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!