When you start caring for a piercing wound, you'll soon find out that there are many different ways to keep your piercing clean. A common method is to care for your healing or irritated piercing with a (warm) saline solution. But is this really that much better than using regular tap water? And should you opt for a ready-made or homemade physiological saline solution? In this article, we'll go into these questions in more detail.
Piercings and Wound Healing
First of all, it's important to look at what kind of wound a piercing wound is. When you get a piercing, your piercer pierces your skin (or other body part) with a super-sharp needle. Often, your piercing goes through multiple layers, not just your skin. Think of a lip or tongue piercing, for example, where muscle tissue is also pierced. Healing depends entirely on where your piercing is placed, so unfortunately there is no simple way to say how well or how quickly your piercing will heal. In addition, a new piercing is a wound that has a longer healing period than, for example, a cut in your finger, because the piercing wound remains open longer due to the jewelry that is placed in it. During healing, your body closes the wound by forming a tube around the jewelry, the so-called fistula. Only when this tube is completely closed and firm enough, can you speak of a piercing that has healed well. Most studies on wound healing mainly focus on the more superficial wounds, which can be closed as quickly as possible and therefore have a different way of healing.
But what do we know? Fortunately, skilled piercers pay close attention to their way of working and the aftercare of the piercings they do. Over the years, we have therefore learned that a piercing heals best when it is irritated as little as possible. This allows the vulnerable tissue to recover as quickly as possible during healing and to be damaged as little as possible. Therefore, the advice is: twist, pick, wash or use harsh cleaning methods as little as possible. A clean wound environment is important for the healing of your piercing, which is why basic hygiene is a must. As a supplement, you can use water or saline solution. Both liquids help to flush away impurities and help to keep the wound and wound environment clean.
Water vs. salt
Which of these two is best to use? Water and saline solutions have similarities and subtle differences. They are both liquid, and that is also where their cleansing power lies. The liquid rinses the wound and the surrounding skin clean and thus removes impurities. They also both prevent excessive drying out of the wound, which benefits healing. If you use a warm liquid, this also stimulates blood circulation, which in turn promotes recovery and cleaning.
Tap water
Tap water is easily available, you only have to turn on the tap and you have more than enough. Medical studies show that tap water can be used perfectly well for short-term wound cleaning, it does not irritate the wound excessively and helps to rinse the wound and the wound area. If you choose to rinse your piercings in the shower and leave them alone, you are already well on your way. A small but: the quality of the water can play a role, although in the Netherlands and surrounding areas you usually do not have to worry about that.
Physiological saline solution
A physiological saline solution requires a bit more preparation: you will need to have it at home or make it yourself. A physiological saline solution is a saline solution of nine grams of salt to a liter of water. This means that the solution has a similar amount of salt as most bodily fluids. Think of tear fluid. This is immediately the biggest advantage of saline solution vs tap water: it is milder for the wound and the surrounding tissue and helps prevent damage to the skin cells. Wounds that are of a more chronic nature are more often rinsed with a physiological saline solution in the medical world than with normal tap water, precisely to limit any damage and irritation. If you then assume the 'better safe than sorry' principle, you can imagine why a physiological saline solution is often recommended for piercings.
Himalaya, sea salt or table salt?
On to the types of salt! Does it then make any difference which type of salt you choose? Generally speaking, no. Both sea salt and Himalaya salt and table salt have one main ingredient: (table) salt, sodium chloride. The possible minerals still present in sea salt or Himalayan salt could, according to some, have positive effects on skin care, which is why these last two variants are popular as skin care.
Homemade vs. ready-made
You can make a physiological saline solution yourself, but you can also buy it ready-made. A homemade saline solution is good for your wallet, with a little bit of salt you can make a lot of saline solutions for your piercings. But if you buy ready-made saline solution, you always have the right composition at home. A bottle of pre-packaged saline solution also fits easily in your bag and you can therefore take it with you everywhere.
Do you want to know how to make a saline solution for your piercings yourself? Then check out our extensive blog post about how to make a saline solution yourself. With our own Salt for saline solutions you can make your own saline solution to clean your piercings in no time. If you are looking for ready-made saline solutions, you will find various items in our shop that are the perfect choice for this. Easypiercing saline solution comes in a handy spray bottle and has been a favorite among piercing enthusiasts for years. Cleany Skin saline solution is just as handy, comes in a spray bottle that you can use from any angle and contains Dexpanthenol which helps prevent dehydration.
