Selfridges for teen ear piercing? Really?

[DazzleII]

I took my neice, 13, earlier in the week, and I was not impressed. No advice forthcoming, just a tray of studs pushed at her with instructions to choose.

Is there anywhere better for teens to get their ears pierced? Please don't say Claire's!

[brighthair]

try a local tattoo shop - she needs to have them done with a needle really, not a gun

[Dancergirl]

Ask around for a somewhere recommended. My 10 year old dd had hers done earlier this year. Most of her friends had theirs done at either a local chemist or jewellers. I visited both and was satisfied with their expertise and cleanliness. We decided on the jewellers in the end. Make sure her ears are cleaned beforehand and time is taken to decide the exact position in each ear.

[DazzleII]

Thanks - I was shocked by how off-hand they were in Selfridges. This is a child fgs! And they were going to use a gun. Also frankly it was just a counter in a corner, with some very un-busy, uninterested staff.

[LesserOfTwoWeevils]

I am sure there used to be a sign in the Selfridges in Oxford that said "Ears Pierced While You Wait."
Didn't get mine done there.

[DazzleII]

Yeah, while you wait for the staff to stop chatting to each other.

[bruffin]

I used a local jewellery for DD the first time. She ended up in a&e because the earring was completely the wrong shape and too small. SHe caught it on a towel which pulled the earring through her ear where it go imbedded.

I had always avoided claires, however when DD decided she wanted to have her ears done again. We went to claires. The girl there was much more informative, spent time trying to avoid the scar from the original piercing and they actually had earrings that weren't a pointed shape.

[DazzleII]

Precisely, bruffin - it's not a matter of no consequence. Bad shit could happen.

[Theinsidesource]

On my daughters 11th birthday, all she wanted was her ears peirced, I suppose to show more herself , than anyone else, that she was grown up. I am almost certain that I am no the only one who had heard the horror stories of Claire's but didnt have the change for Harrods, so decided on selfridges. Yes, when we got there , the people had stretchers and tattoos, but Ginnie really wanted this, so we went in. Not only were the staff kind, funny and more than anything, reassured me that with two holes in her ears, my daughters innocence of childhood would not disappear, but they also, to her delight, offered Ginnie a sweet (as you are supposed to have eaten 2 hours before the piercing). We chose the stud, they gave us a leaflet, neatly drew two holes and it was over before I could blink. Not only that, but they fully answered every question and query known to man. I know that many people think needle is better than gun, but guns are modern, efficient, quick and, from what my somewhat over-exited daughter told me, didn't hurt at all except feeling rather warm. I cannot give advice about Claire's except that I doubt the stories of broken guns etc were false, but I wanted to be on the safe side. Overall, if your child feels the need for an accessory in their ear, it's always to better to be there when they have it done, rather than them choosing a dodgy backstreet area because it's cheaper. If you feel that you can trust your child to keep the holes clean, then Selfridges is the place for you, decisions like this should not be made because one lot of staff in one store were not particularly friendly.

[bigTillyMint]

DD has had her ears done twice now in Claires (2 holes in each!) and they were great both times.

We went early so there was no-one else in there and 2 girls did one ear each at the same time IYSWIM.

Not had any problems at all with them and the studs she chose aged 11 are still going strong

[Nehru]

Go to a local tatto or piercing place.

Wtf is this current obsession with ear piercing on this site?!

[usualsuspect]

Current obsession?

This site has always been obsessed with ear piercing.

[lljkk]

don't know if tattoo places can do them; mine said emphatically that they couldn't pierce under-some-age-limit, thought it was under 16s.

Locally it's beauty parlours one goes to.

Quite satisfied with my experiences of gun piercings (me & DD, ears & nose). only hassle I ever had was from needle piercings.

[DowntonTrout]

Having had the experience myself, of the gun not working properly and the stud only going half way through my lobe and making a mess of it, I was keen to dissuade my DD from having her ears pierced. (after that I did it myself with a sterilised needle and was the one at school who did everyone else's ears for them- makes me shudder now!) DD has always wanted to have them done and I kept telling her she had to wait til she was 13- don't know why that is the magic age- but still.

However, she has a mole like mark on her back that came from an insect bite. Her consultant says its scar tissue and has strongly advised DD never to have her ears pierced. I could have kissed that doctor. No more arguments!

[Stokes]

I worked at Claire's for a summer during college. I hated every minute, it was the worst job I every had - but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them for ear piercing. I never encountered any horror stories, the equipment was always clean and the girls were experienced since you'd typically do at least one per shift.

I understand people's reluctance as Claire's doesn't seem the most grown up or sensible place, but in my experience there's no reason to avoid them.

[Just28]

Would u mind explaining the link between scar tissue on ur daughter's back and not having her ears pierced? I've never heard of this before and it sounds quite worrying that we could all be doing something potentially dangerous. Thanks!

[daftyburd]

Just28 I'm going to hazard a guess so I'm probably wrong. It could be posters daughter has a keloid scar on back? If you have one your more prone to getting another. I recently had septum pierced and it was one of the questions the piercer asked beforehand.

[midnightmoomoo]

I slipped on a wet floor at school when I was seven and ripped my earlobe so when I finally had my ears pierced, at 13 I think it was, within a few months I had a lump growing which turned out to be a keloid scar. I had plastic surgery on it and it grew back. Had to have s course of very painful steroid injections in it before it went down. I haven't dare re-pierce my ears.
I also had a keloid scar on the back of my shoulder from the BCG jab which also needed injections to reduce.