Is Claire's no good for ear piercing. I've heard both meh stories and horror stories. Also your general advice.

[lavenderdoilly]

Dd is 9. I was 14 about 30 years ago when I had mine done. I've heard neutral and negative stories about Claire's so your comments on going there for her to have it done would be most welcome. Your gener tips and advice also welcome.
I can't remember how long mine took to heal although I do remember "turning" them and using surgical spirit. I spoke to one of her pals who said she used saltwater. Ouch generally. Dd is a bit squeamish. Also, how about sport while they are healing ? Take em out (more ow) or tape em up. Is this doable for swimming?

[00alwaysbusymum]

Can anyone recommend a proper piercer in Bristol for a child ? Thanks

[WhiskyTangoFoxtrot]

"There isn't a legal age limit regarding ear piercings performed with a needle, it's entirely down to the individual shop's discretion"

Not exactly, as they can be bound by bye-laws and conditions set by their local council's special licence (something they have to have, and have to comply with, in order to operate legally).

[SleepyRoo]

It was totally fine. I was 33! Really glad I waited that long too, in a funny way.

[BeautyGoesToBenidorm]

Yes, every shop needs a LHA licence to operate legally, but I've worked in shops within numerous local health authorities and I've yet to see any specific age rules for ear piercing set out. I'm happy to be corrected if anyone knows this to be different in their area.

[grumpysquash3]

I took DD into Claire's, and found a Saturday girl being 'trained' by a regular member of staff who had pierced one set of ears before, on a paying customer who was seated basically in the window! We didn't stay.
We pottered into John Lewis, found a member of staff who had several ear piercings herself and asked her where she got them done. We ended up in a local tattoo parlour which had an excellent hygiene rating, experienced and friendly staff and who used sterile 'guns' and titanium studs. No expensive solutions, just salt water. No problems. They were lovely, even though DD (then aged 10) and I (then aged 44) were clearly not their regular demographic :)

[coco1810]

I had mine done there years ago. One ear was perfect, the other ear was awful. The person who did it held the gun at the wrong angle so the butterfly was actually at the bottom of my ear lobe. I couldn't have the re-pierced for three months. I had them done at an independant piercer off a list on local council website. Proper quality studs too.

[steppemum]

I am always reading on mn that you should go to a piercer and get it done with a needle.

dd is 11 and I promised her she could have them done before secondary school. We went at the beginning of the Easter holidays.

No-one would pierce a child under 13 with a needle. They would only use a gun.
If we waited till she was 13, the needle is done with no local anesthetic spray etc, versus the gun which takes less than a second.

In the end we got it done with the gun, at an independent shop. She said it didn't hurt. We faithfully kept hem clean with saline, and they seemed to heal fine.

After 8 weeks she wanted to change them, and we took them out. It was painful to take them out, one ear was very sore (they hadn't felt sore until we took it out) I cleaned them with saline and we decided it wasn't a good idea to change them, so we put the earrings back in. It was hard to get them back in and hard for me to click the earrings back together, she was in tears after all that.

We haven't tried to get them out again!

[FeliciaJollygoodfellow]

Oh please. Blunt force trauma indeed.

They're forcing earrings through a flap of skin.

Get them done at a tattoo shop, use titanium or gold as less prone to infection. It will cost more and likely hurt more.

I'm 33 and every one of my friends had their ears done by a gun (although not at Claire's) and no one got infections or ears falling off or anything.

[AnnieOnnieMouse]

Keep away from Claire's, and avoid guns, for all the reasons given above. Guns on cartilage are especially dangerous.

[comfortblankie]

Go to a tattoo parlour. Everything is clean, sterile, all equipment is 100% new and you won't have gobdaw kids staring at you!

To the PPs who say that the gun won't cause trauma, YABU. It's a gun for heaven's sake!!! Starter earrings are so much more blunt compared to a needle.

Also, would you allow a teenager to poke holes in your child after an hour of training on a teddy?

[bibbitybobbityyhat]

Is there any evidence of people contracting HepC at Claire's or similar? Or anything more serious than a local infection?

[AnnieOnnieMouse]

IMO, it's not a risk worth taking in any way, shape or form.

[puddingbunny]

My sister had hers done with a gun at a jewellers years ago and it didn't go through properly. One stud fell out and she was left with a lump of scar tissue inside her earlobe. I'd as soon let someone loose on my ears with a stapler.

[Buttock]

When I got dds done Claire's were charging over £30 and that was their cheapest option 😱.
So I went to F D Hinds jewellers instead. They charge £9.99 for the piercing, cheapest gold round studs and aftercare too. They only do children from 7yrs and ask for their birth certificate. The stud they use is sharp at the back, so it's like a needle going in and they do both ears at the same time.

I would never use Claire's just because of the price. I had mine done at the Debenhams on our high street when I was 4.they don't do it anymore.

[SundialShadow]

I heard too many horror stories about Clares so I took my DD to the local head shop.

This is because they used the proper piercing needles as opposed to the guns that those that have issues seems to have used on them.

The studio where the piercing was done was white and spotless. There was a dentist type chair which was height adjusted so the guy who did the work was at the best angle to carry out the work. Before he began, he showed me his health certificates, outlined his experience and gave us an aftercare plan if something went wrong (nothing did) I was very impressed.

Now, you lot can condemn me for bringing an 11 year old to a head shop but the piercing was professional, clean, hygienic, done by someone with years of experience and we had no issues afterwards. She also had no idea what the "strange looking silverwear" in the front of the shop was for either.

Also, my MIL was OUTRAGED so..... shrugs :)

[FuckOffDavid]

I took my DD to the piercing studio I've had most of my piercings done when she was 7. Cost £10 or £15 due to a special offer and was done using a hollow point needle and included titanium studs. Was over quickly, DD said very little pain and was given a care leaflet that said to make up a saline solution. No infection and healed about 7 weeks later for school going back.

[SquirmOfEels]

"Yes, every shop needs a LHA licence to operate legally, but I've worked in shops within numerous local health authorities and I've yet to see any specific age rules for ear piercing set out. I'm happy to be corrected if anyone knows this to be different in their area."

Previous poster cited Lambeth and Westminster. It applies in Wandsworth too, where the wording is along the lines of no cosmetic piercing of under 16s, other than earlobes or nose by gun. Paragraph 5 of section 4

[FayKorgasm]

The needle is almost painless like a tiny scratch you barely feel it.

[AgingJuvenileBinkyHuckaback]

In defence of the local authority "gun only" policy - the thing that they care most about is the disastrous risk of HIV or Hep C transmission (a higher risk in Westminster and Lambeth than most other places because of higher population prevalence). The Claire's Accessories procedure may have a slight risk of general bacterial infection but the chance of transmitting blood borne infection is effectively nil as long as you see them open the prepackaged cassette in front of you.

A tattooist using a needle however is only as good as their sterilisation procedure and so there is the potential for human error.

I don't mean to scaremonger - clearly the risk is tiny and a good tattooist is no more dangerous than a good dentist. But the councils concerned have taken the view that parents are free to allow/inflict a small risk of simple infection or earlobe damage on their children, but they won't let them inflict a risk of blood borne disease, however tiny.

[BeautyGoesToBenidorm]

Squirm, thank you

The stud they use is sharp at the back, so it's like a needle going in

The stud is NOTHING LIKE a needle. Poke the end of one of those piercing studs into the tip of your finger, you'll feel it's sharp. Poke a hollow point piercing needle into your finger, and it'll draw blood as it's DESIGNED to break skin.

[Notbigandnotclever]

I had mine done with guns and they are fucked up. I can't get earrings in but all the inside is messed up and they still ooze manky stuff 25 years later... It hurt like hell but I had no idea there were issues until ages later. If I was to get them redone I would go to a proper piercer without doubt.

[exexpat]

00alwaysbusymum - (looking for somewhere in Bristol) DD had her ears pierced at Blue Banana in Broadmead when she was 11. They have a piercing studio at the back with properly trained staff. They still use a piercing gun on under 13s (or was it under 16s?) but I had far more confidence in their hygiene and training than I would with Claire's or similar.

[exexpat]

(I did actually call a couple of local specialist piercing/tattoo places to ask first, but they refused to deal with anyone under 16)

[Dumbledoresgirl]

Upthread people say go to a tattooist / professional piercer because they use needles rather than guns. I have just looked up my nearest tattooist and they clearly state earlobe piercing is done with a gun.

Dd wants her ears done but has been dithering for over a year now. I also feel uncertain as I want them done the safest and most careful way. I had mine done 30 plus years ago at a chemist. It was initially fine, but either I wore too heavy earrings or the placement was not great as one hole now is far too low down and I can only wear studs.

[Elphame]

Please don't get them done at Claire's or at anywhere that uses a gun. They can't be sterilised properly and cause more damage to the body than a needle. It's also more painful at the time of piercing and afterwards (speaking from experience here).