to think Claire’s shouldn’t be the go to place

[TDL2016]

Why do so many parents take their kids to Claire’s to get their ears pierced? You’re surely more likely to get a better and more hygienic environment, better aftercare and a better trained piercer at a specialist shop.

I looked in to this and the problem is a piercer with a needle will then insert a sleeper rather than a stud which isn't ideal.

Every time I've had a needle piercing, I've been given the choice of stud or sleeper.

We have a piercing only studio I found online, later found people drive quite a way for "interesting" piercings there as it has such a good reputation.

They pierced my 10 year old's ears but they were clear they wanted consent from the child and parent and asked at a couple of times if she wanted ot done. I was honestly so impressed. In a room a bit like a dentists (not a shop window!) . She didnt see the needle, no shocking gun, never had any pain from it either and no infection (but given salt and told about aftercare.) We went back after several weeks as one came loose and they free of charge had a look at the hole and put another earing in (with a ball not a butterfly.)

It was amazing. And so different to claires...

My niece had hers done at a jewelers with a gun. Within 5 days her mum had to take her to a tattoo parlour to have them removed and redone. Her ears had swollen, and the short studs that are used in the gun had almost disappeared in the swollen earlobes. It was painful, but not yet infected, so the proper piercer managed to take them out and swapped them for a longer, fatter pair of studs that would leave space for the swelling while still keeping the hole open. Poor girl was traumatised, and even now (months later) doesn't like changing her earrings, although she can and does take them out for pe and put them back for herself (she's 11, teachers aren't going to do it for her!)

Marketing. Claire’s is 100% marketed at young girls. It’s a place they like to be and feel comfortable, and the piercing is likely to be done by a youngish female rather than a bloke covered in tattoos (in a place that’s 100% not designed to appeal to young girls). Plus it’s a national chain that gives a sense of consistency and quality control, even if that’s not true.

I remember going to Claire’s when I was 9 years old to get my ears pierced. It was very exciting and didn’t hurt with a gun that they use. One person on each ear. Don’t see the issue. I’d happily take my daughter there.

Why do people take their children there?

Because Claire's don't give a crap about the child's level of understanding, or consent or whether they'll be able to follow aftercare.

When I was 15 I had a job there on the tills but we HAD to pierce ears too. We did a ‘qualification’ in it which involved me piercing my boyfriend’s ears about 5 times.

We had to upsell our premium piercing which had a gun where you manually pushed the earring through with the palm-trigger. It was horrible! Add to that we would pierce baby’s ears as soon as they could hold their own heads up. The chair was in front of a window that looked out into the shopping centre and crowds would gather to look angrily and tut at me for mutilating these poor babies.
I was often asked which was the ‘gay ear’ when piercing baby boy’s ears. It was truly horrific.

And they made me stay for free for an hour to clean the shop after I finished my shift. Bastards. Can’t believe they are still going!

I followed the MN rulesand took my eldest DD to a proper needle piercer, did all the research.

Still got infected and went wrong. Other DDs can now get theirs done wherever they like when they move out

Loads of people use Claire’s with no issues I really can’t see the problem any more.

I'm not sure I like the atmosphere in most tattoo parlours I've seen. Can't jewellers do them now?

The queues of (mainly) young girls in Claires at the beginning of the 6 week Summer holidays !

And I think they do certain cartilage piercings (they had a diagram on a board where they would / wouldn't ) not sure if they still do.
But they do nose-studs .

Even the MetalMorphosis is TopShop (Oxford Street) would be a bit eek for a young child ( IIRC they do Studex for 14+ but no needles ) . It looks quite clinical with the seperate rooms and the equipment which is what you want for tattooes and piercings but might be more scary than a Claires store .

My DD had helix, tragus and belly button doe with needles in Tattoo Artists . She doesn't do needles but said it wasn't painful, the only bit she felt was the stud being applied ( which means the worst is over ) and the noise . No 'click' but there is a rustling .

If you get them done at Claire’s you might as well take a stud and ram it into your child’s ear with your hands. Same thing. None of the equipment can be properly autoclaved, so unsterile. The jewellery used can trap bacteria and isn’t suitable for swelling, piercing jewellery should be implant grade titanium or steel. Then the staff...
just because you or your child haven’t had any issues doesn’t make it a suitable or safe place unfortunately, there are documented cases of bacterial infection transmissions from guns, it’s quite scary.

I really don't get the drama over people using Claires. It's lobes and cartilage piercings, fairly low risk. I read loads of informed articles on needle vs gun, and frankly the difference in risk is really not that much higher. In fact, the overall risk is low with both options.

Btw, worked there for years, pierced 100s of ears. Always got parental and child consent (where they were able to give it).

Really really hated doing babies and young kids. Absolutely horrid and used to do my best to put the parents off.

happycamper11

I looked in to this and the problem is a piercer with a needle will then insert a sleeper rather than a stud which isn't ideal

Why isn't it ideal? Genuine question - I just haven't heard that before.

I chose sleepers for myself as I preferred the look of them to studs.
Suggested them to daughters as - although studs look fine to me now - I find the posts dig in if I sleep in them.
Still find the sleepers useful if I'm going to be a while without bothering too much about jewellery as I'm not keen on "naked" holes in my lobes.

Squashed, its coming back to me, our was a very similar experience! Once she'd got my consent on the form, my bit was effectively done and she went straight to my dd and spoke very directly to her, asking if she knew what was going to happen and did she want it. She explained the aftercare and asked if she still wanted to go through with it several times. She was very deft at keeping the needle out of sight and my daughter was surprised that she had already done it and was expecting more pain than actually occurred. She was clearly very good with children and very professional. We went back the summer after for my younger dd.

*I'm not sure I like the atmosphere in most tattoo parlours I've seen.
*
You've not been to the right one! I'm currently visiting one regularly for some laser treatment (a different one to where I had dd ears done) and the people there couldn't be nicer or more welcoming. I'm just your regular square mum with just one hole in each ear so I'm sure I look out if place there but the big "scary" bloke with face tattoos and about 20 holes in each ear/nostril is actually the most softly spoken lovely fella. There's too much judgment I think.

@LaMarschallin, because they would have to be changed before the recommended time scale for school. They are also a risk if a girl has long hair and is physically active.

Claire's is the choice because they sell children's jewellery and accessories so going there is about more than just getting your ears done. Their stuff is expensive, so going in for many children isn't a regular occurance.

Gun piercing is so bad, needle piercing heals so much better. Accessorize do ear piercings now but use guns as well

Ponoka7

@LaMarschallin, because they would have to be changed before the recommended time scale for school. They are also a risk if a girl has long hair and is physically active

Ah! That makes perfect sense. Thank you

Also who wants to get tattooed in a high street window by a non professional piercer with everyone gawping at you

What’s the thing about not wanting to take children into tattoo parlours? I’ve only been in one (the place I took both my daughters to get their ears pierced), and it was fine: everyone was really nice and there were no problems at all. Are some of them a bit dodgy or something?

They shouldn't take them there. They use a gun which isn't great
But it's easy and accessible and well known

piercing jewellery should be implant grade titanium or steel

This. I had my ears gun pierced at a hairdressers aged about 13. 9ct gold studs.

Developed the most horrendous nickel allergy that means I can only wear the purest silver, platinum or titanium now. (Someone gave me a ring they thought was platinum but was actually white gold - proven when I had to go to hospital to have it cut off after 30 mins of wear.)

No f’ing way am I risking that for DD, no matter how much she nags. I have a local tattooist lined up who uses implant grade titanium and won’t pierce under 10s ever.

Nickel allergy is very common amongst girls with pierced ears, surprisingly.

My daughter is 9 and wants her ears pierced and I have no idea where to get it done! The two tattoo places near me don’t allow children on the premises. I’ve heard bad things about Claire’s but it’s the only local place I know will do it!

I'm not sure I like the atmosphere in most tattoo parlours I've seen

Have you ever actually been into one?

Far cleaner and far more professional than Claire's. For starters, they don't make you sit in the window, nor do they pierce the ears of screaming babies and toddlers. Needles aren't loud, don't cause trauma to the ear and are single use and far more hygienic.

Before I moved house, I went to the same girl for all my piercings. She had professional qualifications, hygiene certificates and her room was sterile. Clean chair (cleaned after every appointment), clean gloves - jewellery and needles opened in front of you from sterile packaging etc.

The tattoo parlour itself was clean, friendly and professionally run. Everyone was happy to answer any questions you had, and you were in no way forced to have anything done. There is no way they would have pierced a crying or uncertain child either - they were huge on consent and making sure you had ID with you as well.

I would never take my child to get their ears pierced at Claire's. It would be a tattoo parlour or nothing.

The piercing studio we used don't allow them under 7, so that excludes lot of people who are desperate to get it done earlier.

They did it with needles and gave us a good aftercare product. Also, they only use surgical steel, no silver or gold. It is less likely to cause allergies and infections. We paid £25 for all.

I had my ear lobes re-piereced there as well a couple of years beforehand. I have a nickel allergy and had bad reactions to even simple and cheap gold studs. Piercer do know a lot more and are better trained.

@BrassTactical One of two things happened there then - either you went to a shoddy piercer, or your daughter failed to follow appropriate aftercare.

You should always go to a piercing studio but that still means researching for a professional one with verifiable results. Not all piercers are equal.