Your Guide to the Daith Piercing

Below we take an inside look at what a daith piercing is, how it can help, and what to consider before getting one for yourself. As always, if you have any other questions, need further assistance or are ready to get pierced, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at Pierced.co. We have two conveniently located piercing studios in Newmarket and Mississauga and are always happy to help.

The Piercing Process

Understanding what will happen ahead of time can help reduce any anxiety you may feel when going to get your daith pierced. At Pierced.co we make sure all of our customers know what to expect ahead of time, talking them through each step and making sure they are comfortable from start to finish.
What to Expect: 

1. Pulling your hair back, making sure to keep it away from the ear.
2. After putting on gloves, the piercing artist will clean the area to be pierced with antiseptic and take measurements.
3. You may be asked to lay down and face away so the piercer can reach the daith area.
4. A hollow needle will be used to perform the piercing, and any blood will be cleaned up.
5. This area takes time to pierce, and mistakes can affect the positioning of the piercing. Your piercing artist will take every precaution to protect your ear.

Daith piercings tend to take slightly longer than other piercings to complete, and deal with a thicker piece of folded cartilage. Because of this, the process can be more painful for some, but should be generally well-tolerated for most.

Is it Worth the Pain?

The daith can be uncomfortable to pierce. When asked to rate the pain on a scale of 1 to 10, most people rate it around a 5 or a 6. It does take a few seconds longer to pierce than other areas and sensitive cartilage is involved.

After the piercing the daith will be sensitive for many days, up to nine months in total.

Caring for Your New Piercing

During the healing process, it is essential to take proper care of your new daith piercing. This will lower the risk of irritation. 

Ensure your hands are freshly washed before all aftercare!

Take a pea sized amount of soap and lather in your freshly cleaned hands. You can then gently wash the area of your new piercing, being careful not to move or twist your jewelry. You should not force soap inside the wound itself.

This will be the last step in your shower to remove any leftover residue after from your hair and body.

Remember to take great care to rinse off the soap and to dry well using gauze or paper towel, do not use cloth towels as they harbour bacteria. Leaving the piercing area wet encourages the wound to absorb extra moisture and prolong healing.

We recommend using Pursan soap (which is available in studio). If you misplace the soap, then use any Glycerin-based medical grade soap with no dyes, fragrances, or triclosan as these can damage cells and prolong healing.

NOTE: Do not use bar soaps.

The next step in our aftercare dream routine is irrigation.

Irrigation is the way we rinse off the daily crusties that form on the back and front of our new piercing. These are a normal byproduct of our bodies, but we want to avoid any build-up which can slow healing and/or cause complications.

We recommend using Neilmed Saline Spray as it’s what our piercers trust as aftercare. Another option is using an additive-free packaged saline. Avoid using home made salt mixtures as too much salt in your mixture can damage your new piercing.

Simply rinse the piercing for a few minutes then wipe away any crusties and debris with gauze or paper towel. This includes the backs of the jewelry and any settings or prongs.

Irrigation should be done at the opposite end of the day from your shower. Be sure not to remove scabbing, which you can identify by it being secured to the site of the wound and painful to remove.

Risks of Daith Piercing

As with any procedure, daith piercing carries risks. You need to know the risks before you decide to pursue the daith piercing.

• Potential Risk of infection – Yeast, bacteria, HIV, pathogens, and tetanus all present risks during healing. Some bacterial infections can happen after healing has occurred. These can all be avoided to minimal chance with the proper aftercare routine during the healing process
• Bleeding, swelling, pain, or other unpleasant side effects
• Allergic reactions to jewellery
• Scarring

Only you can decide if the benefit outweighs the potential risk by doing careful research before getting a piercing. 

Ready to Learn More or Get your Own Daith Piercing?

If you are in the Newmarket or Mississauga area and are interested in learning more about daith or other piercings, have more questions or are ready to hop in the piercing chair, stop by or give us a call today.

Our team of highly trained, friendly and professional piercers are ready to learn more about what they can do to help you get a piercing that you’ll love for years to come.