So i am going to get my ears pierced for my Birthday and was wondering about the pros and cons of getting it done at the mall ie: Claires with a little gun or a piercing studio with a needle. Which one heals faster and has the least amount of infection or problems?
There are probably as many opinions on this topic as there are members here. The gun actually takes a piece out of your ear while a needle at the piercing studio creates space for the ear ring without loosing flesh. I went that option after speaking to many people who had piercings as well as those who got the gun. The needle does take a little longer, I was told, to heal up. You need to keep either well cleaned. A sterile saline solution is recommended.
Either way, ear rings are great! All the best! Enjoy!
Needles are completely over the top for ears. Save yourself some cash and get it done with a gun.
If it's just the basic ear lobe piercing, claires is most cost effective. If you are looking for multiple piercings up the ear etc... I'd go to a piercer.
Claires will do a kit for you with stainless studs and cleaner to keep the holes open and are hypoallergenic.
Boutiques generally have "sold separately".
I'm kinda of the opinion that going to a proper peircing studio just for earlobes, is like going to an orthodontist to have your teeth brushed. Sure, they might do it but, you're going to be paying a whole lot more for the privilege. Seriously with earlobes, you can even do it yourself if you're brave. Just get a sharp ended stud and pop it through.
I agree with everyone else, if it's just lobes then get it done with a gun :) that's the only piercing they're good for too. If it's anything cartilage related, go to a studio
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I went to a local hair salon for my piercings about five or so years ago, both times they used the "zap gun" as I call it
It isn't so much where you go but rather who is doing the piercing, the salon I went to told me I had make an appointment for when one of their gals with a piercing certificate were working
It was inexpensive and I hardly felt a thing, now I have two in each earlobe - Not sure if I really need any more then that
I don't think it actually matters..
I had all ear piercing done with a needle (3 in each ear.. ok not at the same time), i did not really feel much, a small prick and its over.
I had it done at the local tattoo and piercing studio.. I got all 3 of my tattoos done there as well.
Getting my nose pierced was more painful, the navel was not as bad as i thought it would be.
This is useful information. I'm not giving up my clip-on collection just yet, but I guess I will sooner or later. I recently read that supermodel Claudia Schiffer didn't get her ears pierced until she was well into her 30s. I guess one advantage to wearing hair over your ears most of the time is you're ears don't show anyway. But I like the look of earrings for some occasions.
When I was 13 I did it myself with a needle because I wanted to wear my mom's earings, and it didn't hurt, so I imagine that with a professional it will be very easy-breezy.
I have always heard that it's smart to avoid piercing guns. Always go with the needle.
I got mine done at the mall, they used the gun (I think it was a Claire's). Click, click, done. I am happy, she made them symmetrical. That's the one thing I'd worry about, making sure both ears are even.
I've spoken to professional piercers, all of whom do not recommend guns for anything, ever.
All of mine were done with a sterilized needle and proper aftercare and healed without issue. Don't change them until they heal 100%, and remember to LITFA.
Needle for me too, all four times. When I was much younger, I had one piercing done with a gun (yeah, one earlobe, it was the nineties and I was still pretending to be a guy), and I much prefer the needle method in the hands of a trained piercer. It's my understanding that the gun simply thrusts the stud through the ear and causes more collateral damage, while a needle "cores" the hole and is a very neat and clean way to get one's ear lobes done.
At a local piercing/tattoo place with a properly trained and experienced piercer, it cost me like $40 for both ears via needle, including plain studs. Not the cheapest, but by no means breaking in the bank either. And I really don't relish the idea of having a Claire's employee have at my body with a piercing gun to be honest; I don't see them as being very well trained, experienced, or actually caring that they do the best possible job.
Within reason, I'm prepared to pay a few extra bucks for anything done to my body. Not that I'll throw money away on simple stuff like piercings, but it's really worth going to someone competent and professional, not a mall.
That said, it's an ear lobe piercing. 99.9% of the time, Claire's is good enough.
If it's your first time having your ears pierced, it's pretty hard to mess up. No need to visit a boutique or anything like that.
I had mine done at a pharmacy. All they did was draw a dot on each ear lobe so they matched, then use the gun. Job done in 5 minutes and $15.
I had my ears pierced at Claire's in the mall. The lady who did it did an excellent job.
My mom used a needle on mine, I was about 6 years old. It hurt like hell, but I was 6 so everything hurt like hell. That said it healed up so I need to get it done again.
I had mine done with a gun at the local beauty supply where I live - quick, easy, and mostly painless - but they did take a long time to heal up for some reason.
Quote from: Lyric on September 11, 2015, 09:00:24 AM
I recently read that supermodel Claudia Schiffer didn't get her ears pierced until she was well into her 30s. I guess one advantage to wearing hair over your ears most of the time is you're ears don't show anyway
The lady doing the piercing asked me why i waited so long to get mine done, which caused me to have to out myself to her. She was cool with it.
The hair over the earlobes thing is exactly why I had them pierced. I had been wearing a wig and had recently gotten rid if it because my hair grew out, and my earlobes were no longer covered.
The first time I had my ear pierced was by a gun at a hair salon I went to in the mid 80s. I had my ears pierced about 9 years ago at a piercing studio, and it was a really good experience; I think I paid $25; having smooth, gauged piercings without any infection was priceless.
I highly recommend avoiding the piercing guns at all cost. For one the people at malls are not properly trained and you could end up with lopsided holes. Also the biggest issues is that those guns can not be properly sterilized and you could end up getting an infection if they use a dirty machine and at the very worst you could end up with hepatitis c from unsterilized equipment. It's worth paying the extra money to get it done at a tattoo/piercer shop with a needle.
Back in high school, (still female back then) I got mine pierced for the first time at the mall (claire's) and the piercing cost I believe $40-50? They give you all you need for aftercare, but my ears still got a minor infection, and one lobe started bleeding because the piercing was BENT when it was jabbed in, as a result, part of the piercing was cutting into my ear! So yeah, my bet is going to a place that knows it's stuff like a studio. The holes ended up sealing anyway after I left a set of earrings out too long and I couldn't force them back in :/
What I would recommend is to just do some research before you decide where to go and who you will allow to do your piercing
Look around the shop, what kind of cleanliness standards do they keep? Ask questions, about their training, are they certified to do piercings, is their equipment sterilized?
I visited quite a few shops before I decided on who I was most comfortable with, which is probably allot better than the first time when a friend and I did our piercings in his sister's garage during my death rocker days 8)
Quote from: V M on September 12, 2015, 06:46:07 PM
I visited quite a few shops before I decided on who I was most comfortable with, which is probably allot better than the first time when a friend and I did our piercings in his sister's garage during my death rocker days 8)
Does this look infected to you?
I just recently had mine done at a local studio that a friend recommended. A friend online summarized it this way, "If you want it cheap, you can do it in the mall, if you want to make sure it's done right, best to go to a studio."
It was $10 per ear for the piercing itself and then I splurged on the jewelry at $37 per earring, so I ended up walking out of there for a bit over $100 after leaving a nice tip since they were kind and very informational. I could have gone much cheaper with the earrings, but I wanted something nice that I could continue to use in both male and female roles. I've just been having a heck of a time finding a necklace to go with the earrings that I like.
The way I looked at it was it's a one-time expense if done right and since it's permanently altering my body, I really do want it done by someone certified and who's there for follow-up questions/care after the fact. I've been back to the studio a few times for checkups (at no cost) to make sure they're healing properly and all has been going well. They also provided non-iodized salt for after-care soaking at no cost and I can pick up more if I run out.
Quote from: QuestioningEverything on September 12, 2015, 05:13:15 PM
I highly recommend avoiding the piercing guns at all cost. For one the people at malls are not properly trained and you could end up with lopsided holes. Also the biggest issues is that those guns can not be properly sterilized and you could end up getting an infection if they use a dirty machine and at the very worst you could end up with hepatitis c from unsterilized equipment. It's worth paying the extra money to get it done at a tattoo/piercer shop with a needle.
I second this.
Quote from: QuestioningEverything on September 12, 2015, 05:13:15 PM
I highly recommend avoiding the piercing guns at all cost. For one the people at malls are not properly trained and you could end up with lopsided holes. Also the biggest issues is that those guns can not be properly sterilized and you could end up getting an infection if they use a dirty machine and at the very worst you could end up with hepatitis c from unsterilized equipment. It's worth paying the extra money to get it done at a tattoo/piercer shop with a needle.
The place I went to used a gun that used the actual studs I bought to do the piercing - it was all part of a system and the gun just pushed them through. The studs came in sealed packaging so I assume that they were sterile.
I don't know much about the variety guns that are out there and maybe there are some with their own built in needle (eeewwwwww.....) but the gun my place used was totally sanitary, quick, and safe.
The lady did take time to evenly mark my earlobes before the piercing too.
The takeaway from this thread is to ask questions first, and walk away if you don't like the answers.
I did mine at a tattoo parlor and would not have it done anywhere else.
Quote from: Eva Marie on September 12, 2015, 10:08:18 PM
The place I went to used a gun that used the actual studs I bought to do the piercing - it was all part of a system and the gun just pushed them through. The studs came in sealed packaging so I assume that they were sterile.
I don't know much about the variety guns that are out there and maybe there are some with their own built in needle (eeewwwwww.....) but the gun my place used was totally sanitary, quick, and safe.
The lady did take time to evenly mark my earlobes before the piercing too.
The takeaway from this thread is to ask questions first, and walk away if you don't like the answers.
You are probably referring to the Inverness System. This is the one that was used on me. The safety, simplicity and gentleness of it was what sold me on getting pierced at all. I researched it first on the internet and then went on to seek out a local provider. I went to a chain salon called Caryl Baker Visage. This system is commonly used on children and young infants without incident. I had no healing problems until long after, and then only because I was being careless and snagging my piercings while brushing my hair. (This was after I'd already switched away from the original piercings they'd provided.)
The old-fashioned, spring loaded gun is not worth bothering with. It is too rough and crude while being open to the potential for serious contamination issues. The Inverness tool uses only hand pressure because the piercing jewelry has a surgical-grade needle point and a minimal shaft diameter. Everything that comes into contact with the ear is disposed of as an ejectable cartridge. The piercing jewelry is also individually contained inside a sterile capsule so that it is never handled directly.
I reported on my experiences earlier this summer, and I know others followed my lead without any regret. There are very few tattoo parlors in my city that are considered even remotely reputable or safe and they are also very expensive by comparison.
This thread has given me many lols. Where is the spirit of punk rock today? Get a safety pin, pick a body part and have at it.
Quote from: Isabelle on September 21, 2015, 06:24:42 PM
This thread has given me many lols. Get a safety pin, pick a body part and have at it.
Been there done that
QuoteWhere is the spirit of punk rock today?
Could maybe look here... Music you are listening to now 4.0 (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,178836.msg1747658/topicseen.html#msg1747658) and then add something
Quote from: Isabelle on September 21, 2015, 06:24:42 PM
This thread has given me many lols. Where is the spirit of punk rock today? Get a safety pin, pick a body part and have at it.
It's DOA, after all the punk rockers died of overdoses and communicable diseases ;D
My roommate did all her own piercings but she also surgicated her own tongue to not be tongue tied anymore. She's kind of weird.
Earlobes are fairly durable but if you are going to go the cheap and infectious way, just have a friend jab you at home. At least that way you can crudely sterilize the needle yourself.
Guns that aren't disposable are garbage. They use blunt force trauma and require sharp ended jewelry(which jabs you in the head) and they basically spray blood mist all over the place. So if anyone had a bloodborne disease, you are at risk. At least home is safe. There are sterile kits they sell on various websites.
I worked at a piercing shop and we would show anyone who asked the sterilization process, the quality control checks and certifications of all our artists. HepC, HIV C-dificil, and many other gross germs can be in other people's blood and if they reuse a gun on you that was used on other people-you are practically sharing a needle with random people. I've had both Claire's and parlour piercings and even at their worst, the palour jabs healed better, faster and with less hassel than my nightmare with Claire's.
Don't rotate your jewelry, use titanium, niobium or SURGICAL (not stainless) steel, do not use hydrogen perioxide or alcohol on healing wounds. Saline solution is great aftercare and the piercer should use longer posts so there's room for swelling. :)