Sea Salt Soaks:

Mix: 4 teaspoons of non-iodized sea salt to 1 gallon (1/4” teaspoon to 8oz) distilled or purified water. Heat: Mixture should be heated to as warm as you can stand to the touch. Dry: Use a clean disposable product (i.e. Q-tip, sterile gauze, paper towel). We suggest soaking the piercing in warm sea salt solution a minimum of twice daily at any point a saline spray is not enough. Each soak should last at least 10 minutes, and the piercing should be fully submerged. Use a large glass or ceramic cup (drinking glass, coffee mug, Pyrex measuring cup), and do not use anything plastic. Do not use a shot glass; the solution will not stay warm through the duration of the soak. Continue soaking the piercing until it is no longer irritated. Soaks can be combined with saline spray. Soaks aid in the removal of dirt and dried discharge, and improve circulation and white blood cell response to the piercing. A lack of sensation is not an indication of full healing and aftercare should be a daily occurrence to ensure a safe and fast healing process. Both methods of care, sterile saline spray or seal salt soaks, are acceptable. However, soaks can provide more benefits to the healing process, especially during irritations.

Sterile Saline Spray:

We suggest the use of a sterile saline spray to help keep new piercings clean. The saline should be used at consistent intervals throughout the day. It is great for rinsing away accumulated debris on and around the piercing, as well as softening built up discharge. Allow a few minutes before wiping away any discharge with a clean and disposable product, such as a Q-Tip. Ensure the piercing is clean and thoroughly dried. As long as the piercing is not problematic or irritated, a sterile saline spray is sufficient for aftercare. The saline spray is intended as a secondary product to sea salt soaks, not as a replacement for the soaking process. Ten minute soaks in sea salt solution should be looked at as a “deep clean” that stimulates blood flow to the wound, and helps expedite the evacuation of lymph, dead skin cells, mucous and bacteria. Saline spay does not provide as many benefits as the saline soaks, but will provide a method for cleaning in between soaks.

Soaps:

While saline spray or soaks alone work great in reducing irritations and shortening healing times, you may find the occasional use of a mild soap helpful. If you feel the need to clean a piercing with soap, it should be done EXTERNALLY only, and not introduced inside of the healing piercing. We suggest using Dr. Bronner Baby Castile Soap at a diluted ratio of 10:1 (water: soap). Soap may be used periodically, but should always be used in conjunction with your daily saline spray or saline soak routine. Check the ends of your jewelry frequently. This is best done during or immediately following a shower with recently washed hands. In most cases, this is the only time to touch your jewelry during healing.

Things to avoid:

For a faster and minimally problematic healing process, we suggest avoiding introducing the following to your healing piercing. Failure to do so may result in irritations, slower healing times, scarring, and potential infections. Avoid touching or handling the piercing for any reason. There is no reason to rotate or twist the jewelry. Using implant grade materials prevents embedding or adhesion, so new skin cell growth will actually be disrupted if jewelry is moved around intentionally or excessively. Scarring can occur if you are intentionally moving jewelry in a healing piercing, as well as directly introducing bacteria into open wounds increasing risk of infection. Avoid submerging your piercing in any body of water (lakes, oceans, rivers, streams Jacuzzis, bathtubs, etc.) except for saline soaks. Avoid oral and/or sexual contact. Do not use first-aid productions, anti-bacterial soaps, Bactine, ointments, lotions, creams, oils, ear care solutions, rubbing alcohol, peroxides, cosmetics, or make-up.

Oral Aftercare:

Drink plenty of water or use ice until the area has relaxed back to normal size. Use an alcohol-free mouthwash, such as Crest ProCare or Biotene, no more than 4 times daily. Mouthwash should be used after breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and once more before going to bed. Allow AT LEAST 3-4 hours between rinses. Water is fine to drink between rinses, but do not eat or drink anything else. No oral or sexual contact. Keep all other body fluids away from your piercing, even if you are in a monogamous relationship. Alcohol, smoking, and excessive caffeine, sugary, spicy, salty, highly acidic foods and drinks can irritate and slow the healing process. Do not play with jewelry while healing. Do not apply toothpaste directly to the piercing. Avoid mouthwashes with alcohol, peroxides, gum, breath mints, and other oral products.

Lip Piercings:

In addition to the rinses inside your mouth, you must also care for the outside of the piercing. Like all other piercings, we suggest a sterile saline spray and/or saline soaks. Most oral piercings swell during the initial phase of healing. Swelling, bleeding, bruising, discharge of clear/whitish fluid and or minor indentations in the surrounding tissue are normal. Should you experience extremes of any of these, please stop by for a consult at your earliest convenience. Most oral piercings will require the use of longer jewelry in the beginning to accommodate for any swelling. We highly recommend returning after the initial healing phase has passed, commonly 3-4 weeks, to downsize your jewelry. This is often an intermediate downsize, and further downsizing is not only possible but necessary. Downsizing your jewelry is the best way to minimize incurring irreversible dental damage over the course of your oral piercing. *ALL PIERCINGS GO THROUGH MULTIPLE STAGES OF HEALING. FRESH PIERCINGS CAN BE RED, SWOLLEN, BRUISED, BLEED, AND HAVE A WHITISH/YELLOWISH DISCHARGE (LYMPH FLUID AND WHITE BLOOD CELLS). SHOULD YOU EXPERIENCE EXTREMES OF ANY OF THESE SYMPTOMS, PLEASE CONSULT US AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

We do not accept returns, with the exception of manufacturer defect. Defective or damages include: broken pieces during shipping, warping, jewelry with visible breakage, mismatched or poorly sized jewelry. Defects or damages do not include jewelry that the customer ordered in the wrong size, or is interpreted as looking different than the example material photo. Organic materials have variances that our beyond our control. We are not responsible in any way for lost jewelry or jewelry that has been broken once it is in a customer’s possession. We are in the process of discontinuing certain stone styles which may be substituted for a comparable option at our discretion. Please contact us before ordering for specifics.

Evolve is not responsible to refund, exchange or credit your account with us for any jewelry that the customer cannot fit due to highly pierced lobes, scar tissue or crooked piercings. Under no circumstances will we exchange jewelry that has already been worn. All returns are eligible for exchange or store credit only. The decision as to the whether or not jewelry is defective will be solely up to our discretion. Please contact us within 15 days of purchase with any questions or concerns. Custom orders are final sale only. We cannot be responsible for making jewelry incorrectly if we were not provided with measurements.

All jewelry will ship with a hygienic seal to ensure cleanliness. Exchanges will be accepted only as long as the hygienic seal is not broken. There will be no exceptions. Customers are responsible for return shipping charges.

All orders will ship using USPS flat rate shipping including tracking. Basic shipping options do not include insurance. If shipping insurance, expedited shipping, or a different carrier is preferred please contact us before ordering. We are not responsible for orders lost during shipping. Most items will ship within 24-48 hours of cleared payment, however some items may take up to ten days to ship. If you have questions about projected shipping dates for a specific item please contact us before ordering.