Ear piercing for an adult

[LegendaryReady]

I'm 52 and have a fab new short haircut.

It does need some statement earrings though. I feel like I could have some fun with them.

I had pierce ears briefly as a teenager, but cheap earrings made my ears so sore I gave up and let them close. I could only wear gold and they weren't what I wanted at the time.

They're not now either. The large statement earrings I'm imagining would be prohibitively expensive and heavy in solid gold. Plus I prefer silver coloured jewellery.

So, when I had them done before it was at a jeweller's using gold "sleepers". I understand the best place to have them done now is a piercing/tattoo studio. My questions are:

• how much does it hurt?

• how long are they sore for? I remember weeks of uncomfortable nights but maybe I'm remembering it worse than it was. It seems ridiculous at my age to be considering pain for the sake of appearance, I don't even wear uncomfortable shoes, but....

• what earrings do they use for the initial piercing in these places? Gold or is there an alternative that won't irritate these days?

• and the crux of it, have things moved on from the "hypoallergenic" earrings of my youth and do nice earrings that I'll be able to wear exist these days? I don't hear people saying they can only wear gold like you used to?

Ive just had mine done with a needle
It didn’t hurt (I’m a wuss) the worst bit was knowing I had a needle in my ear (phobic) but it really didn’t hurt at all
It bled a bit and the blood formed a ‘scab’ of dried blood but that’s the only trouble I’ve had-I forget they are there 99% of the time
Mine are ‘silver’ studs and she did say that what they are made of (I can’t remember the metal) means nobody is allergic to it
I’ve been having fun looking at all the lovely new earrings I’ll be able to wear after Christmas

Hurts hardly at all

Lobe piercings heal up in about 6 weeks and are only painful if they get infected. Less likely to get infected with a needle piercing as needle gives a cleaner puncture whereas gun piercing tools leaves lots of micro tears.

They usually provide their own titanium earrings as titanium is hypoallergenic

You may find that your ears are not allergic to so many earrings when they've been pierced with a needle rather than a gun.

Having my earlobes pierced didn't hurt at all (from what I can remember). I've also had my nose and ear cartilage repierced recently and the initial piercing hurt a tiny bit but after that I more or less forgot about it. I think they usually use silver coloured stainless steel for the initial piercing (although I'm not sure really, apart from it's silver) and you can choose a stud or a hoop, depending on the placement.

The place where your piercing is going be will dictate when how long it takes to heal . I think the healing time for earlobes is about 6-8 weeks, so it's best to wear the piercers earring for that amount of time.

You seem a tad anxious about it, if you don't mind me saying. Find a good, friendly tattoo/piercing studio near you and go in and have a chat about it and ask them everything you've said here. The woman who does my ears is lovely and I know she wouldn't mind explaining it if someone came along who seemed a bit worried. And if they're not happy to talk about it, find someone who does.

As previously mentioned, titanium is the best hypoallergenic metal for earrings (it's the only thing I can wear in my ears) and silver coloured.

Don't know if they'll have the type of thing you're envisioning but I get my earrings from

www.serenityjewellery.co.uk/

I wear titanium earrings due to reactions. My daughter got hers pierced at a professional piercing parlour that only use titanium and pierce with a needle. They use labret flat back earrings so very comfortable to sleep in.
I would look for a place like this.

Also recommend 12 weeks for healing which is much more realistic than the 6 weeks Claire's recommend.

Try Astrid & Miyu, you can have nice 14k gold studs right from first piercing.

12 weeks healing time. Most places use titanium studs and it's quick to do, the pain is entirely based on your pain threshold but lobe piercings are the least painful of all piercings.

In a rush so can't reply fully but check out the UKAPP website for a wealth of information and to find your local member piercer.

A decent tattoo parlour will use titanium which won't aggravate you.
It won't hurt at all. You might find that you aren't restricted to gold either.
Some earrings have nickel which is a common allergy so try sterling silver instead