Product Care

CARE

• Clean with warm water, non corrosive soap and a microfiber cloth.
• Argenitum silver is nickel free which makes it tarnish resistant, but may get clouded or a slight golded hue over time.  Silver polishes or other metal polish can be used sparingly to increase shine, but are not necessary for your BOND Hardware jewelry.

STORAGE

• Store 935 Silver jewelry in a soft cloth or plastic pouch to prevent scratches.
• Do Not store your 935 Silver jewelry next to sterling silver jewelry – the 935 Argentium Silver piece may tarnish because of its close proximity to the sterling.

FIRST CONSENTING TO YOUR NEW BODY MOD, THEN PIERCING, HERE’S AFTERCARE: 

Every body is different.  The healing process will be impacted by every individual’s lifestyle, diet, climate, and body chemistry. A positive healing experience comes from a combination of not touching, or interfering with the natural healing process and proper aftercare and cleaning techniques.  See below guidelines + aftercare instructions, and please contact us with any questions or concerns. 

 

CLEANING INSTRUCTIONS:

As your piercing works to heal itself, it will inevitably discharge fluids and cells. To combat this, we recommend washing your new piercing two to three times a day, both AM + PM.

Make sure to wash hands with soap + warm water each time before washing or touching new piercings. 

In the shower lather with unscented body wash or soap + air dry.  Then afterwards spray with saline solution directly onto piercing twice a day.  

If there’s no excess irritation or inflammation only use saline spray twice daily. 

If the new piercing gets inflamed or irritated: add this step: clean with 70% isopropyl alcohol after washing + before saline spray until the irritation or additional inflammation calms down.  Then switch back to unscented soap and saline spray only to avoid over drying. 

 

HOLE SPRAY: SALINE SOLUTION:

We suggest soaking your piercing with saline solution twice daily + more often if healing is difficult.

Make a soaking solution by mixing a saline packet [available at the pharmacy] and distilled water.
Make sure your saline powder-to-water ratio is correct- read the directions on the packet. A stronger or weaker solution is not better and may actually harm your piercing.

There is no single cleaning solution or aftercare regimen that works for every body. Different bodies + lifestyles demand different aftercare. Geography, variables in air + water quality, diet, even climate can greatly affect healing. The aftercare solution and how you clean your piercing is one part of the equation.

Find what works for you. Our suggestions are based upon our experience, experiences of others who came before us, and the APP [Association of Piercing Professionals]. These are only suggestions- the most important thing is pay attention to your body and listen to what it’s telling you.

 

Ear Piercings

• Avoid contact with any makeup, skin or hair products
• To prevent irritation from friction or contact use a doughnut shaped pillow or travel pillow to isolate the ear in the middle of the hole while you sleep
• Avoid wearing glasses or using headphones that may rub the piercing area
• Use gentle water pressure in the shower or saline on a q-tip to clear debris from behind the earring

Nose/Septum

• Refrain from using any harsh face wash
• Avoid putting makeup, creams, and serums directly on the piercing
• In have a cold or allergy season, be gentle when blowing your nose
• Avoid any nasal sprays that are not saline
• Use gentle water pressure in the shower or saline on a q-tip to clear debris from behind the earring

Navel

• Showering is suggested for the first few weeks, avoid taking baths
• Refrain from putting body creams and perfumes directly on or around the piercing
• Avoid clothing that may rub or rest on the piercing. Ex: one-piece swimsuits, high-waisted pants, stockings, belts etc. 
• Use gentle water pressure in the shower or saline on a q-tip to clear debris from behind the earring

Nipple

• Refrain from applying body creams directly on the piercing
• Make sure only clean clothing comes in contact with the piercing
• Avoid restrictive clothing, lace bras, and exposure to other bodily fluids
• Use gentle water pressure in the shower or saline on a q-tip to clear debris from behind the earring

Lip/Oral

• Be mindful of alcohol and any spicy + acidic foods that come in contact with your mouth
• Avoid applying makeup and creams directly on the piercing
• Use gentle water pressure in the shower or saline on a q-tip to clear debris from behind the earring

 

Full Healing Time Frames:

A piercing may only seem healed before the healing process is fully complete. This is because tissue heals from the outside in. It may feel fine, the interior is still fragile during this time. The key is to remain patient + keep cleaning throughout the entire initial healing process.

Downsizing jewelry may be done after ½ the full Healing time frame has passed.

Lobe: 4-6+ months

Upper Lobe: 4-6+ months

Snakebite Midi: 6-9+ months

Helix: 6-9+ months

Flat Helix: 6-9+ months

Forward Helix: 6-9+ months

Conch: 6-9+ months

Tragus: 6-9+ months

Anti-Tragus: 8 months – 12+ months

Rook: 8 months – 12+ months

Daith: 8 months – 12+ months

 

 

SIZING DOWN / HEALED JEWELRY 

New piercings are done with jewelry that is a little longer + larger in diameter. This is to promote the healing process and prevent any possible problems and initial swelling that can occur from incorrectly sized jewelry. Downsizing your jewelry once the initial swelling has subsided can be crucial to proper healing. 

Our team will help curate your initial jewelry selection + advise whether you’ll require downsizing at a future appointment. With proper aftercare, after a few weeks, you may need to downsize jewelry. Jewelry should always be downsized by a professional piercer. If you do not downsize after healing, it can result in undesired movement of your piercing, and higher risk for an extra long bar to snag or get pulled, causing unwanted irritation.

 

POST PIERCING TIPS

Please note: If you love your jewelry, keep it in. Once removed, the hole will close immediately prior to healing making it difficult to put back in

• Do not turn or rotate jewelry except to periodically tighten the post
• Always wash your hands thoroughly before + after cleaning your piercing
• Do not clean your piercing with chemical based products that may cause irritation
• Do not pick at the piercing site because it is attached to the healing tissue
• Be cautious while washing and styling your hair with towels + fibers
• In the shower, keep scented soaps + shampoos away from the pierced area
• Avoid swimming in chlorinated water or freshwater lakes
• Be careful about performing any strenuous exercise and avoid tight clothing
• Avoid putting makeup, moisturizers + perfumes directly on the piercing
• Try to avoid sleeping on your piercing, use a travel pillow to isolate your ear

 

HEALED

While healing times vary for everyone and every piercing, it’s dependent on your overall health + stress levels, as well as your aftercare regimen. 

You’ll know your ear is healed once any swelling, redness, flaking, or discharge completely stops and your piercing sits comfortably in its place. In general, your piercing should continue to feel better with time and consistent cleaning.

DO NOT listen to your friend’s advice over ours. Call or visit the studio, we have experience + want to help. Taking care of your piercing is key for optimal healing.

APP STANDARDS + BOND DESIGN FEATURES 

THREADING

We recognize Internally threaded jewelry as the APP standard for initial piercing jewelry. The bar that passes through skin is smooth and the threads are on the removable end[s] to avoid the possibility of injurying newly pierced tissue with threads.

Alternatively, Bond creates externally threaded jewelry that has the screw pattern cut into the post.  Since new piercing jewelry is always initially inserted by screwing hardware into the end of the needle, we’ve found this standard practice protects the body from potentially sharp threads at the time of piercing, and comparatively makes for a smoother jewelry change when switching out fully healed piercings on your own. We also chose external threads so the jewelry itself is less susceptible to bent threaded end posts, giving it more durability and longevity. 

316L SURGICAL STEEL 

Few materials have proven to withstand the heat and pressure of sterilization + compatibility with the body to avoid irritation or infection. According to the Society for Testing and Materials Standard (ASTM), Surgical Steel is a category of alloys, one of which 316L is used for body jewelry.  Although surgical steel has been used for surgical implants + piercings for many years, recently the APP has amended their guideline to include only implant grade titanium, niobium and 18k+ gold. As experienced consumers we have always loved being pierced with high quality surgical steel, and this positive experience as well as extensive wear testing is how we chose to create our 316L surgical steel piercing hardware. 

BOND acknowledges APP best practices + chooses to pierce with quality tested 316L surgical grade stainless steel and externally threaded jewelry.  After testing our jewelry extensively for over 1 year on people with nickel allergies and many varieties of sensitive skin, with overwhelming excitement + success, we are proud to share the collection knowing this design may not suit everybody. 

See below for a list of queer, female + black owned APP compliant piercing studios for other options + needs:

ABOUT THE MATERIALS

• BOND modular leather accessories are subjected to the strictest quality testing.  It is possible for marks or irregularities to appear even with the most luxe natural materials; these are naturally occurring features and should not be thought of as imperfections.
• Smooth matte-leather accessories with chrome-finished hardware.

CARE

• Clean only with warm water + and non corrosive soap.
• Avoid contact with water, high temperature, humidity, grease, perfumes, make-up products, and light colored garments.
• If your item gets wet, dab it softly with a soft neutral colored cloth to absorb the moisture. Never dry the leather by using heat. 
• Do not rub the products with anything coarse or abrasive.
• Scratches cannot be prevented.

STORAGE

• Keep your leather products stored in a cool, dry place.