Where To Get Ears Pierced?

swampwitch

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My nine-year-old and her friend have finally summoned up the courage to get their ears pierced. Where should we go?

There is a Claire's here, and another store like it called Ardene, and I know they pierce ears. My concern is that most of the girls who work there (no offense to anyone) can barely ring up a sale!

I want it done by someone who is competent, takes the safety precautions, and will take the time to make sure they are even. I don't mind paying for it to be done correctly.

Thank you for any suggestions!
 

white cat lover

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I had mine done in Claire's....they totally screwed it up!


There is a smaller jewelry type store who re-did mine for me & did a good job! Do you have anything like that around there?
 

babyharley

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Do you have JCPenny's Hair Salon? around there? I got mine done there are a kid and they did a great job! I'd check out salon's like that, with people who are licensed & qualified to do things like that
 

bnwalker2

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I had mine done at Wal-mart when I was 8 years old. I don't know if it's necessarily a great idea, but I had no problems.
 

white cat lover

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Originally Posted by babyharley

Do you have JCPenny's Hair Salon? around there? I got mine done there are a kid and they did a great job! I'd check out salon's like that, with people who are licensed & qualified to do things like that
I didn't know the salon at work did that!
 

lookingglass

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Take them to a plastic surgeon. You'll pay a lot for it, but it will be done correctly with little to no fear of infection.

That's where I had mine done.
 

starryeyedtiger

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Do NOT go to places in the mall they are not specialists and an do more harm than good. They use piercing guns (origionally designed to tag cattle, not to pierce human ears!) There is no proper way to sanatize them and aside form that ick factor- they way they use the earrings (The dull starter edge) -it causes almost a "volcano" effect to the ears piercing site and can result in infection/etc.

The most safe place to get a piercing is at a clean, lisenced/reputable tattoo/piercing parlor. where they practice good safety standards (fresh gloves between each patient, a new hygenic needle fresh out of the wrapper (make sure they open it in front of you)...etc. When you think about it- these people preform piercings/etc all day long -so many times they are the most quick/painless people to trust. Make sure the shop is clean and has a good rating. Also you should get some Provon medicated lotion soap from the shop to use to keep her ear piercings clean and infection free. Give her a tylenol a little while before you take her in to have it done so it won't be as painful. The needle is much less painful than having it done with a dull starter earring set and much safer. Make sure whatever jewerly she gets is not made out of silver- it can flake off into the piercing site. The best thing to use would be titanium or stainless steel. I would stay away from gold unless you know she isn't allergic to it. Do not use alcohol, peroxide, or neosporin on the site- once it is pierced. These are cleaning agents and they will cause the "wound" (piercing) to try and close up all together, rather than heal- as a result it can trap infection when this happens. The best thing to do is use a nice warm saliene rinse (sailene water- use sea salt and warm water or you can even buy premade mixtures at your local tattoo parlor.) heat it up for a few seconds in a little dixie cup if you make your own then gently pour it over her piercing one and VERY gently rotate the jewerly just a pinch. After you do that, clean the site with a medicated lotion soap like Provon and be sure to rinse thoroughly. The sea salt/saline solution will help the piercing heal properly and reduce inflamation.
Feel free to pm me if you have any questions!

this site provides a lot of answers to common piercing questions/etc. The link i provided directly talks about why piercings done at the mall by piercing guns are not a great idea.
http://www.tribalectic.com/FAQ.asp?Section=Pierced#125
 

greenvillegal

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You should check out a tattoo/piercing parlor if you have them in your area. Those people are trained to do what they do and they do it so much. The people at Claire's and Wal-mart are just sales associates with little training. People in piercing parlors, while they may have more holes in their body than a piece of swiss cheese and more tattoos on their body than... something with a lot of tattoos, they are experts. They're also extremely sterile. Do a bit of research and go there. I've never heard of a plastic surgeon doing it, but that sounds like a great idea too.

I just really would not recommend Wal-mart or Claires. I think they were ok back in the day, but not nowadays.
 

yosemite

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Gosh, my friend did mine with a darning needle and a cake of soap.


I would suggest a quality jewellery store or a reputable tattoo/piercing place as well.

They'll probably still get a slight infection but that's easily fixed. I actually just used rubbing alcohol on mine until they healed although I'm sure nowadays they have all kinds of expensive solutions that will do the same thing.
 

babyharley

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Originally Posted by Yosemite

Gosh, my friend did mine with a darning needle and a cake of soap.


I would suggest a quality jewellery store or a reputable tattoo/piercing place as well.

They'll probably still get a slight infection but that's easily fixed. I actually just used rubbing alcohol on mine until they healed although I'm sure nowadays they have all kinds of expensive solutions that will do the same thing.
I remember my aunt telling me she did hers with an ice cube and a potato!


And Natalie- yes, the salon at JCPenny's does it! They are licenced as well


As far as a tattoo parlor- I know a lot of the places (around here anyways) wont pierce anyone that young, even with a parent or guardian.

Your best bet is to call around to good, reputable places and ask what their age limits are.


I hope you find somewhere to take them!
 

skyecat0117

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I'd totally go with the tat parlor idea. I got mine done at a Clair's and they did them uneven
I got my belly button, nose, and cartlaige done at a parlor and I was so happy with the results. I barely even felt anything at all.
 

dixie_darlin

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Originally Posted by Yosemite

Gosh, my friend did mine with a darning needle and a cake of soap.


I would suggest a quality jewellery store or a reputable tattoo/piercing place as well.

They'll probably still get a slight infection but that's easily fixed. I actually just used rubbing alcohol on mine until they healed although I'm sure nowadays they have all kinds of expensive solutions that will do the same thing.
Originally Posted by babyharley

I remember my aunt telling me she did hers with an ice cube and a potato!


And Natalie- yes, the salon at JCPenny's does it! They are licenced as well


As far as a tattoo parlor- I know a lot of the places (around here anyways) wont pierce anyone that young, even with a parent or guardian.

Your best bet is to call around to good, reputable places and ask what their age limits are.


I hope you find somewhere to take them!
I too did mine with ice and potato

It's great you're getting it done professionally!

Also, check with her pediatrician. Thats where my BOYS (yes, I said boys
) had thiers done
 

natalie_ca

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The first time I got my ears pierced were by my doctor when I was 12 years old. He froze the lobe and used a needle and put in the hoop. March 21, 1974. I'll never forget that day because I was terrified. I remember leaving the office holding my hands over my ears because I didn't know if it was ok to be outside in the winter with pierced ears


In 1983 I decided to have a second set of piercings done. I had those done in the wig/jewellery department of a department store. She used one of those ear piercing guns. The first ear scared the dickens out of me. Such a huge amount of pressure because basically they're punching a hole through your ear lobe. And it hurt so much! Not to mention the crunch sound I heard as the post went through. I thought I was going to throw up. The second hole wasn't as bad because I knew what to expect, but I still got that nauseated feeling.

IMHO if I were to ever take a child to get their ears pierced it would be to a doctor so that they could freeze the area first. You can freeze the area with something like "Oragel" or even an ice cube first before the needle freezing, and then it doesn't hurt at all.

I've since let all 4 holes grow in and prefer to wear clip on earrings.
 

carolpetunia

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I did mine at a kiosk in a mall in the '70s, and I had nothing but trouble. Definitely go to a high-end tattoo parlor, or maybe a salon-and-spa kind of place where they use something other than those blasted guns!
 

dragoriana

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Well i just took mine out a few days ago, they should have healed over a month ago, some days they were fine, the next they'd flare up. I've been cleaning them day and night, turning them, trying not to sleep on my ears. When i took them out the right one was full of puss *sighs* They're closed now and are healing up quickly. I still have my first lot from 2 years ago and they are fine.

I'm never going to a salon again. I went to the same place for all the piercings. I actually attempted to get second piercings early this year and the right ear gave me problems. This second time around i was almost there
 

mbjerkness

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I've had mine done, and had both of my daughter's had ear peirced as babies, I went to a reputable jewlery store, I had no problems with any of us, no infections, with my babies, I made an appointment to make sure there was two qualified people, they peireced both ears at the same time, my first daughter drank her bottle, she never even noticed, the second cried for a few minutes, it was over with,
 

jarvis

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I know this probaby isn't the most appeasing place...but one of the safest/cleanest in our town is a tattoo/piercings studio.


It isn't like a back-alley tattoo place...it's really proffesional and clean.

Prolly not the best place to take the kids tho!
 

lookingglass

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Here's the funny thing I think that if the tattoo parlor won't let you come in with an underage girl they may come to you!


Call a local one and see if he or she is willing to come out to your home and do it. The reason I know this is I've had friends that have had piercing parties. I believe that it is the youthful precursor to a Botox party.
 

icklemiss21

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I have a extended family member who works there, I wouldn't let her near me with a piercing gun and certainly not a child, I would also try local tattoo /piercing places
 

krazy kat2

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I would recommend a reputable tattoo shop. If it is just ears, and a parent is with them, many piercers will do it as long as it is within the laws of their state or province. It would also be best if you went during the day when they are not usually busy. When I worked as a piercer, I would do ears on school age kids on a case by case basis. Mom had to let me talk to the kid and see if they really wanted it done. It worked pretty well, because they responded to being treated like a person, and being asked if they wanted this or if Mom wanted it. Mothers likes the idea of having a mother doing it.
It is a very bad idea to ask someone to go to your home to do it. You are asking them to do something that is considered totally unethical. Most people do not realize it, but working outside the tattoo/piercing shop where you make your living is a huge breach of ethics, and if found out, could lose their job. If you find someone that will do it, you probably don't want them to.
Just my
.
 
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