The sun is finally out, and Toronto & Vancouver it looks like winter has come to a close. With the last snowfall of spring (knock on wood!) out of the way, our minds are turning to summer. People are flooding back into the gym to get their body’s summer ready. But it’s not just time to shed that winter weight, it’s also your last chance to get piercings heal before beach season.

Why to Get Your Summer Piercing’s Done in Spring

Summer is the most popular time for piercings. But the most popular summer piercings are best done before spring ends. Getting your piercings done in the spring gives them enough chance to heal up before revealing your new piercings at beaches and festivals. We’ve touched before on why winter is a good time for piercings, but if you didn’t get your piercing this winter, there’s no need to wait until next winter. Spring still has many similar advantages, so you can don’t need to miss out on summer piercings.

Let Your Piercings Heal Before Summer

Piercings look their best once they heal. Even though infections are rare, fresh piercings are prone to:

• Oozing
• Crusting
• Redness
• Swelling

These problems do tend to go away on their own and cleaning piercings with a compress can expedite healing. But, it’s hardly the look you’re hoping for to reveal a new piercing. By getting your piercings done weeks or months before anyone will see them, you give them a better chance to heal. Not only is this safer, but it means your piercings look their best. A crusty piercing isn’t the reason you were hoping to turn heads at the beach.

The Ability to Accessorize

When you get a new piercing, you’re stuck with the jewellery you start with until it heals. For many piercings, this period is 6-8 weeks. This timeline means getting a piercing in the spring gives enough time for a piercing to heal before Toronto & Vancouver hits belly top temperatures. Once your piercings heal, you are free to remove and replace them with other jewellery. Now you can wear jewellery customized to your outfits or specially chosen for specific events. Why not give yourself a little more room to play this summer?

Keep Your Body Piercings Protected

While a few people are ready to brave Toronto & Vancouver in t-shirts already, most of us are still covering up for the next few weeks. And only a handful of joggers are running around topless yet. While that’s a stark reminder that summer is still a bit away, it’s also great for many piercings. Although face and ear piercings are exposed, most of your body piercings are still covered by clothes. Your clothing creates natural protection for fresh piercings. Just make sure to avoid clothes that catch on piercings, and loose-fitting clothes are recommended to avoid friction. For piercings protected with bandages or patches, clothing hides this from sight.

You’re Out of the Dry Season

Spring showers bring an end to Toronto & Vancouver’s dry winter air. This is an advantage spring has over winter piercings. The skin around piercings doesn’t dry out as quickly, helping them heal effectively. Still, it’s worthwhile to keep piercing aftercare products on hand. Keeping fresh piercings from drying out ensure fast and safe healing.

A Look At Some of Toronto & Vancouver’s Favourite Summer Piercings

So we’ve looked discussed why to get your summer piercings done in spring. Now let’s take a look at Toronto & Vancouver’s best beach-ready piercings for summer.

Navel Piercings

From belly tops to beachwear, summers are the time to flaunt the piercings that winter kept hidden away. Navel piercings are among the most popular piercings in this category. At a Jays game, the beach, or walking Yonge St. you’re sure to see some belly button piercings. They’re fun, they’re cool, and a sure sign of summer. Whether you’re an innie or an outtie, belly button piercings are definitely in this summer. Navel piercings do take a little longer to heal. With a to 6-8 months healing period, a spring piercing may not fully heal before the summer. Still, the worst of any adverse problems, such as crusting and irritation, usually happen more often during the first few weeks. So your best bet is to get them as early as possible.

Nipple Piercings

Rocking out in a mosh pit, or tanning by the pool, summer is the most common time for your nipple piercings to make an appearance. When you pop your shirt off, nipple piercings always get attention. Nipple piercings are common for men and women and are one of the most popular piercings for men. Almost any nipple can be pierced, regardless of nipple development and shape. Nipple piercings generally heal faster for men, only 3 to 4 months. So a springtime piercing has a chance to heal by the hottest time of summer. Full healing for women can take as much as 6 to 12 months. The sooner you get it done, the better it looks by summer time.

Microdermal & Surface Piercings

Microdermals & surface piercings are always cool and are exposed by a lot of summer clothing. With a 6-8 week healing time, springtime piercings have a chance to fully heal before it’s warm enough to show them off. Dermals give the appearance of beads floating on top of the skin. The piercings can go on just about any flat surface on the body. One of the more popular areas is just above and inside the hip, but there are all sorts of options.

Where to Get Summer Piercings in Toronto & Vancouver

While we emphasize the value of getting piercings done before summer, where you get your piercings is always more important than when. It’s better to wait to see a professional piercing artist than to just get the first place you can find. Protect yourself. Piercings at a professional shop are safer than at-home piercing or jewellery shops like Claire’s. A jewellery-focused shop doesn’t always put safety first. Anywhere that uses a piercing gun instead of a needle puts you at risk of infection of skin damage. At Chronic Ink Tattoo, we have the only APP (Association of Professional Piercers) certified piercers in Toronto & Vancouver. This requires a high level of safety qualifications and training, in addition to their ability to perform awesome piercings.