If you're like me, you probably didn't think too much about earring hygiene since your ear piercings healed. But the truth is that ear hygiene remains important long after your piercings have healed! Most people are diligent during the first few weeks of healing your piercings, but if you've had your ears pierced for years, you may have slipped on this hygiene task.
There are two things you want to avoid with earrings, and those things are metal allergies and infections. Choosing hypoallergenic materials will prevent metal allergies and keeping your earrings and piercings clean will prevent infection.
We talk a lot at Tini Lux about metal allergies and the materials that your earrings are made with, because that can have a significant impact on whether or not it is comfortable for you to wear earrings. We don't talk as much about preventing infected ear piercings, but that obviously has a major impact as well.
To avoid metal allergies, we always recommend wearing pure, non-allergenic metals like titanium, niobium, platinum, and gold.
To avoid an infected ear piercing, one of the most important steps is to regularly clean your earrings. Every time you insert a pair of earrings, you are potentially introducing bacteria, dirt, and oil to your piercing site. Here are some tips on how to clean your ears and your earrings, and how often to do so:
1. Clean your ears and earrings once a week. You can use a gentle saline solution to clean your ears, and a cotton swab and warm water and gentle soap to clean your earrings. Make sure to blot both dry with a clean paper towel or tissue. This will also help to eliminate or reduce the odors that can develop at your piercing site.
2. You should also clean your ears and earrings every time you change your earrings. If you are taking a pair of earrings out or putting a new pair in, first make sure your hands are clean. Then, disinfect the new pair you are putting in to make sure there is no debris or bacteria that could get into your piercing. If you are taking a pair of earrings out, clean them before you return them to storage.
3. Regularly disinfect objects that you wear close to your piercings. For example, if you talk on the phone regularly, make sure your wipe it down with a disinfecting towel to make sure it does not transfer any bacteria to your piercings.
Hopefully these tips will help you to keep your ear piercings fresh and free of any infections! If you have any questions, email us at info@tinilux.com.
