saline solution to clean your new piercing for the best results. The ready-made solutions sold by many piercers, like H2Ocean, are simple to make at home. See the recipe below.
Make Your Own Saline Solution
8 ounces (250 ml) of warm distilled water should contain 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt. The water shouldn’t be too hot because that could hurt you and make the piercing worse. Allow the mixture to cool until it is about the same temperature as a cup of coffee that can be easily drank.
What kind of salt should I use? The best salt to use in your solution is sea salt. Some people have found that using table salt as a substitute works, but this is not recommended due to the minerals it can contain. Since Epsom salts don’t contain sodium chloride but rather magnesium sulfate, they should be avoided.
Soak Your Nose Or Apply a Compress
Even though it can be challenging, try soaking the piercing for 5–10 minutes in a glass of water if you have one with the capacity to do so. If not, make a compress with a disposable paper towel, but take care not to put too much pressure on the piercing.
a washcloth, a cotton ball, or a paper towel? Use washcloths instead of cotton balls because they can harbor bacteria and leave fibers behind. Typically, a paper towel will do.
Rinse After Soaking
When you have finished soaking your piercing, rinse it with clean, cold water and a fresh Q-Tip to remove any discharge or “crusties.”
How Often Should I Clean It?
You should clean new piercings with a saline solution two to three times per day, according to recommendation. Avoid going overboard because doing so could cause your piercing to become dry and irritated.
What is a Septum Piercing?
The wall separating the nostrils, known as the septum, is punctured in a septum piercing. Typically, the cartilage itself is not pierced. Piercers will generally go through what is known as the “sweet spot,” the small, softer area between the cartilage and the bottom of the nose. You should be able to find it if you put a finger in each nostril, pinch your septum, and drag your nose downward.
The cartilage may occasionally be punctured, though not everyone has a sweet spot. An ordinary septum piercing through the sweet spot will usually be less painful than this.
Where is the Septum Piercing “Sweet Spot”?
Depending on where each person’s sweet spot is, the piercing will sit differently on each individual. It may be pierced close to the tip of the nose on some people or farther back on others.
Can You Hide a Septum Piercing?
If your workplace does not allow for body modifications, septum piercings may be the easiest to conceal. By flipping the jewelry up into the nostrils, the piercing can be concealed and rendered invisible to the eye with the right jewelry (a septum keeper or a circular barbell).
Is a Septum Piercing a Cartilage Piercing?
It depends—in most cases no, a septum piercing usually goes through the flesh right next to it (the “sweet spot”) but not the cartilage itself. However, not everyone has a sweet spot, so occasionally the cartilage will be pierced.
For more information: What Is A Septum Piercing?
Takeaway
It’s an adventure to get a new piercing, but if it becomes infected, it can become a nightmare. Therefore, be prepared to handle the obligations that come with it before getting that new septum piercing you’ve always wanted.
For a secure cleaning solution for your piercings, Dr. Aftercare for piercings may be beneficial.
We at Dr. Piercing Aftercare have created practical medicated swabs that you can use to clean your piercings and prevent infection. About our products, we are pleased. They are created and tested in a U.S. facility that complies with cGMP standards and is registered with the FDA.
For simple application, we use cutting-edge technology on our swabs. Thirty-six medicated swabs that have been clinically shown to support your body’s natural healing process while preventing infection are included in each pack. To learn more about our products, get in touch with us right away or visit our website.
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