What You Should Know About Getting an Eyebrow Piercing for the First Time

Here are a few things you should know about getting an eyebrow piercing for the first time. Besides eating well and being hydrated, there’s not much you need to do physically to prepare for a piercing, but these tips can help you be informed and ready for the piercing and take care of it afterward.

The Piercing Hurts a Little, But the Healing Shouldn’t

Getting an eyebrow piercing will hurt to some degree, but it’s not usually considered to be one of the more painful spots to pierce. There is no cartilage to go through for an eyebrow piercing, just the skin/tissue. There will be some residual pain for the first few days, but there shouldn’t be any pain after that. Any increase in pain or throbbing after the first few days of healing could mean there is an infection or other problem. If this is happening and you need help, a professional piercing shop will happily give advice with troubleshooting and healing.

Clean Twice a Day While Healing

According to the aftercare guidelines of the Association of Professional Piercers, eyebrow piercings need to be cleaned twice a day (once in the morning and once before bed) while healing with a saline rinse or sea salt soak. This will remove any buildup and flush out bacteria. You can make your own solution by mixing 4 teaspoons of non-iodized sea salt into 1 gallon of distilled water. There are also multiple ready-made options available for sale, we have some options on our Aftercare page.

Healing Will Take 2-3 Months


Eyebrow piercings take between 2-3 months to heal depending on a person’s body and health. While the tissue may not hurt, it is still healing and will still be sensitive to damage and irritation. During this time, keep the piercing clean and avoid playing with it so the tissue doesn’t get irritated or tear. While the piercing is healing, it’s a good idea to be a little more careful with things like changing clothes or face washing to avoid accidentally smacking, snagging, or bumping the piercing.

Get a Curved Barbell

When getting an eyebrow piercing at a professional piercing shop, they will most likely use a stainless steel or titanium curved barbell for the initial jewelry, in a 14 or 16 gauge size. A curved barbell allows the tissue of an eyebrow piercing to heal more safely than with a ring or hoop, because it sits against the curve of the eyebrow nicely and it doesn’t have the ability to get moved as much as a ring can.

Avoid Waxing Your Eyebrows During Healing

If you wax your eyebrows, it would be helpful to get them done before getting an eyebrow piercing and then waiting a couple months for the piercing to heal before going again to avoid the heat and friction from causing irritation or potentially tears to the healing tissue. If you need to do some eyebrow cleanup, try carefully tweezing/plucking the hairs around the eyebrow piercing instead.