Steve.org.uk

Ear Piercings

General
There is a lot of choice when it comes to getting the ear pierced, almost every part of it can be pierced, and the jewelry just gets better and better each year.
Healing Time
Healing time for cartiledge piercings is 8 to 12 weeks, and about 4 weeks for lobe piercing.
How to clean
Ear piercings are best cleaned with salt + water. I recommend cleaning them twice a day. As with all other piercings first clean away any crusty bits - so that they don't make the skin tear when you are cleaning the site.
Put the salt water solution on the piercing, both at the front, and at the back, then rotate the piercing gently.
Finally rinse off the cleaning solution. [About 1tbl spoon of salt to a cup of water is roughly the right mixture.]
Other options
Some people may prefer to use Bactine, or something containing benzalkonium chloride, but for the majority of people water and salt will be perfectly adequate.

Eyebrow Piercings

General
Eyebrow piercings are becoming more popular at the moment. There are really two common types of piercings seen around, those with rings, and those with barbells.
Normally I'm a kind of ringy guy, but when it comes to eyebrows you really want to make sure that the ring you have isn't too big. Theres nothing worse than loosing a piercing because the jewelry was too heavy for it...
Things to watch out for
Its obvious but, if you get a ring be carefull of pulloveers, and t shirts. They can get caught fairly easily at first. (I know!) Also try to make sure that your hair doesn't get caught up in it as well, especially while its healing.
Healing Time
Healing time for is approximately 5 weeks.
How to clean
Eyebrow piercings are best cleaned with salt + water. I recommend cleaning them twice a day. As with all other piercings first clean away any crusty bits - so that they don't make the skin tear when you are cleaning the site.
Put the salt water solution on the piercing, both at the front, and at the back, then rotate the piercing gently.
Finally rinse off the cleaning solution. [About 1tbl spoon of salt to a cup of water is roughly the right mixture.]
Other options
Some people may prefer to use Bactine, or something containing benzalkonium chloride, but for the majority of people water and salt will be perfectly adequate.

Belly Button Piercings

Reputation
The navel piercing is the piercing that is notorious for being the worst one to heal, but it doesn't have to be like that. If it is well looked after it should heal with no bother.
Clothes
One thing to watch out for is irritation, things like belts and tight clothing pressing into the piercing are definately to be avoided. They don't really do it much good.
Healing time
Healing time for a navel piercing should be about 8 weeks, but some people are going to take longer - after all we're are all different.
How to clean
Gently wash the area surrounding and including the piercing with mild soap no deodorants, fragrances, or moisturizers - as these could irritate it.
Gently remove all crusty formations from the piercing, and the jewelry. Rinse off all the soap. Now soak the piercing with some antiseptic, antibacterial cleanser, and allw that to soak in. Finally rinse away the cleaner.

Nipple Piercing

Reputation
The nipple piercing has a reputation as one of the sexiest piercings around, and I think that is well deserved. Strangely enough many people seem to regard this as a painfull piercing as well. I think that this is a bit unjust. Done properly the nipple piercing should be no more painful than any other piercing.
Clothes
This is another piercing that will feel better if you don't try to wear tight tops for a while. The pressure, irritation that could be caused is just going to annoy the piercing.
Healing Time
Nipples seem to heal nicely in a between 6 and 8 weeks.
Jewelry
Barbells seem to heal with less migration, that is moving of the piercing, so it could be a good idea to get one in initially. Like the eyebrow the nipple can look start to sag with a really big piece of jewelry through it - so thats something to watch out for too.
Cleaning
Gently wash the area surrounding and including the piercing with mild soap no deodorants, fragrances, or moisturizers - as these could irritate it.
Gently remove all crusty formations from the piercing, and the jewelry. Rinse off all the soap. Now soak the piercing with some antiseptic, antibacterial cleanser, and allw that to soak in. Finally rinse away the cleaner.

Prince Alberts

Reputation
A lot of people seem to get this one done for the fun with sex. Its a good enough reason I think!
The PA seems to mark a turning point for those people that go on to become more interested in piercing, maybe thats just people I know though.
Clothes
This piercing doesn't hurt too much, contrary to popular opinion, and its isn't overtly bothered by tight clothes. Though I wouldn't push it if I were you.
Healing time
The PA piercing heals fairly quickly, say 4-6 weeks, due to the large amount of blood flow.
Misc
Good information on this piercing is hard to find, so here are a few small pieces of info.

• Yes you can have sex, probably within a matter of days.
• There shouldn't be any undue bleeding after the first or second day, (Basically after its done )
• No it won't tear condoms
• I'm afraid it will scar, if you take it out, should only be a little indentation in the head. [The flesh there is so thin..]
• Urinating will not be painfull, and will not cause problems with healing. [Healthy people have sterile urine.]

Cleaning
...Couldn't find anything to put here... Didn't really do too much to mine. Ahem.

Septum Piercing

Clothes
Depending on the jewelry that you get for this piercing you might want to be carefull when putting on clothes over your head. It might sound silly but catching a piercing on something while its still healing isn't fun.
Healing Time
A septum piercing should heal in about 6-8 weeks.
Cleaning
Cleaning a septum piercing is a little different from cleaning other piercings because its not a good idea to stick strange chemicals up your nose.
I recommend salt + water, this shouldn't cause any problems for the inside of the nose.
The best method for cleaning this piercing is probably to dip the end of a cotton wool bud into some salt water so that you can use that to clean around the piercing.
As with all other piercings first clean away any crusty bits - so that they don't make the skin tear when you are cleaning the site.
Put the salt water solution on the piercing, on both sides then rotate the piercing gently.
[ About 1tbl spoon of salt to a cup of water is roughly the right mixture. ]