What Are The Stages Of Healing For Piercings?

Body piercings are a great way to express yourself and decorate your body. When it comes to piercings, it is important that you are able to take care of them so they will heal properly. One of the best things you can do is to be educated about them and learn the different stages of healing. There are four stages when it comes to the piercing healing process. It is important that you learn these stages so you can tell when it is fully healed. If you take your piercing out before it has healed all the way, it could grow over in just a few hours.

Stage 1: Hemostasis

The very first stage of healing is hemostasis. This will begin immediately after the jewelry is in the hole. Hemostasis is actually how your body stops bleeding after it has been pierced. While your piercer is applying pressure, the inside of your fresh wound will produce platelets and red blood cells to help stop the bleeding more quickly. The collagen fibers that are in the walls of the vessels work to activate platelets which will create a barrier. This barrier tends to look like dried blood around your piercing but it is actually keeping dirt and pathogens from entering your new wound.

Stage 2: Inflammatory Phase (Defensive Stage)

Stage two is the inflammatory phase, also known as the defensive stage. The main purpose of the second stage is to remove debris and destroy any bacteria that may be in the wound. A type of white blood cell called “neutrophils” goes into the area and essentially cleans it out. This will allow the area to grow new tissue. In this stage, the epidermis and dermis work closely together to close the wound while fibroblasts create the connective tissue that is needed to close the wound. You will also begin to experience visible signs of healing like soreness, drainage and redness.

Stage 3: Proliferative Phase

The proliferative phase is the third stage in the healing process. In this stage, the granulation tissue will begin to form and fibroblasts will make their way around the wound. When the fibroblasts are around the piercing, they will start to contract and return, which pulls the outside edges of the wound toward the center. It is crucial that you do not take your piercing out before this stage is complete. Since the piercing heals from the outside in, it might look fine to change but once you take it out, the inside tissue could be extremely damaged.

Stage 4: Maturation (Remodeling Stage)

Maturation, the last and final stage is sometimes referred to as the remodeling stage. This is when piercing will do the rest of its changing and maturing. In this stage, it will fully close and you be able to change it out. The cells that were used to help the healing and repairing process are no longer needed, so they are either removed or they die. This phase can last as few as six months or as many as 12.

Best Products for Piercing Aftercare

No matter the stage of healing your piercing is currently in, H2Ocean’s Vegan Body Piercing Healing Startup Kit is ideal for healthy aftercare. Each product is made of vegan ingredients and allows convenient application to promote quicker healing. The specially patented formulas reduce redness and irritation without the stinging effects and is safe for all skin types.