When getting an ear piercing there are typically two methods; a gun or needle. One method is preferable to the other, do you know which one it is?
PIERCING GUN
Let's go over piercing guns first. These are typically used at the mall at stores such as Claires. You must have seen tons of mom's bring their children to these places and get their ears pierced. Seems innocent right? No no no. Getting ears pierced with piercing guns is extremely dangerous. Before you go to another retail store, I will give you the reasons why using a piercing gun is a not-so-smart-move.
High Chance of Infection
At these stores they state that they sterilize their piercing, however you can't actually sterilize a piercing gun. With these guns the staff simply replace the pin used to pierce your ear. Also piercing guns are usually made out of plastic which cannot be sterilized in an autoclave. Sure, a technician wipes it with alcohol or antiseptic in between uses, but how sterile is that? Not sterile enough to get rid of blood borne pathogens.
Bad Results
Guess who is piercing your ear at these stores? High school kids who are not trained professionals. Do I need to say more?
Just No
Getting pierced with a piercing gun is like pushing a pin through your ear. Did you know that piercing guns use a solid pin to puncture your ear whereas with a needle the inside is hollow. The difference is that with the piercing gun your earring is forcefully pushed through your lobe whereas with a needle your earring is gently inserted into the the new hole. With the piercing gun you will experience excessive trauma. So what difference does it make? The end results is that with the needle your earring will sit flush on your ears, whereas with the gun your ears will take longer to heal and the earring will be crooked on your ears.
NEEDLE
Hands down, in all circumstances using a needle to perform an ear piercing is much safer. My recommendation: go to a professional piercer who uses a needle. It hurts less, gives better results and is better for your health!
3 comments
Jenny
To Lesley: what I did to make the hole smaller is to put in another earring with a thinner stud – you could use a ‘light’ earring and not a heavy hoop one – and make sure it’s also medical grade steel to avoid any complications with healing.
PS: I am not a certified piercer, I just have a few piercings myself. Hope this helps!
Elaine
I was going to get my ears done in Claire’s. The staff put on gloves then dropped the cotton wool on the shop floor. She picked it up and tried to use it to clean my ear!! I left after reporting the incident to her boss. She said it would have been ok because the antiseptic would kill and germs.
Lesley
Hello. I have just had my lobes re pierced after double lobe repair ( I’m 50, lobe holes had elongated after years of heavy earrings.). I had the piercings done by a professional body piercer with a needle and titanium barbell type studs. Unfortunately, the piercer did not explain the sizing to me before he pierced my ears. I would have preferred a narrow thin piercing instead of a large hole which the gauge has made. Is there anything I can do to ensure the hole heals smaller? Can I remove the studs and replace with titanium thin stemmed earring? Thanks for any advice. I did not want gauge holes in my lobes! But did not want to go to Claire’s for gun piercing.