Child ear piercing gone wrong - help me with what to say

Our preferred tattoo shop will do under 18's with an adult present to countersign the form. I took a gaggle of 16 year olds and did worry they wouldn't let me sign them all off but it was fine. I had texts from all the mums, just incase. They had various parts of the ear, nose rings and eyebrows done.

I had my nose done with a gun, 45 years ago. The hairdresser was a bit sceptical as they'd never done a nose before. Never had a problem with it.

@formula3 I googled...Under 16's are sometimes pierced {earlobes} with a parent present and valid ID at a piercing studio.

I don't understand why anybody is still going to Claire's. It's literally a 30-second Google to find out why they should be avoided.

Good question! Maybe a jewellers?
Possibly a Piercers will do a lobe on a child.

That's why I did it myself on son {But have pierced other's ear lobes before- so felt confident }

I can’t believe you went to Claire’s and not somewhere more reputable! Didn’t you do any research? Particularly given your DD’s medical history?! I’d take them out, leave them to heal and go to a reputable piercer next year.

I worked at Claire's back when I was 17-19 - so 25 years or so ago. The training we had for ear piercing was to pierce 10 ears. We mostly pierced the ears of the other sale assistants or found a willing friend. Once you'd pierced 10 ears, that's it you're trained!

The youngest we could pierce was 18 months which to me seems ridiculously young. This involved two sales assistants and piercing both ears simultaneously. Presumably because if you did one at a time the baby would be inconsolable and you'd have little hope of doing the second ear.

The guns are prone to jamming and not making it fully through the lobe. The after care solution was massively overpriced.

The training may be more robust now but based on my experience I wouldn't recommend it. Much better to go to a professional piercer with more experience, needles and a sterile environment.

Hope your daughter isn't too upset @formula3 .

Ooh yes I'd say don't take it out, I had another cartilage piercing heal up years and years after it was done because I took the earring out.

I also have issues with different metals reacting with different parts of my ears, strange isn't it? I've also become allergic to earrings that I used to be able to wear without problems. My ears are daft!

Poor thing, she must be very disappointed. I would leave the other one in if the back is secure (if she's happier with one than none for now), go back to Claire's and ask for a refund. Waiting for a week is terrible advice as it needs to heal before redoing. I also would not put the earring back, or another one. It will have started to heal already and will be painful and traumatic for her. I'd ask a reputable piercing shop when you can get it re done and book it in.

Ears don't finish growing until livery starts, which is around 10 years old. If ears are pierced earlier the location of the piercing on the lobe will move as the ear grows.

Claire's are shut at piercing. Google it. Most posters on MN will tell you need to pierce with a needle. I did LOTS of research and the only part of the body that can be successfully pierced without a needle is the ear lobe. I took DD to piercer who would use a needle, as that's what MN had advised we had a long discussion and settled on a disposable gun. Money wasn't an issue, and DD had no problems with the piercings.

Having said all of that...you should have a full refund. Take photos of both ears as evidence. I can't write an email now but the link might help

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/somethings-gone-wrong-with-a-purchase/complain-about-a-service/#:~:text=Get%20the%20service%20done%20again,get%20the%20service%20done%20again

Absolutely this! Those little oldskool hinged 9 carat gold sleepers. {But some schools won't allow ''rings''}

I had gold rings at age 14 I had it done in school lunch hour without telling parents at a jeweller! - healed fine.

This.

I’d have found another sterling silver or gold back (assuming you have pierced ears and have one OP?), disinfected it in boiling water with a bit of disinfectant and made sure no gunk left in it. Gently swabbed the ear with salt and warm water solution, got someone to hold a mobile torch light while I pulled the ear lobe down gently to find the hole, then reinserted the earring.

Job done and better than letting them heal up and getting it done again as she’ll likely be a bit worried about it happening again.

I was always taught to squeeze warm salted water around the stud and back when I did mine and DDs so it healed quicker and wasn’t painful.

You could ask for a refund to buy a new pair of gold studs as the pair you were given weren’t usable without one of the backs.

The back probably wasn’t secure in the gun and they should have checked that.

It's probably tried to heal itself over already, and those ''staple gun'' studs Claires use are quite thick..the one I had was ''stepped'' rather than a straight gold bar.

I DID have a staple gun piercing done by Claires years ago and it was FAR more painful than a needle.

A piercing studio is unlikely to pierce your daughter's ear as she's under 18.

The best and least painful long term method is to use tiny sleepers (little gold hinged rings) in newly pierced ears. Proper gold, not plated. That way, you bathe the ears where pierced with salt water, and gently rotate the ring in the hole so that it doesn’t heal over where it has been pierced. The salt water keeps it clean (it doesn’t sting) and the inside of the hole heals, without losing the hole. A few times a day initially, don’t remove the sleepers for around two weeks. Hence why most teenagers used get them done on leaving school, as they weren’t allowed back in my school days. Mine were done with a sterilised clean needle the day I left school, sleepers put in, and I was lucky enough never to have had a single issue in 40+ years. The cheap piercers used to use studs, which aren’t as easy to keep clean, and don’t rotate as well. The backs can be painful as well.

I'd you want to remove the good earring they can be tough as the backs fit on very snug so they stay put and don't fall out.
The one that did must have been faulty or was pierced incorrectly.
If you can't get it out (if that's what you decide to do) and pulling isn't working a pair of pointy tweezers in each of the butterfly loops to open it more can help.
Tbh I've had ear piercings by Claire's and professional piercers and I've had more issues with the latter, same with DD(as an adult)
I would repierce but maybe in longer than a week and regardless of what you do in the meantime clean both ears regularly,
Also it's recommended to leave an earring in when there's an infection as sometimes when removed the holes can close trapping infection inside, an earring can allow any pus ect to drain if the post is long enough.

Gosh I got my ears pierced at Claire's 20 odd years ago when I was around 13/14 and one became infected. We thought the earring had fallen out but it was inside my ear and it had closed up. I still remember the pain, despite laughing gas, of the doctor trying to push it out.

I'm mid 30s now and never got it done again.

I'd take them out, op. Let them heal and leave it a few years. Hope your daughter feels better soon

This

I think those cassette staples are brutal..I pierced son's ears at 16 with two sterile''green'' hypodermic needles from pharmacy, and slipped in gold studs- no trauma and no pain..and no infection.

8 absolutely isn't too younger if its what she wanted, people are just judgemental. I had 2 in my ears at 8. I would take the other one out and let them both heal but then take her to an actual piercing shop that will.use a needle, guns are horrific for piercings.

Sterling Silver can be more reactive than gold for a new piercing - Gold is much less allergy making if it is 9 carat or more.

I had mine done when I was about 17 and even then I found them quite fiddly and sore until I got used to them. I’m glad I didn’t have them done as a kid.

If the piercing was done today, it sounds like the hole will still be ''soft'' and it will be fine to put a fresh {boil it first} gold earring in there to keep it 'open'.

Assuming Claires used those ''staple'' type devices that fire an earring in- that's what they used to do years ago.

I had my first piercings done with a gun because I didn't know any better. My later piercings (and my daughters') were done with a needle. YANBU for not knowing.

I think a previous poster suggesting wording to demand a refund is spot on. If they come back, explain they have damaged your trust in their ability to pierce ears safely, and have upset your daughter and therefore a replacement piercing will not be acceptable.

I echo others' advice. Remove the remaining piercing and let them heal fully - a professional piercer would be able to advise how long they think that should be. When you do get them redone, go to a professional. UK APP (Association of Professional Piercers) ideally. They may not, however, pierce someone as young as your daughter.