Ear Piercing Not Even

[Oxfordblue]

My dd (age 9) had her ears pierced yesterday. They marked them up & we checked them & all seemed fine.

Unlike my other DD, who had them pierced separately, 2 ladies got their guns out. I said oh no, can you do them separately pleased as I've heard the children can move. Oh they said, we always do it like this & it's better as blah blah. Obviously I didn't want to alarm DD, so said, fine if you're sure.

Anyway, all looked ok - dd a bit :/ as it stung (to be expected). They put something on, gave us solution, paid & on our way.

However when we go my home, they don't look even :( One ear is fine but the other, IMO, is out by about 1mm.
Obviously when you've got very small lobes, this makes a difference.

My friend is coming over to look later, but is there anything that can be done with such a small amount out
?
I keep looking at it, cringing & kicking myself for not going to the place where DD1 went

[villainousbroodmare]

I had this happen (to my own ears, as a teenager) and after weeks of being unpleasantly aware that it was a bit off, did what I should done immediately - took the stud out, let it heal closed and had it re-pierced in the right spot at a later time. You may not love to see dd running about with one earring but it's better than looking at it offset forever and ever.

[butterflygirl15]

Did you go and have it done at Claire's?

[GraysAnalogy]

No-one else will notice. and nothing you can do anyway apart from let it heal

Just for future ref you should never get a piercing done by a gun, let alone at Claires.

[Bluecheese22]

If it really bugs you that much take it out now so it can reheal, you'll have to give it about 6 months before I can be redone as obviously it'll be really close to the old hole and you don't want one big one. If she does want it redoing please please don't go anywhere where they used a gun. All piercings should be done with a needle which gets rid of the tissue not just displaces it like a gun.

[TwentiethCenturyGirl]

I had mine pierced with a gun about 25 years ago and the piercings are way out. It's annoying, particularly when I want to wear studs but there's not much I can do about it now.

If it looks that bad you could let one of the holes grow over and have them done again?

[AngieBolen]

No one is going to notice 1mm (apart from you!) and if she's under 11 her ear lobes are still growing and changing shape, so it might not look so obvious in the future, but as others have said you could let it heal and re-pierce latter.

[Oxfordblue]

Thanks - yes we did go to Claire's. Obviously regretting it now. The reason I didn't go to a piercer is they are very tattoo-y around here & they don't do gold. I have a slight nickel allergy..I suppose she could have had titanium but when I'd spoken to a guy there last year, he said their earrings are only for 6 weeks use & they start to deteriorate.

I don't understand the issue of guns v needles, could someone explain please ?
Im now thinking I'll take her for a second opinion, I'm not bothered about the one earring, just cross I went there.

My 2nd holes are odd & I explained about my concern that they be properly positioned, hence me asking they do they one at a time, which they didn't (not recommended.)

I thought I'd reconciled myself to the fact the stud is positioned in the correct place & that her ears aren't symmetrical...but I'm not happy

[butterflygirl15]

guns are not good for tissue damage. Plus doing both ears at the same time is pretty ludicrous and doesn't guarantee even piercing. I really don't think the Claire's staff are well qualified either tbh. At least a tattoo place has more skill/expertise in this area I think.

[Doubtfuldaphne]

Needles are much kinder to the skin as a gun causes trauma so the swelling would be worse and more painful. It would take longer to heal.
People go through a lot of training to become piercers but Claires staff are just doing it on the side.
A trained piercer does usually work in a tattoo parlour but they're much more serious about it than shop assistants. They'll take the time to make sure it's right and give much better advice and after care.

[GraysAnalogy]

Guns are also incredibly hard to clean so the infection risk is higher.

[Oxfordblue]

Went back today & they said to take it out & theyll re-pierced next week.

I said Claire's don't have s good reputation & she was surprised that when I said one ear at a time they carried on.

I have to return the earring so they can claim it back, which seems a bit daft.

[Fairylea]

Just wanted to address something upthread ....

Guns can never be completely sterilised. Lots of nooks for germs to get into. A needle should be one use for one client and thrown away. Much, much more hygienic. Another reason a needle is much better than a gun is because it is sharper and thinner than the back of an earring and is not pushed through with so much force - the force from the gun can cause scar tissue and generally gun piercings are more painful (I've had both types).

For a first piercing you shouldn't go for gold. Always titanium. There's a reason they use it for surgery. It's the most bio friendly metal there is. Most people can tolerate it whereas with silver and even pure gold lots of people do have allergies (I am allergic to both for example).

Don't be put off by tattoo places for piercings! Generally speaking if they have a piercer there and are a good place then they will be much more knowledgeable and trained than someone at Claires.

If it's a choice between getting my ear lobe pierced between someone who is doing stock checks and selling accessories the rest of the time and someone who is piercing tongues and genitals (!) then I'd rather go to the specialist!

Obviously they should wear disposable gloves, each needle should be brand new from a packet and so should the jewellery.

Some tattoo studios do pierce under 18s with parental consent but obviously ask first.

(My dh knows a lot of people who work in the tattoo and piercing industry).

[TheUnwillingNarcheska]

My friend's daughter just had her ears pierced at a Claires, they apparently do both ears at the same time to stop the child refusing the second ear being done.

The child even had to say yes when the guns were in position over both lobes, my friend was saying just do it and they said, no we need to hear yes from the child. The child in question was preparing herself for the piercing so had her face screwed up in anticipation

She wasn't being held down or fighting it at all, just nervous. She is 9.

I have sons who don't want their ears pierced yet but if they did I wouldn't go to Claires.

[Lj8893]

Last time I went in Claire's there was a 2/3yr old being held down screaming by her mother whilst they pierced her ears. Never have my judgy pants been so high!!! I wouldn't ever let my child be pierced at Claire's for that reason and all the other stated reasons on this thread.

[Runningupthathill82]

I really wonder why people still go to Claire's.

[Bluecheese22]

Needles have a point as oppose to a blunt earring so it's a much smoother piercing causing less damage and therefore less swelling, some piercers also use hollow needle. Also as previous posters have mentions needles are very hard to clean so risk of infection is much much higher. Also material wise titanium is the best by a mile.

[WickedWax]

I too am surprised that anyone still goes to Claire's for piercing.

I looked at doing a piercing course a while ago, of the type that Claire's staff go on. The fact that it was a 2 hour course, you have 1 go on a synthetic ear, then 1 go on a real person, then hey presto - you've passed - put me right off. £18 and 2 hours of your time and you're officially allowed to be let loose on the public. Just no.

[MicronesiaIsMyHome]

Wow! Wicked that is shocking.
Just two hours and two goes. Oh my, so glad we went to tattoo/piercing place. (Although the music was a little sweary for my liking.)

[daftyburd]

Wow two hours training. My friend who is a piercer did a two/ three year apprenticeship. Yes she does work in a tattoo place. My DD liked the fact she could watch someone getting a tattoo while she waited to go into the piercing room.

[Runningupthathill82]

Two hours' training?! I had more training than that in how to put on makeup, when I worked at the Body shop.
And that didn't involve shooting holes in people - usually children - with sharp objects. Jeez.

It would be so much better if people saw past the loud music and colourful hairdos and used regulated tattoo places. I've used them for all my piercings and haven't got a single tattoo.

When you do a bit of research into piercing with a needle as opposed to a gun, it's a no-brainer. I'm also surprised that Claire's pierce with gold, having genuinely thought that titanium was advised for all piercings.

[magicstar1]

How can they redo it next week? Surely the ear won't have healed enough by then?

[Runningupthathill82]

Oxford - please don't go back to Claire's. I'm no piercing expert (though I've had a hell of a lot of them!) but even I know that trying to repierce an ear, with a gun, when it was only pierced a week ago is a terrible idea.

Take the earrings out, give it a month or so and then see what a reputable tattoo and piercing place has to say?

[BBQsAreSooooOverrated]

I think it'll take longer than a week or so to heal enough to Re pierce the ear again. My dd hasn't worn earrings for over 2 years and you can still see the holes on her Lobes.

[Bluecheese22]

You need to give 6 months before you re-pierce, the hole needs to fully heal before you put the tissue through another trauma.

[PetiteBateau]

Want a piercing? Go to a piercing studio. Don't go to a hair bobble shop!!