HEALTH CONDITION
Piercing is a wound into which a foreign object, i.e., jewelry, is inserted. To facilitate the healing process and the symbiosis with the jewelry, it’s important to take care of your immune system, as the overall state of your body plays a significant role in the healing of a piercing. If your immune system is weak, you have a poor diet, lack of sleep, constant stress, hormonal issues, and so on, all these factors can affect the healing period of the piercing, potentially prolonging or complicating it.
Keep in mind that a fresh piercing is easy to irritate, so be aware of factors like not getting a nose piercing when you have a cold or your nose is constantly running due to allergies, or avoid getting a tongue piercing if you have a throat infection to prevent excessive swelling and complications with healing.
Before getting a piercing, make sure to inform us if any of the following health conditions apply to you on the day of your piercing appointment:
Diabetes
Epilepsy
Hemophilia
Severe cough
Skin conditions
Heart problems
Flu-like symptoms
Breathing difficulties
Elevated temperature
Blood pressure issues
Fainting during blood draws
Pregnancy and/or breastfeeding
Bloodborne diseases (HIV, hepatitis…)
In some cases, these health conditions do not necessarily pose a problem for getting a piercing. For example, if you have a runny nose due to allergies and want to get a navel piercing, the piercer may recommend taking an immune system booster.
Certain conditions may require prior consultations with a general practitioner or other medical professionals (e.g., a dermatologist in the case of specific skin conditions). If you have diabetes, epilepsy, heart or blood pressure problems, or bloodborne diseases, please consult with medical professionals before scheduling a piercing appointment to understand the impact of piercing on your health.
We do not pierce pregnant women or breastfeeding mothers (without exceptions). During pregnancy and breastfeeding, the body undergoes numerous changes. Although the chances of a piercing causing specific health issues are very low, medical practice in Croatia tends to attribute any minor negative change to the piercing. If you fall down the stairs and break a leg, it’s because of the piercing – it’s best to remove it. Jokes aside, during pregnancy and breastfeeding, the health of both the mother and child is of primary importance. The piercing studio will still be here after you finish breastfeeding, so there’s no rush.
In case a client fails to disclose their health condition to Octopus staff before the piercing procedure for any reason, studio Octopus is not responsible for any resulting health complications or for difficulties in the healing of the piercing itself.
CONSUMPTION
Food
Please have a regular meal at least 2 hours before your piercing appointment, especially if you have low blood pressure or are very nervous about getting pierced. If you arrive on an empty stomach or haven’t ingested anything except coffee and cigarettes due to nervousness, low blood sugar levels exacerbated by stress can make you feel unwell after the piercing. If you have a history of fainting when having blood drawn, please mention it before the piercing. Our staff is always ready to assist anyone who may faint, but it would be more comfortable for everyone if it doesn’t come to that.
Medications
If you have taken any medication that dilates blood vessels (e.g., aspirin or blood thinners) within 24 hours before the piercing, be sure to inform the piercer before the piercing itself. While this doesn’t play a significant role for most piercing positions, it could lead to increased bleeding, which is preferable to avoid, especially for tongue piercings, for example. If you are on specific regular medications (e.g., for diabetes or epilepsy), please consult with your general practitioner before scheduling a piercing appointment.
Alcohol and intoxicants
In case you have consumed significant amounts of alcohol and/or any intoxicating substances (drugs) within 24 hours before the piercing, please inform the piercer. Alcohol dilates the blood vessels and, for some piercing positions, it can lead to excessive swelling and bleeding. Both alcohol and intoxicants also affect pain sensitivity, so the piercing may hurt more than usual. Octopus piercing studio reserves the right to refuse service to individuals we suspect are under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.
INDIVIDUAL FACTORS
The healing of a piercing can be influenced by specific individual factors, such as:
- Skin Type: Some individuals have skin that is more prone to hypertrophic tissue growth, meaning scars, which can result in more frequent occurrences of growths (“piercing bumps”) around the piercing. People with oily, acne-prone skin may experience issues with redness and irritation of the piercing, as well as prolonged healing.
- Anatomy: Not everyone has identical anatomy, so some piercing positions are not recommended for certain individuals. A prime example of this is the navel piercing because navels come in all shapes, depths, widths, and variations. While it’s possible to pierce any navel, not all anatomies support the jewelry, and in some cases, rapid rejection of the piercing occurs. This means that the skin holding the jewelry starts thinning and may rupture if the jewelry is not removed in time. Specific anatomies also require attention to the jewelry itself because wearing jewelry that is too large or anatomically inappropriate can also result in piercing rejection.
- Habits: If you plan to pierce, for example, the navel or ear cartilage, start getting used to new sleeping positions in advance. Pressure on the piercing can cause a range of issues, from swelling to jewelry migration (the piercing heals at an angle). If you frequently wear a helmet (for sports, motorcycling), consider how it will affect living with a fresh ear or eyebrow piercing. If you like wearing corsets, your new navel piercing won’t be thrilled.
- Cosmetics: The composition of cosmetic products you use near the piercing can affect its healing, irritate it, or accelerate the wear and tear of the jewelry (e.g., certain hair products can remove the anodization (color) from titanium jewelry, certain facial cosmetics can lead to faster tarnishing of the bezel-set cubic zirconia on the jewelry, etc.).
PIERCING HEALING
Different piercing positions have different healing periods, for example, 3-4 weeks for a smiley piercing, to over a year for an industrial. The healing process is also influenced by the individual factors mentioned earlier.
Before deciding to get a piercing, you should be aware of possible complications with healing, as well as the fact that the jewelry will always be a foreign object in your body, and some problems are possible even after the healing period. For instance, you might have an ear cartilage piercing for three years, but if you accidentally hit it hard, it can cause swelling, bleeding, or the jewelry to grow into the tissue.
It is extremely important that you contact us for an examination and consultation as soon as you notice any change in your piercing (e.g., swelling, increased discharge, heightened pain, bleeding, growths, jewelry sinking into the tissue). Do not wait for the problem to “go away on its own” because that rarely happens. If you delay the visit for too long, the situation can worsen to the point where we have to remove the jewelry, resulting in the loss of the piercing, or you may end up in the Emergency Room with the same outcome.
Most piercing problems can be relatively easily and quickly resolved when treatment starts on time. Treatment depends on the type of problem, the age of the piercing, the position, etc.
Please do not remove the jewelry unless you no longer want the piercing. The tissue around the piercing channel quickly begins to close when the piercing is inflamed or even just irritated, and it is possible that within half an hour, you will not be able to put the jewelry back in. The hole will close, and it will be necessary to let the tissue recover deeply (for several months) and then repierce.
In case you need to remove metal jewelry for medical examinations (X-rays, MRI), and the piercing has not fully healed, make an appointment for a retainer – jewelry made of biocompatible plastic that keeps the piercing channel open and is not visible in X-ray images, is non-metallic, does not react to MRI, and does not conduct electricity, so it can be worn during surgery (depending on the piercing position and the type of surgery).
POSITIONING AND SELECTION OF JEWELRY
Before the actual piercing, the piercer will mark the position on your skin and, if possible, place the jewelry close to your skin so you can see if the position and the chosen jewelry style suit you.
Please take a good look and think carefully if this is what you want because subsequent complaints are not possible. If you decide two days later that you wanted that helix piercing three millimeters lower, the only thing we can do is remove the jewelry, let the tissue heal (several weeks), leave the jewelry for sterilization (which costs 7.00 eur), and book an appointment for repiercing (the service is charged according to the regular price list, meaning you pay for a new piercing).
The human body is not perfectly symmetrical, which is most evident when piercing positions like the navel, bridge (the area between the eyes), symmetric nostrils or lips, both nipples, and so on. When positioning, pay special attention to keeping your body upright and carefully observe the marks made by the piercer. Due to body asymmetry, the piercing may appear improperly placed depending on the viewing angle and body position.
When selecting jewelry, please consider whether the chosen style might cause discomfort, snag, or in any way irritate you, and whether the selected size aligns with your preferences. Our piercers will always point out when they believe that certain jewelry is inadequate for the position you desire, such as when the size of the jewelry is too small or too large. In case you do not accept their suggestion and, after a few days of wearing it, you come to the conclusion that the chosen jewelry style bothers you or is not aesthetically satisfying, exchanging it for a new style is not possible, nor is a refund.
JEWELRY WEAR AND TEAR
Piercing jewelry is unique in that it’s worn daily in all circumstances. You don’t remove it while sleeping, showering, swimming in the sea or pool, dyeing your hair, etc. The jewelry is in constant contact with bodily secretions (saliva, sweat), water (limescale, chlorine), cosmetics, and more. Depending on the position, jewelry can be exposed to dust, and a layer of dead skin or dental plaque may accumulate on it (in the case of oral cavity piercings).
All of the above can result in jewelry wear and tear. This means that:
- If the jewelry is anodized or has a PVD coating (any color other than classic silver), over time the color may wear off, and the jewelry in that area becomes originally silver-colored.
- Zircons darken due to wear as dead skin cells, water, cosmetics, etc., accumulate on them.
- Certain types of zircons can fall out of their settings (most commonly seen with cheaper externally threaded jewelry).
- Acrylic and bioplast jewelry can break or become damaged, resulting in piercing irritation.
If you’ve chosen classic colorless (silver-colored) titanium or steel jewelry without any zircons, such jewelry is practically indestructible. There won’t be a change in color, no gems to be damaged, and you can wear it for years with occasional cleaning and polishing to restore its shine.
When choosing jewelry with zircons, the general rule is “quality comes with a cost”, which means that if you buy a 3.00 eur piece, you can’t expect it to last as long as jewelry from a reputable manufacturer that costs, for example, 22.00 eur and comes with a lifetime warranty.
All the jewelry we use is made from verified and certified materials. However, there is definitely a difference in quality between standard and branded piercing jewelry. When selecting jewelry for your piercing, feel free to express your preferences to the piercer so they can help you choose a suitable piece.
At Octopus, we offer a jewelry cleaning and polishing service. If you have jewelry that you want to restore its shine or simply tidy up, bring it for an evaluation to see what can be done.
