Nipple Piercing Aftercare

Healing timeline

• Typically 6–12 months, sometimes up to a year.
• Starter barbells are long for swelling; downsizing is usually ready at 2–3 months.
• Minimum age: 18+ with valid ID. A private room is available at Los Angeles, Berkeley, and Orange — ask when you book.

Daily cleaning

• Wash your hands before you touch the piercing, and otherwise leave it alone.
• Soak or spray with sterile saline twice a day, then pat dry with clean disposable paper — never a cloth towel.
• Rinse well in the shower and pat dry; keep soap, lotion, and body sprays off the piercing.

What to avoid

• Wear clean, breathable cotton; avoid lace, tight sports bras, and abrasive fabrics that catch the jewelry.
• Avoid sexual contact with the piercing for the first few weeks, then use barriers and keep partners' fluids off it until fully healed.
• Don't twist, rotate, or slide the jewelry — movement drags bacteria into the channel and delays healing.
• Skip alcohol, peroxide, Bactine, Neosporin, tea tree oil, and over-cleaning; they irritate the wound.
• Stay out of pools, hot tubs, lakes, and baths until healed; showers are fine.
• Don't change the jewelry yourself during healing — book a jewelry change at the studio.

What to expect

• Some bleeding, swelling, tenderness, bruising, and clear or whitish crust are normal in the first weeks.
• Sensitivity and light crusting can continue for months; it doesn't mean the piercing is failing.
• A piercing can feel healed on the outside before the inside has closed — keep cleaning for the full window.

When to get help

• Get medical attention for spreading redness, red streaks, fever, thick yellow or green discharge, or heat and swelling that keeps increasing.
• Come in for a downsize once the swelling settles — a long barbell catches on clothing and causes migration.