So ‘Old Man Winter’ is here and he means business. With most of the country experiencing freezing temps, we thought it would be a good idea to remind our readers that if they venture outside, make sure you prepare your piercings. Piercings MUST be taken care of, doubly so if where you live experiences desert heat or Antarctic chill. So below you’ll find some simple tips to protect your piercings.
Facial piercings such as eyebrows, septum & nostril piercings, lip piercings and labrets all need to be protected from the cold. As the temperature drops, it doesn’t take long for the jewelry (which is most likely metal) to take on the ambient temperature of the outside and pass it along into your piercing. Metal is a conductor, meaning that it will ‘pull’ the warmth from your body to try and warm the jewelry. And because facial piercings are exposed to the cold, the jewelry will continue to pull heat away from site of the piercing in an attempt to achieve balance.
“So what should I do?” Cover it up! Wear scarves, ear muffs and the like. Though they may not be the perfect fashion accessories, they do serve a purpose in protecting your piercings from cold weather damage. So cover those piercings and keep them protected from direct exposure to the cold air. Redness and dryness seen at the sight of the piercing are warning signs that the piercing has been subjected to very cold temperatures and can be damaged further by not covering the piercings.
Don’t move the jewelry if you’re outside and cold, this can tear the fistula “the little tube of tissue that forms the piercing”. Get inside and warm up and better yet don’t move jewelry around until you’re in the shower and it’s wet and warm.
Also important, stay hydrated. Not a lot of people think of this, but staying hydrated will keep your skin from drying out more quickly. So drink up! If your skin does dry out or redden and you’re not planning on taking a shower, use a saline solution to wet the piercing to keep it from drying out and possibly irritating further.
Can’t cover up? Another idea, pick yourself up some piercing retainers. Most are made from a plastic or a flexible bioplast material. This type of jewelry will not cool as quickly.
So there you go, some simple tips to follow this winter season!