where do you get your child's ears pierced

[justintime]

I am going to get DD6 ears pierced. I thought I would just take her to Piercing Pagoda, which is where I had mine done way back when. But someone told me they use a gun which isn't sanitary. I don't know how it isn't sanitary, because I thought it just shot the stud through your ear. But I guess I must be missing something. So where did you have your child's ears pierced. Any suggestions? Is it really risky to go to Piercing Pagoda. With all the focus on communicable diseases, etc I would think they would be strictly monitored, but maybe I'm just being naive. Any other options I could consider?

 

[PatsMom]

I think the guns are sanitary but they a really hard on the earlobe because they push the earring through to do the piercing. If you go to a tattoo/piercing parlor, they will use a needle with a much sharper point to make the hole resulting in quicker healing and less chance of infection IMHO.

My daughter was done with a needle at a tattoo parlor.

 

[Mrsdennison]

We just went to Walmart. Everything was prepackaged, so I got to see the boxes be opened and unsealed.

I asked for both ears to be done at the same time. So they called for another lady to come and help.

Dd #1 had a small freak out and they waited 10 minutes for her to calm down and be ready.

Dd#2 did much better and was very prepared.

I think some doctors offices might do it.

Mrsdennison

 

[ccgirl]

I am going to get DD6 ears pierced. I thought I would just take her to Piercing Pagoda, which is where I had mine done way back when. But someone told me they use a gun which isn't sanitary. I don't know how it isn't sanitary, because I thought it just shot the stud through your ear. But I guess I must be missing something. So where did you have your child's ears pierced. Any suggestions? Is it really risky to go to Piercing Pagoda. With all the focus on communicable diseases, etc I would think they would be strictly monitored, but maybe I'm just being naive. Any other options I could consider?

It's not unsanitary. I went to Claire's. They used 2 guns simultaneously. The earrings were sealed and once they were opened we owned them whether she went thru with them or not. She got them done but let them close up and won't get them again.

 

[Tommys Mommy]

I also took my DD8 to Claire's to have her ears pierced. I thought they were very sanitary and everything ("gun", counter surface, earlobes, etc) were all wiped with some kind of antiseptic right in front of us. The girl who did our piercing explained every step and I was very comfortable with their whole procedure.

 

[Sarahlovy]

Places that use reusable guns (which many do) can have spray from previous customer's blood on them, and while they wipe them down, they do not sterilize them. The bigger issue is that the guns crush the earlobe instead of cutting it quickly like what happens with a needle. A lot of pediatricians will pierce (with a needle) and some professional piercing shops will do children. I had a lot of scarring from the first time I had mine pierced with a gun.

 

[mousebymarriage]

DD14 had her first holes done at age 7, second at age 12 and her cartiledge at age 13, all done at Piercing Pagoda. All the holes were done using the gun method and everything was in sterilized packages which they opened in front of me each time. The first holes were done at the same time (by 2 people), the second set again done at the same time and the cartiledge done alone since she only got it in one ear. No problems and no infections with any of the piercings. She wants a third hole in each ear this summer.

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

I haven't know a doc office to do it in many many years, due to being sued out of either parents regreting it, or not being pleased with one side being a milla-inth different that the other.

My DD had hers done at Claires when she was 4 months old. They did them both at the same time.

If you're worried about pain, apply some Lidocain before them being done and give tylenol for pain management.

 

[thebeesknees]

I haven't done DD's yet, but my friend did her DD's and her DM's(!) at a tattoo parlor and said her doctor recommended going there. I was going to ask our pediatrician what he would recommend next time we are in because DD has been begging to get hers done for awhile now.

 

[Mama Who]

It costs a little more but I'd go to a reputable jeweler or a doctor. I just am not comfortable with having the teenager in the mall make holes in me or my kid. I know lots of people do it without incident but it just makes me nervous.

Mine were done at a jeweler's. DD will either be done there, a doctor or a good tattoo/piercing parlor with a solid reputation. While the tattoo parlor option may sound odd, they're generally under more scrutiny for sanitation than a mall shop. Their entire business is contigent upon being safe and clean and they tend to take it pretty seriously.

 

[xanphylus]

Our peds office just recently put up a sign saying they now do ear piercing. I was quite happy about that as they did not do it when DD wanted hers done. She got hers at the mall, and nothing wrong with that- I would have just preferred it at the peds office without the gun squishing her ears. I just think it would be cleaner there, but who knows.

 

[SaraJayne]

DD had hers done at our salon. They used the guns and did both ears at the same time.

 

[solobel]

We took DD to the pediatrician to do it. Not all of them do it, though.

 

[mom23kids]

My dd was 4 when she got hers done at the mall. I had them do both ears at the same time. Everything was new and wiped down in front of me. They took their time making sure the holes would be even. My daughter did not even flinch when pierced

 

[bumbershoot]

Places that use reusable guns (which many do) can have spray from previous customer's blood on them, and while they wipe them down, they do not sterilize them. The bigger issue is that the guns crush the earlobe instead of cutting it quickly like what happens with a needle. A lot of pediatricians will pierce (with a needle) and some professional piercing shops will do children. I had a lot of scarring from the first time I had mine pierced with a gun.

YES YES YES, that's exactly it.

The guns hold nasty gunk in them. Wiping them down doesn't do all that much.

What you want are single-use needles, OR multiple-use needles that go into an autoclave machine that TRULY sterilizes the ENTIRE thing.

A piercing gun doesn't go into the autoclave.

I would have just preferred it at the peds office without the gun squishing her ears. I just think it would be cleaner there, but who knows.

My pediatrician used the gun.

Again, unless that gun it taken entirely apart after EACH piercing and put into the autoclave, it's not going to be sterile.



If DS ever wanted his ears pierced, we'd head to the good local tattoo/piercing place. I know they have an autoclave and their place is CLEAN, not just wiped down with something (and don't forget that awful infection that people were getting from non-sterile wipes that even hospitals were using! wipes=ew). That goes for me, too, if I ever want to even up my ears (I have 3 and 1 right now).

 

[Theosus]

My daughter had hers done at Claire's in the mall. They used some sort of little manual disposable spring loaded thing. She popped one in my daughter's ear, and threw it in a waste bin. Then she did the other ear and threw it out too. I'm guessing they go to be recycled. I would just hang out at the window and watch the procedure on another kid, before you decide based on "I heard they use a gun and it's not sanitary!"

 

[Dragonfly_34]

I have 13 piercings with most of them being in various parts of my ears (lobes, cartilage, tragus, anti-tragus). When I first got my ears pierced (and 8 years later my first cartilage piercing) they were done at a Claire's type place with a gun. I had A LOT of problems with infections for many years, especially with the cartilage piercings. The rest of my piercings have been done at a tattoo parlor and only with needles. I have had zero problems with them ~ including my nose and navel piercings. Our little girl will be arriving in September and when the time comes for her to get her ears pierced, I will be taking her to the tattoo parlor. The gun is very traumatic to the skin and can lengthen the healing process and sometimes make it more difficult. Also, I found that the gun hurts a lot more than the needles ~ depending on what is being pierced, there is a slight pinch with the needle but I never jumped like I did with the gun.

 

[Colleen27]

I took DD to the same piercing/tattoo shop that I use for myself. They use single-use needles that they open in front of you, and they have been in business for a very long time with an excellent reputation.

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

We went to Claires. I called before I went and asked if there were 2 people working who could pierce and how long they had been doing it! The manager had been doing it for 5 years so I felt pretty comfortable. They were done 13 months ago and no issues.

 

[mommy-on-the-move]

Another vote for tattoo/piercing parlours with long standing reputations. Needles cause less bruising trauma and everything used there is fully autoclaved - I was nodding along to everything in the previous post mentioning spray back/micro-particles from previous customers on the guns where just the pre-packaged, sterile piercing studs are used.

Only one of mine has asked to have her ears done so far and she had it done at the parlous where her father had all of his piercings done as we knew them well and they have all the relevant paperwork for health and safety which isn't necessary for the mall shops doing it (not in the UK anyway)