How to Clean a Nose Ring

Co-authored by Karissa Sanford

Last Updated: July 17, 2024 References

Cleaning a nose ring is essential to a healthy piercing. The first few weeks are important to the ensure that the piercing heals up quickly and easily. You can learn the basic cleaning and care steps necessary to keep your nose healthy.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Keeping Your Piercing Clean

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1
Get the necessary supplies. If you don't have cotton balls, or want to try another cleaning method, you can create a little saline solution to clean the area of bacteria. Here's what you'll need:
- A small cup
- Anti-bacterial hand soap
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 cup warm water
- Cotton swabs
Only touch your piercing with recently cleaned hands. Then, wash your small cup with antibacterial soap before you get started. Rest on clean paper towel to let it dry thoroughly.^{[1]
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3
Dissolve some sea salt in warm water. Put about 5 tablespoons (74 ml) of very hot water in the cup, then add about 2.5 teaspoons of the sea salt and mix it up thoroughly to dissolve it. Let the salt water cool until you can touch it comfortably.^{[2]
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- Dip a cotton ball into the mixture to check the heat level, and apply it with the cotton.
4
Apply the saline with a cotton swab. Dab the skin around your piercing with a small amount of saline. Move the ring around and dab a little on the ring or stud itself. This helps to kill bacteria or other germs that could lead to an infection. Continue rotating the piercing gently and carefully as you apply.
- There might be a little crust forming around the area. Use a Q-Tip to soften it and wipe it away, but don't attempt to pick at the area or mess with it too much. Mostly you want to leave the piercing alone.^{[3]
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5
Turn your head to the side and dip the piercing into the glass. This will feel weird at first, but try to keep your head tilted forward a bit so the water doesn't run back into your nose and burn.
- Blow your nose very gently, making bubbles and moving the mixture around the area. You can plug the other nostril if it helps. Do this for thirty seconds to a minute, or so.
2-3 times a day, it's important to wash your face and keep it clean. This helps to remove dirt and oils that may have accumulated around the area. It's very important to keep this area clean and avoid infection.
7
Look for signs of infection. Infected piercings will be red and swollen, and may discharge some fluid regularly. If your infection doesn't heal, remove it and clean the area regularly. Once the infection heals, sterilize your nose ring and replace it, or have the piercing redone if necessary.^{[4]
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Mayo Clinic
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- If your piercing is infected, continue cleaning it as normal for a few days. Add a sterile saline solution additionally to your regular cleaning routine.

Part 2

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Caring for Piercings

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How often should you clean the area? Once in the morning and once at night is a good rule of thumb. Keep an eye on the healing process and make sure that there are no signs of infection. With regular cleaning, your piercing should be healed in a few weeks.
2
Leave the ring in. Never take out your stud or piercing to clean, or pick at the piercing before it has healed. It's important to leave the area alone and let it heal up, but never remove it from the nose or it'll open up the wound again. Most piercings need a few months of healing before they can be removed.^{[5]
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- Rotate your piercing regularly. This is especially important for new piercings and infected piercings, which may become stuck in your skin from scabbing up as part of the healing process. Just press the ring gently back and forth through the piercing.
3
Never use alcohol or hydrogen peroxide. Only clean your piercing with saline solution, or you'll keep the piercing from healing quickly and effectively.^{[6]
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Research source} If your piercing was done in a sterile environment, there should be no need for more astringent antiseptic cleaners.
- Peroxide and alcohol kill the dead skin around the piercing, making it very difficult to heal back up. Don't use these solutions, or any other cleaning products. Just saline.
- Don't apply make-up or other cover-up treatments to the area if you're concerned. If necessary, cover the area with a bandage if you don't like the way it looks.
4
Be careful when you dress and undress. It can be very painful to catch a new piercing on your clothes when you're putting them on or removing them. To keep yourself safe, give yourself an extra couple of minutes to get dressed, or you might risk a tough snag.
- Some people find it effective to sleep on their other side, or use a neck pillow to keep from snagging the piercing in their sleep at night.
EXPERT TIP

Karissa Sanford
Body Piercing Specialist
Karissa Sanford is the Co-owner of Make Me Holey Body Piercing, a piercing studio based in the San Francisco Bay Area that specializes in safe and friendly body piercing. Karissa has over 10 years of piercing experience and is a member of the Association of Professional Piercers (APP).

Karissa Sanford
Body Piercing Specialist

Make sure you leave the piercing alone as much as possible. You don't want to touch it with your fingers, get makeup on it, catch it on something, or bump into it with your glasses.

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Question

Is it normal to bleed after two weeks?

Community Answer

Yes, but be careful as it could be infected. Check with a piercer or doctor if you can, and clean regularly. Don't remove the piercing to clean it even if you think the hole is infected; this will cause more irritation and make it harder to insert again.

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Question

When I'm cleaning my nose piercing, the stud slides in and out. Is this normal?

Community Answer

Yes, this is perfectly normal. The sliding motion can actually help the cleaning solution reach deeper into the piercing, which is a good thing.

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Question

They gave me a small bottle liquid to clean my piercing at the studio; must I used it instead of salt water?

Community Answer

Yes, you should always use what the piercing studio gives you. You can use a sea salt solution after you've used up the solution from the studio.

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