How to Prepare for Your Piercing

Preparing for a new piercing is simple, but there are several issues to keep in mind which will help you to help prevent potential medical problems, and increase your own comfort during and after the process. Miraculous Creations accepts walk-in clients for piercings as time allows, but please feel free to call us for an appointment.

Your body will treat a new piercing as an open wound, and you can help it heal quickly and effectively. Eat a good meal before getting pierced to keep your blood sugar steady. If you have not eaten all day your blood sugar will be low, and low blood sugar could cause you to feel dizzy or, in rare cases, to faint. Feel free to bring juice, soda, a sports drink, or a snack such as candy or a granola bar; these products will increase your blood sugar quickly if you begin to feel weak or shaky.

Never get a piercing while you are drunk. Alcohol thins the blood, causing excessive bleeding. Your body piercer will refuse you service if you attempt to get a piercing while drunk or otherwise intoxicated.

If you are receiving an oral piercing, you may take an anti-inflammatory such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen before your piercing. These medications help reduce swelling. Do not take aspirin, since it will thin your blood, causing your piercing to bleed excessively.

If you have a blood clotting disorder such as hemophilia, make sure you have taken your medicine and the disorder is under control. If you have diabetes, it is especially important to eat well and check your blood sugar before your piercing. If you take a blood-thinning medication, such as aspirin, coumadin, or warfarin (among others), speak with your piercer about whether and how this medication will affect your ability to get a body piercing. If you have a bloodborne disease, such as HIV or hepatitis, please disclose this information to your piercer for his or her safety as well as your own. Any medical issues you discuss with your piercer at Miraculous Creations will be kept confidential.

If you have a rash, burn, broken skin, or sunburn in the area that will be pierced, you must wait until the skin has healed before you can receive the piercing. It is possible to pierce through scar tissue (to re-pierce an area where you used to have a piercing, for example), but the scar must be completely healed. If you remove a piercing and wish to re-pierce the area, in most cases you should wait one to two months after removing the jewelry for the old piercing to fully heal.

Women who have had a tummy tuck should not have their navel pierced because there is a very high rate of migration (rejection) that can leave a serious scar on the new navel.

On the day you receive your piercing, do not apply lotion, makeup, tanning creams, or other products to the area that will be pierced. For piercings below the neck, wear comfortable clothing that allows access to the area to be pierced, making sure it will not rub directly on the fresh piercing. If you have long hair and are receiving any kind of ear piercing, pull your hair back to allow access to the piercing site.

If you choose to be pierced at Miraculous Creations, we will provide you with the appropriate aftercare (cleaning) products and instructions. If you have any questions about what products to use or how to use them, please feel free to contact us.

Finally, bring a tip! If you are happy with the piercing you receive, please remember to show your appreciation by tipping your body piercer. Whether to tip, and what amount to give, are completely up to you, but the scale is similar to that at a restaurant.

- Ryen Welker

Miraculous Creations Body Art/Tattoos  387 Park Avenue  Worcester MA  01610  508.755.1379