Just got a brand new nose piercing, or seriously thinking about getting one?
Here is everything you need to know to care for your new nose piercing during the healing process. This guide walks you through every step to make your nose piercing healing time as fast and trouble free as possible, with no complications.
Table of Contents
How Long Does a Nose Piercing Take to Heal?
Usually, when people talk about nose piercings, they mean a nostril piercing.
It is the most common type of nasal piercing. A nostril piercing takes about 4 to 6 months to fully heal. That means you will need to care for it for roughly 6 months to keep your piercing healthy and looking great.
That said, every nose piercing has a different healing time. A septum piercing takes about 6 to 8 weeks when it has been done correctly.
The vertical nose piercing is the one that takes the longest to heal. In fact, it can take around 6 to 9 months. Again, that means you should follow your aftercare routine for a period of up to 9 months.
Keep in mind that these are general timelines. Everyone's body heals at its own pace, so pay close attention to your own piercing.
What to Do on the Day of Your Nose Piercing
Aftercare should start the same day you get your nose pierced, and it requires no fuss. All you have to do is keep the piercing clean.
- Wash your hands before touching your piercing. To clean the piercing, pick up a saline solution.
- You can use cotton pads or a syringe to apply the saline solution to your piercing. You can also simply dip your nose into a cup filled with the salt water solution.
- You may feel some pain and tenderness after your appointment, so try to be as gentle as possible when you clean the area.
What to Do During the Healing Period
Your nose piercing should be cleaned until it is completely healed. Once the piercing looks healed, it is best to keep up the routine for another week or two just to be safe.
Aftercare is really a matter of hygiene. Every day, you should soak it in the salt water solution for a few minutes, twice a day.
Salt water is a gentle antiseptic. It will prevent bacteria buildup and infection without harming the healthy cells that are regenerating around your piercing.
Specialized products are also available to help make sure your new nose piercing heals as well and as quickly as possible.
What You Should Never Do While Your Nose Piercing Heals
There are several mistakes that can be made while a nose piercing is healing. If you do things that irritate the piercing, or introduce extra bacteria into the area, you raise the chances of developing an infection.
Infections are no fun. They slow down your nose piercing healing time, which means you will have to wait even longer.
On top of that, an infection can leave behind unsightly marks and make your piercing look less pretty.
Here is a list of what you should not do:
Playing with the jewelry
Putting your hands all over it is one of the most common ways to let bacteria into the piercing.
You handle a lot of things throughout the day, and plenty of different bacteria end up on your hands. Keep them away from your piercing to avoid infection.
Not washing your hands
We mentioned that touching your piercing with dirty hands is a problem, but sometimes you have no choice but to handle it. So before cleaning, you should always wash your hands first.
Using harsh products on the piercing
Even disinfecting products can be a problem for a new piercing. The ingredients can irritate the piercing, giving you the opposite of the effect you want.
Putting makeup or cosmetics on your piercing
Makeup, moisturizers, and other cosmetic products often contain bacteria or irritating chemicals. Keep them away from your nose piercing.
Removing the jewelry during healing
You need to keep the jewelry in for the entire healing period. If the jewelry you have does not work for you for any reason, go back to your piercer so they can advise you.
If you remove your nasal piercing before it is fully healed, it can close up in a single day.
Once your piercing is healed and you are able to take it out, remember to store it in a jewelry box to keep it away from bacteria.
Going swimming
Going swimming with a new piercing is a bad idea. These places are full of bacteria that could infect your nose piercing.
How to Clean Your Nose Piercing for Optimal Healing
Your piercing may have some discharge during healing, and that is perfectly normal. You will probably notice that part of the discharge dries out and forms a crust around the piercing.
You should not try to remove it or move the jewelry around.
Instead, use a cotton swab dipped in saline solution to wet the area where the crust has formed. Do not force it off.
Clean the underside of the piercing the same way. You may find that after a warm shower is the easiest time to remove the crust.
Also, wash the jewelry with a mild soap during your shower every day. This removes the bacteria and crust that have settled on it.
When Can I Stop Cleaning My Nose Piercing?
When your piercing is fully healed, there will no longer be any discharge. At that point, you will not need to clean it with a cotton swab unless it gets torn.
If that happens, you should treat it like a new piercing and follow the routine for a few more weeks. Infections can occur after the healing period if your piercing tears.
Once the healing period is over, you no longer need to soak it in salt water. However, you should still be careful not to play with or irritate your piercing.
As for cleaning, you should occasionally (at least once a week, or as often as you can) remove the jewelry and wash it with soap and water.
You can also wash the area with mild soap and water to prevent the buildup of dead skin cells, which can create an odor.
When Can I Replace My Nose Piercing Jewelry?
Never remove your jewelry during the healing period. After your piercing is completely healed, based on the timelines above, you can swap the jewelry out.
Just make sure you replace the jewelry quickly. Even a healed nose piercing can close up.
Conclusion: Nose Piercing Healing Time
How long it takes for a nose piercing to heal depends on several factors, including the spot you want to pierce, how you care for it, and your own body's healing ability.
You can speed things up and keep a beautiful nose piercing by avoiding contact with dirty hands and other irritants, and cleaning with a salt water solution twice a day during the healing period.
Expect it to take at least 6 weeks for your piercing to settle, and usually more than 6 months for it to fully heal. It is better to keep going a little longer than to risk an infection, and once the healing period is behind you, remember to keep cleaning your jewelry often to prevent odors and potential infections.
