If you have never been pierced before, the volume of advice online can feel overwhelming. Half of it conflicts with the other half, and the order it should be done in is rarely made clear. This page takes the practical advice and arranges it in a step-by-step order that you can actually follow.

Each section corresponds to a specific time before, during or after the appointment. Read it in order, do each step at the right time and the experience will be smooth.

Two Weeks Before: Research

Start with research. The studio you choose is the single biggest decision affecting your piercing.

Step 1: Decide on the Piercing

Pick the specific piercing you want. Look at examples on a range of faces, not just one influencer. Note that the same piercing looks different on different anatomy. Our piece on popular piercings covers the current options.

Step 2: Choose a Studio

Pick a studio with visible licences, implant grade titanium as standard, single use sterile needles, named piercers and detailed reviews. Avoid studios that use piercing guns or cannot show their credentials. The full checklist is in choosing a piercing studio.

Step 3: Check the Practical Details

Confirm opening hours, walk-in policy versus booking, pricing range for your specific piercing and whether the studio offers a consultation before booking. If anything is unclear, ring or visit before committing.

One Week Before: Health Check

The lead-up week is mostly about making sure you arrive in a good physical state.

Step 4: Health Check

Make sure you are not getting ill. If you feel a cold coming on, consider rescheduling. Tired, run-down bodies pierce worse and heal slower. If you have a chronic medical condition, see our piece on medical conditions and piercings.

Step 5: Stop Picking

If you have a habit of touching the area you are about to get pierced (face, ears, navel), try to break it now. The piercer needs clean, undisturbed tissue and you will need to leave the piercing alone afterwards.

Step 6: Avoid New Skincare

Do not introduce new face creams, body lotions or skincare products in the week before. Stick with your normal routine. New products can cause subtle skin reactions that complicate piercing.

Step 7: Plan Your Outfit

For most piercings, your usual clothes are fine. For navel piercings, plan low-waisted trousers or a dress. For nipple piercings, plan a button-front or zip-front top. The clothing should give the piercer easy access to the area.

Day Before: Set Up

Step 8: Hydrate Through the Day

Drink water steadily across the day. Aim for around two litres. Hydrated tissue handles the needle better. Drinking a litre right before the appointment does not help, it only fills your bladder.

Step 9: Eat Well

Eat your normal meals. Avoid anything you know upsets your stomach. Steady blood sugar going into the next day is the aim.

Step 10: Skip Alcohol

No drinks the night before. Alcohol thins the blood and dehydrates the skin. Wine with dinner is enough to affect the piercing the next day.

Step 11: Avoid Blood-Thinning Painkillers

Skip aspirin and ibuprofen unless you have a medical reason to take them. Both increase bleeding during the piercing. Paracetamol is fine if needed.

Step 12: Sleep

Aim for at least seven hours. Tired bodies have higher pain perception and slower healing. This is the most underrated preparation step.

Step 13: Pack Your Bag

Photo ID (passport, driving licence or PASS card). Small snack and drink for after. Money or card to pay. Your phone if you want to check the studio location on the way. A friend’s number if you have one coming to meet you.

Morning Of: Final Preparation

Step 14: Wake Up Calmly

Do not roll out of bed and rush. Give yourself time. Anxiety in the morning amplifies anxiety at the studio.

Step 15: Shower

Clean the area being pierced thoroughly during the shower. Skip perfume, fragrance or body lotion on or near the piercing site.

Step 16: Eat a Proper Meal

One to two hours before the appointment. Carbs and protein. A sandwich, eggs and toast, pasta with chicken. This is non-negotiable. Low blood sugar is the most common cause of feeling lightheaded during or after a piercing.

Step 17: Drink Water

A couple of glasses on the morning of the appointment. Not a litre right before, just steady hydration.

Step 18: Skip Make-up Near the Piercing

For a face piercing, arrive with no make-up on or near the area. The piercer needs clean unobstructed skin for marking up.

Step 19: Leave Plenty of Time

Plan your route, leave fifteen minutes earlier than you need to. Arriving rushed amplifies nerves. Arriving early lets you settle in.

At the Studio

Step 20: Tell the Receptionist You Are Nervous

If you are. They will adjust accordingly, give you slightly more time and brief the piercer before you go in. Honesty here makes everything easier.

Step 21: Fill Out the Consent Form Honestly

Allergies, medications, medical conditions. The form is confidential and the information is for your benefit.

Step 22: Use the Consultation

Ask everything you want to ask. About the piercing, the jewellery, the aftercare, the healing. There are no silly questions and the piercer will not be impatient.

Step 23: Check the Marking

The piercer will mark dots where the piercing entry and exit will be. Look in the mirror from multiple angles. If anything looks off, say so now. The piercer will adjust and remark.

Step 24: Breathe Out on the Count

When the piercer counts you in, breathe out slowly rather than holding your breath. This relaxes the muscles around the area and makes the piercing easier and faster.

Step 25: Listen to the Aftercare Brief

Once the piercing is done, the piercer will go over aftercare. Listen carefully. Ask anything you are unsure about. You will leave with written instructions but the verbal walkthrough is just as important.

Immediately After

Step 26: Sit for a Few Minutes

Stand up slowly. The adrenaline can leave you slightly shaky. Sit in the studio’s waiting area for five minutes before walking outside.

Step 27: Eat Your Snack

Now is when the snack you brought matters. Blood sugar can dip post-piercing. A banana, cereal bar or sandwich helps.

Step 28: Hydrate

Drink water. Both for general hydration and to settle the adrenaline.

Step 29: Pay Attention to How You Feel

If you feel lightheaded, tell the studio team. We will sit you down with feet up and bring you something sugary. This is genuinely common and entirely manageable.

Preparation is a sequence of small decisions. Get each one right and the piercing itself becomes the easy part of the whole experience.
Shallows piercing team

The Day After

Step 30: Start Aftercare Properly

Wash hands. Clean with sterile saline spray. Pat dry with disposable paper. Hands off otherwise. The full aftercare detail is in our aftercare hub.

Step 31: Sleep Carefully

If your piercing is on one side of your head or body, sleep on the other side for the first few weeks. A travel pillow can help create a hole for a fresh ear piercing.

Step 32: Avoid the Gym

Skip exercise for at least the first day. Sweating into a fresh piercing is not ideal. For body piercings (navel, nipple), give it longer, around a week.

Step 33: Avoid Swimming

No pools, no hot tubs, no lakes, no sea until the piercing is fully healed. Showers are fine.

The Week After

Step 34: Watch for Normal Signs

Some redness, swelling and clear fluid is normal for the first few days. Tenderness can last a week or two. None of this is cause for alarm.

Step 35: Know What Is Not Normal

Significant pain that increases rather than decreases. Thick yellow or green discharge. Hot, hard swelling that spreads. Red streaks moving away from the piercing. Fever. Any of these means contact a GP. Our piece on normal vs warning signs covers this in detail.

Step 36: Stay in Touch With the Studio

If anything is worrying you, ring or pop in. A two minute look from a piercer answers most questions immediately. We would much rather see you for a quick check than have you fretting for a week.

The One Reminder Worth Repeating

Most first-time piercings are fine. The horror stories on the internet are unrepresentative and almost always come from unlicensed settings or impulsive decisions. You have chosen a proper studio, you have prepared properly and you are about to have a quick procedure done by a professional.

The nerves will fade once the appointment starts. The piercing will be done in seconds. You will walk out feeling pleasantly surprised at how manageable the whole thing was. Hundreds of first piercings come through our studio every month and almost all of them end with a quietly proud client.

Preparation is what turns a nerve-wracking first piercing into a smooth experience. Each step is small and easy on its own. Together they shape the appointment in a way that pays off both during the piercing and through the months of healing afterwards. Follow the steps in order and the rest looks after itself.