“Help! My jewelry fell out!!”
This is the single most-common thing people say to us following something happening to their jewelry during healing. And it is also usually not the case. Rather, the jewelry was caught on something and was pulled out or was missing a part, like a bead. Don’t panic. Do follow this advice…
tips on what to do when things go wrong:
Captive Bead Rings, Circular Barbells, Straight Barbells and Curved Barbells all have parts that can disconnect from the body of the jewelry. Believe it or not but beads do not just fall off - friction or bumping them can make them disconnect. But they never just decide to take a hike on you…
In the case of a lost bead cut a small piece of the sticky strip of a bandaid and wrap it around the opening or the threaded end(s). Now it’s secure until you can get a replacement. Because just walking around like that WILL cause the jewelry to come out. The beads are what either closes the ring or act as stoppers. But it’s never a convenient time to have this happen, so the bandaid-trick is fast and easy!
Make sure to not pull at or move jewelry by its bead(s) - convenient little handle(s), sure. But that movement is also friction and will cause them to unthread and go “BYE”.
For Bead Rings - these can turn and the opening can get caught inside the piercing channel and lead to losing the piercing. So do the bandaid-trick and don’t just hope it will “be okay”… This happens way more than it needs to. Let’s put an end to that! 🙌🏼
Nostril jewelry can get caught and snagged on a myriad of items, but the most reported are:
Towel
Washcloth (mini-towel)
Tissues
Bedding, especially of the fuzzy-nature
Clothing being removed or put-on overhead, especially when never having had to think about your new piercing 😅
Best advice here is to remind yourself OUT LOUD that you have this new piercing… It is a means to create mindfulness of this totally new existence, as well as to protect you from having to deal with a problematic healing period. Being thoughtful and focused is worth the extra effort.
In the case of the jewelry getting pulled out, do not try to force it back into the piercing channel!! We get it - but it’s often the very worst thing to do. This is what we do best, so let us reinsert it safely, cleanly and with far less pain and discomfort. If you do attempt to force it in and fail, even we may not be able to save it. Not worth the risk.
New piercings (Less than 2-months old) have a very small window and you will need to text us so we can try to fit you into the day’s schedule. We cannot always accommodate a walk-in, no matter how urgent.
Piercings older than 2-months have a bit more of a window, usually about 3 days. So make sure to schedule an appointment for help with reinsertion or text us. Just remember it’s not immediately urgent, but also not worth just “letting it go”. (Hurts my heart when people tell me that! 🙈)
Healed piercings have a much wider window for reinsertion or reopening. Once a nostril piercing is fully healed and changed out a bunch of times, it can usually be reopened by us fairly easily. It is a bit uncomfortable, so not to be taken for granted. But though it’s rare that they will need to be “repierced”, there’s no way to tell until we are making the attempt. So don’t wait TOO long!