I
finally got my ears pierced today!!!

In the past I'd made a lot of excuses not to do it even though I really wanted to. Fear of pain was one thing - I'd gotten hooked through the earlobe by a cat's claw when I was young and never wanted to repeat anything like that. Another was my mother's approval - I'm still paranoid of making her uncomfortable anytime I do something new to add to and improve my presentation. Using some carefully-crafted conversation points I led
her to be the one to suggest that ear piercings would be a simple and effective way of increasing my passing percentage around new people.
The last thing that settled it was learning about the "Inverness" piercing system. It's more hygienic and less painful than any other method I'm aware of, using encapsulated piercing earrings in disposable cartridges. It's also used all the time on children and infants so I figured if they could handle it then I certainly could too. In my area the only major outlet I could find using it is Caryl Baker Visage. Their staff are well-trained in it's use and it seems to be on the whole a professional and respectable outfit. This is in Canada mind you - I don't know who is offering Inverness in the USA. If any of you have been hesitant to get pierced, I advise you to look into the Inverness System for yourselves. It should put your anxieties to rest.
Hopefully people like the starter earrings I chose because they have to stay in for six weeks. Apparently if they are removed sooner the inner part of the hole heals closed in seconds. Disinfecting has to be done twice a day and the earrings need to be turned in the holes occasionally to prevent the skin adhering to the metal stem.