How was your child's ear piercing experience at Claire's?

[Hdaniels11]

My daughter has recently turned 12 and has been begging my to let her get her ears pierced, she is adamant on the thought of going to claire's because it's " the cool place to go" but i've heard mixed reviews about it.

I've looked on the website and the earrings are super expensive i was quite shocked! For the people who have been how was your child's healing process experience afterwards?

All of my 3 suffered after having it done at Claires. So off to tattoo parlour for the seconds. And they still suffered. I think it's more to do with the ears than the process tbh.

My daughter had hers done in the summer at a tattoo place, it cost £20 and the earrings are tiny so she has managed to get away without removing them when playing sport.
We were told to clean them with salt water and they healed really quickly.

9 year old dd had her ears pierced at a tattoo and piercing studio in the summer and she's had no issues at all. I wouldn't have allowed her to have them done at Claire's or similar for a number of reasons including hygiene, staff skill levels and their ethics regarding consent for piercings. From a physiological point of view, needle piercings cause less trauma to the soft tissue so they heal quicker, I wanted dd to have nickel free earrings to reduce the risk of a reaction and, as a hcp, I have dug out many earrings and earring backs from new piercings that have been done with jewellery that is too small to allow for swelling, I wanted dd to have the flat backed posts and for them to be long enough. The professional piercers we used were fantastic, they spoke to dd and explained the process and gained consent from both of us, they offered to have two piercers so both ears could be done at once, they took a really long time marking her ears to ensure even placement that dd and I were happy with and they discussed aftercare in detail. There was no upselling, we were given a bottle of saline for irrigation and told we could return at any time if there were any issues

At the end of the day it's your child's ear OP so you decide

Modern piercing guns are single use. They come in a sterile pack.

The earrings are not blunt.

Both piercing guns and piercing studs are specifically designed for piercing ear lobes.

An autoclave is NOT an ultrasonic sterilizer, it uses steam.

Piercing needles also come in a sterile pack, the piercer then picks it up with gloves that are not sterile.

OP There are a lot of reasons to choose or not choose a place for ear piercing, but make your decision using facts.

I wasn’t upsold anything at the piercer. I paid £30 including the cost of the earrings and received an aftercare package of saline solution and other bits and pieces. I have no idea how much Claire’s costs because I wouldn’t entertain it - not after being in the shop once when they were piercing a toddler who was screaming the place down. I wanted a specialist and if I had to pay more for the expertise then I would.

Like many have suggested, please go to a tattoo shop.

It's a hole in an ear, not major surgery. Claire's and similar shops will have done thousands of piercings. If they're not cleaned properly or your child is allergic to some netsls then of course there may ge problems, no matter who does the piercing.

Still has the potential to become badly infected or painfully ingrown. They can also be badly placed and uneven. The shop might have done thousands but the individual probably hasn't. If you can choose a more hygienic option with somehow far more trained using a method that is less damaging all at a lower price why wouldn't you choose that. How could this be deemed as snobbery!

Piercing needles also come in a sterile pack, the piercer then picks it up with gloves that are not sterile.

The piercer doing dd used sterile gloves from a pack. At Claire's the same gun was used on both dc and was not new from a pack. It got stuck 3 out of the 4 piercings. Some have both done at the same time are you saying they use 2 brand new disposable guns per piercing? Unlikely!

DD (10 at the time) went to Claire's and it was absolutely fine, the piercers did an ear each at the same time. They explained everything to us both very well. The healing process was fine, no issues and DD cleaned them daily herself.

My only criticism would be that the butterfly backs on the earrings was very hard to get off when the time came. It took a week of DD fiddling with them to loosen them.

DD wanted to go to Claire's and i'd heard good feedback about the specific the store I took her to. DD wouldn't have been happy with a piercing studio I think she'd have freaked out in that environment.

I had mine done in a hairdresser's 25+ years ago, think it was £12!

My 6 year old has her ears done at Claire's with no problems. I noticed they were getting a bit gunky but that's because she wasn't letting me clean her ear as throughly as it should be. But now 2 months on they are both absolutely fine.

I got 2 sets fine at claires. First when I was around 12 ans they were fine. Second got so infected and needed antibiotics. Every other piercing after I've had done at a tattoo studio and have been perfect healing. Definitely recommend the tattoo studio not claires, they know what they're talking about and not selling you expensive earrings for the fun. They sell you earrings that are recommended

The earrings at a piercers aren't expensive. Ours didn't even give options it was just plain surgical steel flat backed studs which are very cheap. It's the same at all the other piercers locally (of those that do kids, not all do). The earrings at Claire's were a fortune as they said it was important to get gold when SS is actually far safer

My daughters had theirs done there and I wish we hadn’t as they’re lopsided. For the youngest we’ll go elsewhere!

The main thing that makes the difference for me is the difference in piercing with a hollow needle vs a pointed-earring. For me, I imagine it as a piece of paper that you either use a hole-punch on, vs poking a (pointy) pencil through the same piece of paper.
One creates a much tidier hole than the other, so it seems obvious then which is better for creating holes in people!

I'm with everyone recommending a proper piercing studio. Piercing with a gun isn't good for the ears so getting it done with needles by people fully trained and qualified to pierce all over their body rather than (I really don't mean disrespect if any of you are on here, glorified sales assistants)

She thinks Claire's is cool but going to a proper adult place is even cooler!

I had my second lobes done, not at Claire’s but a similar type of place. My third lobes and all my other piercings were done with a needle. For what it’s worth, the needle actually hurts far less and is much less ‘shocking.’ It feels far less traumatic.

I would say too, and I mean this nicely, all the posts of ‘oh I know my dd wouldn’t have let them do the second if they weren’t done at once’ or ‘my dd would have freaked out in a piercing studio’ are a bit off. If the child would freak out in a piercing studio or thinks the pain is extreme then maybe just wait till they’re a bit older and can realistically manage having a piercing done.

DS had his done last year at a piercing/tattoo shop. I wouldn't take him anywhere that used a gun. He kept finding places that used those little disposable things which they claim aren't guns. They might not be, but they work the same way. I told him we either went to a proper place or he waited until he was 18.

His piercings are perfect. The whole experience from start to finish was perfect.

Don't go to Claire's. Go to a reputable jeweler or any of the other suggestions above. Claire's is overpriced,sell you cleaning crap you don't need and will probably go wrong,.I know several people who have had their kids pierced there and it's always gone wrong for them.

Good for you for waiting until an appropriate age!

I personally wouldn't use Claires. We went to a very reputable local jeweller, which was spotlessly clean, private and the lady was very experienced.

My daughter has hers done at Claire’s and we’re absolutely fine.

I think it has a lot to do with the staff member. We went to our local Claire's for my first DD and ended up not going ahead as the lady was quite rude. My second DD had hers done at Claire's when we were on holiday and we couldn't have asked for a better experience. Lovely lady and her ears have been fine.

I’ve only known 2 people who have had it done at Claire’s - 1 was lop-sided the other one got infected. Blue Banana do it with a needle, it was all very sterile and professional when my child had theirs done. I would recommend them if you have - branch near you.

Don't go to Claire's. I had mine done there as a teenager and like someone else says, the direction is off with one and it is SO ANNOYING.

Everything I've read says piercing with a needle is way better.

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