There are four basic factors that affect healing times.

1. Technique. Piercing technique/skill plays a huge role in the amount of trauma induced during a piercing. More trauma, slower healing. Less trauma, quicker healing.

2. Jewelry. Jewelry made of implant-quality material with a mirror finish and of the proper size, shape, weight and design tends to allow the body to heal quickly. Improper jewelry forces the body to work much harder to heal.

3. Aftercare. Basic, simple, logical aftercare works WITH your body and facilitates healing. Harsh chemicals, mechanical stress and other factors can greatly decrease your body's ability to heal. When the body has to overcome aftercare routines and lifestyle activities to heal it's just going to take longer to heal. Period.

4. Health. A healthy body heals quicker than an unhealthy body.

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I'm not a fan of much of what's taking place these days in piercing aftercare. It seems people are really interested in speed-healing and magic solutions...something to "put on" their piercings that makes them heal.

Well, nothing you put onto a piercing heals it. NOTHING. Healing is a function of the body and all the stuff used during healing is meant to prevent infection, soothe, protect and/or aid the body in doing its' job.

The human body is quite literally a healing machine. A healthy body...a good diet, the right amount of sleep, reduced stress and general cleanliness...heals itself incredibly quickly. It heals at its' own rate and all you can DO is assist it or hinder it. A snake sheds its' skin at the rate it sheds its' skin. The same is true for healing piercings. Your body will heal at the rate your body heals.

This is why everybody is different and General Healing Times are so broad. Example: Navels generally take 6-12 months for initial healing and up to another year to "season" and become well healed. There are exceptions and sometimes navels can be fully healed in 6 months.

So do you NEED antibacterial or antimicrobial soap to heal? No. Absolutely not. Medicated soaps might help prevent infection, but they CANNOT help your body heal. These soaps are almost always hand soaps and aren't generally intended for wound care. If they are used to gently wash the skin NEAR a piercing and the soaps don't get into the wound and the skin doesn't over-dry or otherwise react, then these soaps are fine.

Think of it this way: All soaps function in basically the same way. They break down oils and lift dead cells, bacteria, dirt, etc into suspension (suds) and then rinse it all away. So why use medicated soaps? If you don't contaminate your piercing with dirty hands or otherwise get them dirty, let the naturally occurring scabs and lymph protect the wound between washing and just use a mild liquid soap. There's no reason to force your body to overcome a harsh chemical.

What about aftercare products designed specifically for piercings? There are quite a few companies out there selling us all sorts of STUFF to apply to piercings during aftercare. Sprays, oils, ointments, etc. Some even claim to contain all sorts of "natural" ingredients that help you heal. Well, in my book they're all bunk. Remember, there's nothing you can put on your piercing to make it heal. Healing takes place from within. So save your money and don't force your body to overcome an expensive product. Also, these people are in the business of SELLING PRODUCT and making a buck, and they don't really care about your healing piercing at all.

Then there's the Sea Salt Soak/Rinse and the many variations on that idea. There's more to it than meets the eye and it involves all sorts of chemistry and biology. In fact, there's so much to this that I think I'll leave it for another blog entry. I will say that if whatever salt-water soaking/rinsing you use that feels good, doesn't irritate or over dry, and makes your piercing look and feel better is probably helping your body to do its' job and heal.

I've only touched on the very tip of the aftercare ice burg. Not only is there a vast number of individual subjects involved, but they continually evolve as new or better knowledge is discovered or made available.

So I'll leave this blog with this:

There is no one right way...to sing...to pierce...to eat...to live...to heal a piercing. No ONE right way.