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.