The single most important thing you can do after getting a fresh nose piercing is keep it clean. A nose piercing infection is far easier to prevent than it is to treat, and good daily hygiene is what stands between you and one.
This guide walks you through everything you need to clean your nose piercing safely and effectively, so it heals as quickly as possible and ends up looking exactly the way you pictured it.
Table of Contents
Why Cleaning Your Nose Piercing Matters for Infection
The piercing itself is a simple process that takes only a few minutes. It is the aftercare that calls for weeks of commitment to make sure you do not develop a nose piercing infection.
A reputable piercer will make sure their equipment is cleaned and sterilized before they pierce you. After that, though, keeping up good hygiene is entirely down to you.
Keeping your piercing clean helps prevent infections. Remember that any fresh piercing is an open wound. Bacteria can slip into that wound easily and trigger a nose piercing infection.
If your nose piercing does get infected, it will take you much longer to heal properly.
Infections can also lead to other complications, such as:
- scarring
- bumps on the nose
- pus
In some cases they may even call for a visit to a doctor for antibiotics.
You will probably notice some clear discharge or a little blood, which is completely normal.
How to Prevent a Nose Piercing Infection
The first cleaning can be the hardest. You will likely still feel some pain, tenderness and mild swelling around the area. Cleaning, though, will soothe it and help it feel better.
Here are our tips for cleaning your nose piercing and keeping a nose piercing infection at bay:
Wash Your Hands
The very first step, every single time you clean your piercing, should be to wash your hands. You touch countless things throughout the day, and everything you touch leaves different kinds of bacteria on your hands.
If you touch your piercing with dirty hands, you raise the risk of a bacterial infection.
🧼 Rinse your hands well before you go any further. Keep in mind that some soaps can irritate a piercing.
Prepare a Saline Solution
A saline solution is simply a mix of salt and water.
❌ That said, you should not use table salt (iodized salt) to clean piercings.
✅ Take a quarter teaspoon of sea salt and mix it into 1 cup of warm distilled water. You can buy distilled water at most stores or supermarkets.
Distillation removes impurities and minerals from the water. The water does not need to be too hot, just warm enough to dissolve the salt.
Apply the Saline Solution
You have two options for applying the saline solution to your nose piercing:
- The first is to dip your nose into the bowl of salt water. Hold it there for a few seconds, lift your nose out to breathe, then place it back for a few more seconds. Repeat for about 3 minutes.
- The other method is to soak a clean cotton pad in a bowl of saline solution. Hold the cotton against your piercing for about 3 minutes, re-wetting it now and then with fresh saline. If you go this route, you can also buy a syringe so you can flush saline onto the part of the piercing inside your nose.
Remove Any Crust Around the Piercing
Use a cotton swab dipped in saline solution to gently lift away the crust that forms around the piercing, both outside and inside the nose.
❌ If a piece of crust is stuck, do not pull or scrub at it. Instead, soak the piercing again with saline.
Moisturize Your Skin
This step is optional, but it can help speed up healing and prevent crusting. Mix a small amount of unrefined coconut oil with tea tree oil, and use a cotton swab to apply it around the piercing.
Avoid Irritants
You do not need anything other than sterile saline to keep your new piercing clean.
Do not use hydrogen peroxide or alcohol to clean the piercing. They dry out and irritate the skin, which makes it harder for the piercing to heal.
If you think an infection is setting in, you do not need stronger antiseptics. Just keep staying vigilant.
❌ Do not apply antibiotic ointment, which gets in the way of fluids draining.
How Often Should You Clean Your Nose Piercing?
During the healing period, which can take up to 6 months, you should clean your nose piercing twice a day.
Cleaning more than twice a day can dry out the skin around your piercing and cause irritation.
❌ Cleaning less than twice a day, on the other hand, can let bacteria build up in the piercing, which of course raises the threat of a nose piercing infection.
If you forget a cleaning, it is not the end of the world, but you should aim to do two cleanings on most days.
💡 If you do miss one, do not clean an extra time the next day to make up for it.
Building cleaning into a routine makes it much easier to remember. Tying it to brushing your teeth in the morning and getting ready for bed at night, for example, helps those moments stick in your memory for piercing care.
When Can You Stop Cleaning Your Nose Piercing?
✅ You can stop the saline cleaning once your nose piercing is fully healed.
Again, this can take up to 6 months, or even longer for some types of nasal piercings. Even so, you should keep cleaning the piercing regularly after it has fully healed.
Once healing is complete, you no longer need saline soaks, unless you injure the piercing or suspect that something has irritated it, but you should still wash the piercing with mild soap and water.
This keeps oil and skin cells from building up, which can cause odors in the piercing.
How to Keep Your Nose Piercing Jewelry Infection Free
When you take out your nose jewelry to clean the piercing, take the chance to clean the jewelry too. Make sure you know how to remove and reinsert a nose piercing correctly first.
Cleaning your jewelry stops that same buildup of oil and skin cells from forming on the jewelry itself.
To clean the jewelry, scrub it with mild soap and rinse it thoroughly. Let the jewelry dry before putting it back in.
You should also clean the jewelry during the healing phase. You cannot take your jewelry out during this time, but you can rub a little mild soap over the visible part of the jewelry while you shower or wash your face. Again, rinse it well and try not to scrub the piercing with soap.
Your nose piercing can get infected at any time, even once it is completely healed. Whenever it is injured or the skin around it is irritated, tiny tears can form and bacteria can get into those little wounds.
Choosing a good quality piece for your nose piercing can also help prevent the unwanted reactions that can occur.
In Conclusion: Preventing Nose Piercing Infection
✅ Cleaning your new nose piercing should start the very day it is done. It is simple to follow. All you need to do is use a sea salt water solution, then gently clean, disinfect and remove crusts.
Do this twice a day until your piercing is fully healed. Do not remove the jewelry while you clean your piercing during the healing phase, and always wash your hands before you touch it. Stay consistent and a nose piercing infection becomes far less likely, leaving you with a clean, well healed piercing to show off.
