Chantelle FarrellAnyone who had gotten their ears pierced can relate to the dreadful experience of going into the shower for the first time after the session.
It’s not the showering, per se, that can pose a risk to your new piercing – it’s all the things you do and use while showering. For instance, your shampoo and conditioner may irritate the pierced skin, which is an open wound. That can cause swelling, scabbing, and even infection.
But no one’s suggesting skipping the shower altogether after getting an ear-piercing. In fact, showering after a new piercing is good general hygiene to help the healing process.
Here’s everything you need to know about making your shower with a new ear piercing painless and safe.
Can You Wash Your Hair After a New Ear Piercing?
Yes, you can wash your hair after getting a new ear piercing. But you need to be ultra-careful and might need to change your showering routine a bit.
There’s a simple rule for taking care of a new piercing: do not touch it.
So, if you’re only washing your hair and not touching the tender part of your pierced ear, you should be good. More so if you have an earlobe piercing since it’s a bit hidden and away from your scalp.
However, the real question is whether you can wash your hair without touching your new piercing, and if so, how?
How to Wash Your Hair After Getting an Ear Piercing
If you have short hair, washing it without touching your new earring seems easy enough. But what if you have long hair?
Thankfully, there are tried-and-true ways to wash your hair without the risk of getting the strands snagged in your new piercing.
- Flip Your Hair to the Side
Flipping your hair to the side is the easiest way to wash your hair if you have a new piercing in one ear. It will allow you to clean your hair without getting water or chemical products into the open wound.
Make sure to stay in this side position until you’ve entirely rinsed your hair. You can also towel your hair dry this way to keep your pierced ear as dry as possible to avoid any risk of snagging.
- Flip Your Hair Upside Down
Flipping your hair to the side won’t work if you have a new piercing on both ears but washing your hair upside down will.
Tilt your head upside down, being careful enough that your hair wouldn’t get snagged on your piercing by doing so. Then, you can start washing your hair in the shower while doing your best to avoid soaking your ears in the process.
Again, give your hair a complimentary pat dry before flipping it on your back.
Can You Take a Shower After Getting Your Ears Pierced?
Washing your hair with a new piercing is one thing, but how about getting in the shower?
It may be uncomfortable with the wound still tender, but showering should be less painful if you have an earlobe piercing instead of a cartilage piercing. It’s because your earlobe is a softer tissue and more hidden.
The Risks of Showering With a New Ear Piercing
There are some things you need to be careful about when hopping in the shower with a new ear piercing:
- Don’t let any strands of your hair pull your earrings down.
- Avoid getting any chemicals from your shower products into your new piercing: soap, shampoo, conditioner, body wash.
- Avoid using an old or dirty bath towel. It can be a house to bacteria, especially a damp towel, which can cause infection to your new piercing.
If you can avoid all these things as you take a shower with a new ear piercing, there shouldn’t be any risk of swelling, itchiness, inflammation, excess scabbing, infection, or funky smell harboring in your piercing.
How to Shower With a New Piercing
Hop into the shower like you usually would, but keep in mind those couple of tips mentioned above. You might also want to adjust your shower routine to ensure that you can wash your hair without interfering with your new ear piercing’s healing process.
- Shower with warm water
The warmness of the water will help flush out any uncomfortable feeling when your new piercing still feels tender. But avoid any hot shower as it can only cause swelling, inflammation, and more pain.
- Replace your usual bath soap with a mild one
Use mild soap for sensitive or delicate skin instead of your typical bath soap to keep possible irritants away from your new ear piercing. Avoid antibacterial soap as well. Although it would make sense to use them to clean your new piercing, many antibacterial soaps contain harsh chemicals that are possible irritants.
No product should touch your new piercing unless it is a saline solution to clean the wound. That means skipping the shampoo and conditioner, especially those containing harsh chemicals like scalp stimulating and hair loss products. Any hair product that contains ‘fragrance’ or has a potent smell should be avoided as well.
- Use a new towel for drying off
Towels are often damp, which is a perfect environment where bacteria can grow. Now, that is not something you want near your new ear piercing, so make sure to use a new one after you shower.
What to Do If You Got a Hair Product on Your New Ear Piercing?
Do not panic if you get hair product on your new piercing. Just gently rinse it with warm, clean water and pat it dry.
A saline solution will also help your new piercing after a shower. It will clean the wound up and help with healing.
Should You Take Your Earrings Off Before Getting a Shower?
It depends on two things:
- Was your ear pierced recently?
If your ear piercing is new, you shouldn’t take it out before going into the shower. Keeping the earring where it is will help with proper healing. Taking it out before the wound completely healed, around 6-8 weeks, will increase the risk of irritation and infection.
- Is the earring made of cheap fashion jewelry?
If your piercing is at least over six weeks, especially if you are using a fashion earring, taking it off whenever you hop in the shower is best. Exposure to water will only rust the metal and may cause irritation or allergies.
