Although getting a piercing can be a quick process compared to a tattoo, we still recommend you prepare your body for this experience. Eat a hearty, nutritious meal 1-3 hours before coming into the shop. This will keep your body energized, and protein in particular helps your body heal. Having a full stomach will also decrease the chances of dizziness and lightheadedness.
Once you have your new bling, your piercer will go over the healing times and cleaning procedures with you. Like people, each piercing is unique so healing times can differ greatly. A piercing can take several weeks or months to heal, so be patient. By following these tips, your healing times may decrease:
1. Do not touch or spin your piercing. Ten years ago a piercer may have told you to spin your piercing; this is an old method, and can tear the wound each time you do.
2. Spray your piercing with Neilmed 1-2 times a day.
3. Oral piercings require different care. Rise your mouth with cold water after eating, drinking, or smoking. Avoid caffeine, alcohol and whitening toothpaste during healing.
Once your piercing is healed, you can change out the jewelry. A larger barbell is used when piercing to allow room for swelling, Most people choose to downsize a barbell and upgrade their body piercing jewelry. To make it easy, the hardware can be switched out by one of our piercers. We recommend continuing to clean your piercing once a month to get rid of any debris that may collect around your jewelry. You can do this with a wet Q-tip. Do not do this with a dry swab, as it can catch and leave fibres on the piercing.
A saline solution that was designed specifically for piercing aftercare. The nozzle creates a gentle mist that allows you to spray directly on the piercing, which is much easier than the alternative of creating a sea salt bath for your new piercing.
These are some of our most frequently asked questions. If you have more inquiries or would like more details, feel free to call our downtown Vancouver studio or email us.
Piercings are done with specialized tools and high quality jewelry. SOH has a wide selection of both starter and upgraded body jewelry to choose from in titanium, surgical steel and gold. We are unable to pierce with jewelry from an outside source. Once the piercing has healed, we are happy to sterilize your own jewelry and insert it for you. This requires 24 hours advance notice, so please email or call the shop to book in.
Depending on the person and type of piercing, piercings can take a few weeks to several months to heal. Following our aftercare steps will help the healing process.
Yes. All piercing services require an appointment. To book, you may contact our downtown shop or book online via the link on our homepage.
SOH offers check ups and insertions. If you have concerns or questions regarding your piercings, you can come in and have a piercer take a look. Having a hard time getting a bead off? Bring in your replacement jewelry and we can change it out for you. These services require appointments.
It is possible to pierce through scar tissue but it must be completely healed. If you remove a piercing and wish to re-pierce the area, you should wait at least 1-2 months after removing the jewelry.
