What is the gunk on my earrings?

It’s a build up of dead skin cells, sebum (oil), and any hair and beauty products that land in your lobe area. It builds up into a greenish-brownish-grayish paste, and starts to get stinky as bacteria builds up, giving it its distinctive cheesy whiff.

What can I soak my earring backs in?

Get a small bowl or plastic container where you can soak the earring backs. Fill the container to about the halfway mark before adding your choice of cleaner. We recommend using either ammonia or hydrogen peroxide. Both cleaning agents are good choices for cleaning common earring backs.

How do you clean the back of an earlobe piercing?

Wash your hands before touching your piercing for any reason. Clean the piercing with either a saline solution, a fragrance-free antimicrobial soap, or both once or twice per day. Rinse any soap from the piercing. Gently dry the piercing with a clean, disposable paper towel or tissue.

What is the black stuff on my earrings?

The cause of a gray or black piercing hole is usually jewelry made with improper or inferior metals that turn your skin black, gray, bluish-gray, or grayish-black in color. “Argyria” is the proper term for this condition caused by exposure to silver or silver compounds.

What do you clean newly pierced ears with?

Put rubbing alcohol on your ears.

Using a cotton ball or pad dipped in rubbing alcohol, gently clean the skin around the piercings twice a day to keep away germs and prevent scabbing. You may also apply a thin coat of petroleum jelly around the opening.

Can I use rubbing alcohol to clean my ear piercing?

General Care for Body Piercings

Do not use rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide. (Both slow the healing of pierced area by drying and killing new healthy cells.) Do not use bacitracin or other ointments. (Ointments attempt to heal the skin & may slow oxygen transport to the tissue).

Is saline good for piercings?

You want a 0.9% sterile saline solution to clean your piercing with. It should be Sterilised, pre-mixed, and have a sterile delivery method like a can spray that ensures bacteria cannot enter the can once opened. We recommend Neilmed.

Can I clean my piercing with hand sanitizer?

If anything, people should be cleaning their jewelry more. Think of all that horrid buildup of crud under rings and behind the setting of claw-set earrings. Hand sanitizer kills the baddies then evaporates fast—this shouldn’t have any detrimental effects on your gemstones, even materials such as gemstones and pearls.

Can I clean my piercing with just water?

To make sure the healing process goes as smoothly as possible, wash your hands before you touch your piercing or jewelry. Don’t soak your piercing in any water (other than saline solution) until it’s fully healed.

Can I buy saline over the counter?

You can buy an over-the-counter saline solution or make one at home. Most over-the-counter saline nasal sprays are isotonic, which means the solution is the same saline concentration as in your body. Hypertonic versions have a higher concentration of salt than what’s in your body. Both types can help clear mucus.

How long salt soak piercing?

7-10 minutes
Saline/Salt Water Soaks:

The best thing you can do for your piercing is a saline soak 2-4 times a day, completely submerging your piercing in the solution for 7-10 minutes. There are many packaged sterile saline solutions available, including Wound Wash and Blairex.

What happens if you over clean a piercing?

This can cause unsightly lumps, redness, swelling or infection. To avoid red lumps, NEVER fiddle with the piercing or knock it. If you do acquire a lump then leaving it completely alone is the best option, not cleaning it multiple times a day which just aggravates it even further. OVER CLEANING WILL CAUSE INFECTION !

Is saline salt water?

Saline solution is a mixture of salt and water. Normal saline solution contains 0.9 percent sodium chloride (salt), which is similar to the sodium concentration in blood and tears. Saline solution is usually called normal saline, but it’s sometimes referred to as physiological or isotonic saline.

Is Simply Saline good for piercings?

You can also use Wound Wash or Simply Saline if your piercing feels sore or irritated and to rinse away any build up around your piercing. Never take your jewelry out to clean it.

How do you clean a piercing without saline spray?

Pick at crusted areas with your fingers. Use harsh products like Betadine, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, or antibacterial soaps. Use beauty or skin care products like lotions and sprays around the piercing.

Can I use table salt to clean my piercing?

Do not use table salt, kosher salt, Epsom salts, or iodized sea salts: Non-iodized fine-grain sea salt is best for avoiding additives, as well as its ability to dissolve into a solution. Do not make the solution too salty: Too much salt can be irritating to the piercing and the skin.

Can I use salt water instead of saline?

People can make saline solution at home using salt and water. For a sinus rinse, they can also add baking soda. People can use homemade saline solution to rinse the sinuses, make a salt water gargle, clean wounds, and rinse contact lenses, piercings, or both.

What happens if you don’t clean your piercing?

If you touch your new piercing with hands that haven’t recently been washed, germs will transfer and could lead to an infection. This may sound obvious, but it happens enough that it’s worth noting.