I’m thinking of just piercing my kids ears myself. Has anyone done it? Obviously I’ll buy sterile supplies and then I control the environment. Just a needle poke, right?

Anonymous wrote:Just got my DD's ears done at Claire's in MD. They did a nice job, and we had no issues. They also have a cleaning solution that they say only requires 3x daily cleanings for 3 weeks instead of 6.

Lol at the cleaning solution, that is a scam.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not about cleanliness--the risk of infection even at Claire's is very very low. And while the guns aren't great, it gets the job done fine. It's about experience. Do you want a teenager who did an online training and has been at it for a few months to pierce your kid, or a pediatrician who does it every couple of weeks at most, or a piercing specialist who apprenticed for years and pierces day in and day out?

It's an earlobe. Teens have been DIY-ing this since the dawn of man. A specialist is not required. If you are piercing some tender bit of your body, maybe going to a specialist makes sense. Don't overthink this. Go wherever is most convenient for you and your child.

Right! I laughed out loud at the "apprenticed for years" idea. Sure, there are parts of your body where that is important.
But an ice cube, potato, and needle from mom's sewing kit works for ear lobes.

My kids earlobes are very important to me. I'm not letting some poorly trained retail worker f*** them up.

Go to an ear piercing or tattoo place, OP - at least they know what they are doing, they are precise, and they are clean. You will probably have to make an appointment, but it is totally worth getting it right the first time. No little kid wants to sit through that a second time, and if she waits too long to redo, it can't be redone.

Anonymous wrote:Tattoo parlor all the way. They are regulated much more than places like Claire’s. Hygiene standards are way higher. I agree with PP about it being safer to use a needle to pierce. A gun just pushes the stud earring through the flesh.

I agree!

Anonymous wrote:My daughter got hers done at the Piercing Pagoda in Montgomery mall (so basically the same) last year and it was fine.

+1 The person who did it there was extremely particular about the placement and had dd check in a mirror and me confirm placement before the piercing.

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is that the hollow needle method used by tattoo/ piercing places pierces more cleanly than the piercing gun. The former uses a sharp sterile needle to pierce while the latter uses blunt force with the earring itself piercing the ear, potentially causing more tissue damage than necessary.

The method used at places like Claire’s is a crush injury. It literally crushes the tissue to force the earring through. Hollow needles remove the tissue. Healing is generally faster, there’s less scar tissue, it’s more hygienic. Not to mention the earring used at Claire’s is low quality and can cause reactions.

My understanding is that the hollow needle method used by tattoo/ piercing places pierces more cleanly than the piercing gun. The former uses a sharp sterile needle to pierce while the latter uses blunt force with the earring itself piercing the ear, potentially causing more tissue damage than necessary.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not about cleanliness--the risk of infection even at Claire's is very very low. And while the guns aren't great, it gets the job done fine. It's about experience. Do you want a teenager who did an online training and has been at it for a few months to pierce your kid, or a pediatrician who does it every couple of weeks at most, or a piercing specialist who apprenticed for years and pierces day in and day out?

It's an earlobe. Teens have been DIY-ing this since the dawn of man. A specialist is not required. If you are piercing some tender bit of your body, maybe going to a specialist makes sense. Don't overthink this. Go wherever is most convenient for you and your child.

Have to lol at this, because this was me. Mom and dad said no to piercing, I held the ice cube and then BFF used a hat pin at her kitchen table. Both ears. I wore my long hair down for a while, and by the time my parents realized, it was too late.

We got DD pierced at Claire's, no infections. I think infection or not is based on taking care of the piercing (cleaning, turning the earings every day) and not the piercing gun/earrings which are sterile

Just got my DD's ears done at Claire's in MD. They did a nice job, and we had no issues. They also have a cleaning solution that they say only requires 3x daily cleanings for 3 weeks instead of 6.

My daughter got hers done at the Piercing Pagoda in Montgomery mall (so basically the same) last year and it was fine.

100% Claire's not need to get ripped off op.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not about cleanliness--the risk of infection even at Claire's is very very low. And while the guns aren't great, it gets the job done fine. It's about experience. Do you want a teenager who did an online training and has been at it for a few months to pierce your kid, or a pediatrician who does it every couple of weeks at most, or a piercing specialist who apprenticed for years and pierces day in and day out?

It's an earlobe. Teens have been DIY-ing this since the dawn of man. A specialist is not required. If you are piercing some tender bit of your body, maybe going to a specialist makes sense. Don't overthink this. Go wherever is most convenient for you and your child.

Right! I laughed out loud at the "apprenticed for years" idea. Sure, there are parts of your body where that is important.
But an ice cube, potato, and needle from mom's sewing kit works for ear lobes.

Anonymous wrote:I'd do Claire's over the pediatrician. I had mine done by the pediatrician back in the day and they used a little handheld thing that looked like a staple remover that got caught and locked midway through the piercing. Lots of blood, pushing and pulling the thing to try to get it off my ear. The holes are also not ideally placed.

My mom took my younger sister to Claire's. Ha

Yeah I don’t think pediatricians are used to do it

Anonymous wrote:It's not about cleanliness--the risk of infection even at Claire's is very very low. And while the guns aren't great, it gets the job done fine. It's about experience. Do you want a teenager who did an online training and has been at it for a few months to pierce your kid, or a pediatrician who does it every couple of weeks at most, or a piercing specialist who apprenticed for years and pierces day in and day out?

It's an earlobe. Teens have been DIY-ing this since the dawn of man. A specialist is not required. If you are piercing some tender bit of your body, maybe going to a specialist makes sense. Don't overthink this. Go wherever is most convenient for you and your child.