Why your piercing will never be healed in 6 weeks….
How long will my piercing take to heal? This is one of the most common questions we get asked.
This question isn’t as easy to answer as you may think as there are so many variables which can contribute to slower or faster healing, diet, sleep and pre existing illnesses, stress etc. What we can say is that to fully heal a piercing will take months, and will need care and patience!
To understand why it takes so long I thought I would explain the different stages of healing your body goes through to fully heal a piercing.
The skin needs to heal through all its layers, and this takes time.
Healing occurs in three phases;
1.Inflammatory phase
2. Proliferative phase
3 Maturation phase
See below for more information
1. The Inflammatory Phase.
Time: Up to two weeks
Inflammation is an essential part of the healing process, basically it is your bodies way of trying to dispel the foreign object, aka the jewellery.
It is important the area is allowed to swell, this is why we insist on using longer jewellery (labret bars) to start with because if this stage is inhibited, the healing process would take much longer and you are more likely to have difficulties.
It is really important that you start to look after your piercing the day after you have it done, making sure it is clean and dry, is rule no.1. For more information on aftercare see my aftercare page here.
2. Proliferative Phase
Time: 4-8 weeks
Proliferative phase is next. This starts after about two weeks and lasts around 4-6 weeks give or take. This is where the body will start to grow scar tissue around the Jewellery, this is called a fistula. While the fistula is being formed, it produces a clear to a yellow discharge. This is a mix of lymph, plasma, and dead cells, crusties as we like to call it. You’ll notice that this collects around each piercing hole. This is a good sign that your body is producing new scar tissue, and is healing your piercing. Moving the jewellery or forcing the jewellery through the piercing during this period can cause the fistula to be dislodged, or damaged.
During this phase it is not uncommon for the piercing to have periods where it is ‘grumpy’ and the piercing is sore, tender or there is more discharge. Some piercings are more prone to this than others, but it is usually a sign that the piercing has experienced some form of trauma, like a knock, or has been slept on, or snagged and it just needs a bit of extra love for a few days. Regular cleaning, not touching and making sure it is dry is key during this phase for a happy piercing.
It's at the end of this phase where you will need a Jewellery downsize. This is where we gently change the initial longer labret for a shorter one. This is an essential part of the healing process and now the swelling has gone down, if not changed, that longer labret will be moving about and may cause irritation, lumps, redness. Your piercing is not healed yet so it is important not to change the jewellery yourself as you may damage the fragile fistula your body has worked hard to create.
3. Maturation Phase
Time: up to two years
This is where the thin delicate fistula is built up and expands, making the piercing site more robust, meaning you can change the jewellery without causing damage. It has a normal blood supply and doesn’t get irritated, no more redness, soreness and the crusties stop. This can take up to two years to complete!
It is still important that you keep on top of making sure the jewellery and the piercing site is clean and dry, checking that the length of the jewellery isn't too long or short and the top/end is securely attached. If you are not sure about any of these things, feel free to book a health check with me and I will happily have a look.
It's essential piercings are given a chance to complete this last stage. It states two years, but if you are always changing jewellery, sleeping on it, touching it etc you are damaging the fistula and your body has to rebuild the damage meaning it will take far longer to finally settle.
Once your piercing has matured you will have a healed piercing.
However some piercings will still close up even after they've fully healed. If you have to take your piercings out for whatever reason, it's always best to ask a professional if it's ok to do so.
