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.

Having three dds who have had their ears pierced at various different places, I have come to the conclusion it is down to luck.

I took dd3 to a proper piercing studio to have her ears pierced with a needle. They initially healed well but she then had no end of problems for a year. And that was with proper cleaning and aftercare.

My older dds both had theirs done with a gun - dd1 at a jeweller and dd2 at a (different) piercing studio. They were both fine.

I personally wouldn't use Claire's but that said, many of dd's friends have had their ears pierced there with no problems.

I do agree that you get a cleaner neater piercing with a very sharp needle but that doesn't always mean needle = ok, gun = not ok.

Once the adapter touches the gun, it isn't sterile, and cross contamination can still occur

Similar really to the piercer holding the needle then. People aren't sterile. Are you sure the infection was picked up from the gun itself, not something airborne? I've been pierced 14 times with a gun and no infection, but the needle piercing I had the once picked up an infection. I don't think it was the piercing studiom though, just one of those things

Honestly, each to their own. But it really shouldn't be this big drama to go to claires or anywhere that uses a gun. For lobes anyway. As long as they follow hygienic practices

My mum used to tell me about needles and corks. Now that's grim!

@P1nkHeartLovesCake

I saw a baby having his ears pierced in Claires once. The chair where they do it was right there in the window. Both his parents were trying to hold him still as he was thrashing about and screaming, bright red in the face. It was pretty horrifying.

A lot of piercing shops won't pierce children. The ones near me that did would only use a gun and not a needle.
My DD had problems with some stainless steel earrings put in by a piercing shop. She was fine once another shop changed them for titanium, which she should've had in the first place.
Piercing shops don't guarantee a problems free piercing, and using a gun or Claire's doesn't guarantee problem. A lot of issues come down to aftercare, personal healing and metal sensitivity.

About 3 years or so ago I visited Birmingham and was shopping in the Bull Ring. I saw a man and a woman and a member of staff forcibly hold down a child, no more than 18 months old while another pierced her ears.

I wrote to complain as I’d never seen anything so awful. Never got a response. I’ll never go to Claire’s as that seems to be their policy.

We drove to Manchester after a recommendation on Mumsnet for a piercer who does children and was registered with a council. and it was just a piercer's studio I think. It smelled like a hospital it was so clean. Piercer spent ages making sure we were happy with the holes and we were very pleased to go there. Had those earings which don't have butterfly clips but something else so easy to slide and clean the ear. It was an 7hr round trip but I would do it again if my daughter wanted more piercings.

I really hate going in Claires as so often there's a child screaming having their ears pierced. They always seem to be under 3 years old and it makes me really angry. The last time I saw it, the child who looked about 2.5 was sobbing and the woman who I presume was the child's mum was laughing with a couple of other women and the person who did the piercing. Then she said to the child 'enough now, it's not that bad.' ☹️ My 10 year old daughter thought it was awful and asked why they would be laughing and why they had it done when the child wasn't old enough to ask for it to be done. The only answer I could give was that they were crap parents. My daughter said there should be an age limit of at least 7 to have them done. When we see very small children with their ears pierced, my daughter always notices and says 'poor child'.

Christ this again. It must be getting near the end of term, people are tired and frustrated and need to feel great about themselves. Here's the checklist of threads to make you feel superior and clever.
Claire's and child/baby ears
4x4 ownership
Voting conservative
Calling people racist

Enjoy

@OpportunityKnocks

It's lobes and cartilage piercings, fairly low risk

Cartilage. With a gun. Low risk

You are joking aren't you?

Also, a GP friend of ours says every week he sees at least a few kids who come in with infected ear piercings. They've usually been done with a gun, but not always. He says it's mostly really young kids, and they're reluctant to let him look so they're clearly too young to have them done and cope with everything that entails like regular cleaning. He hasn't let his own children have their ears pierced.

I had my ears re-pierced at a Tatto parlour, they used a gun and advised me I could change them after just 2 weeks! Thankfully I looked into aftercare myself and didn't follow their advice.

DD, 8, had hers done in the summer holidays. She had been asking to have them done for 2 years. We used Claires who cleaned everything in front of us and who checked with DD that she was happy to have them done. We've had no problems with them.

As a former employee of Claires it the only place i would go for ear piercing. There seems to be a misunderstanding about a gun Claires doesn’t use a gun but rather an instrument the the sterilised pack is inserted into at no point does the earrings come into contact with anything other than the ear.

Not a single place where I live that pierces with a needle.

Before I knew better I had my first set done with a gun. The back of the earring didn't go on. She said she wasn't allowed to touch it and would have to redo it so she redid the hole she had just made. Incredibly painful
I've had piercings done with a needle since then and no issues, even my lip piercing barely hurt because the woman is so lovely, knows when to tell you to breathe and does it as you breathe out, I barely feel them

I would never go to Claire's Accessories as they pierce the ears of tiny babies. I thinks its hoorendous watching them hold down a screaming child while they shoot a needle through its ear. Absolute shite to my mind.

My dds ear were pierced at Claire's...they were absolutely fine, no issues at all.

my mum wouldn't let me get mine done anywhere, so waited til at college and me and a mate did each other's ears - ice cube, cork, needle (lighter/bit of vodka to "sterilize"), bottle of vodka for dutch courage...

Went fine, but one of mine is lower than the other! Too much vodka.

I had mine done at a ‘proper’ piercing parlour attached to a tattoo place. Horrible infection. DDs both had their various ear piercings done (from age 12 onwards, saved up their own money for it and I escorted them) at Claire’s with no problems.

I'm pretty sure op started this post as they know it's a contentious subject and just fancied being a bit goady. They've fucked off, haven't you noticed?

My GP did mine when I was 8 (late 80s). Very clean, very sterile, no issues.

I had mine done at Claire's as an adult no issues.

I had dd's done with a needle at a tattooist, took months to heal and ended up infected months later. (It cost hundreds of dollars)

I wish I had taken her Claire's to be honest.

I had mine done in a jewellers and would try to take my DD's to one too. If not it would be a tattoo shop but I can understand why some parents would be put off about taking a child to a tattoo shop and fall into claires.

Mums want their kids ears pierced by some nice unthreatening little blonde lady in a shop full of pink feathers and hair clips. Not by some big frightening bloke with tattoos from head to toe, in a shop where people have nipple and labia piercings done.

Mums want their kids ears pierced by some nice unthreatening little blonde lady in a shop full of pink feathers and hair clips. Not by some big frightening bloke with tattoos from head to toe, in a shop where people have nipple and labia piercings done.

Wow, I’d rather have my children pierced by the “frightening” who is sterile, educated, wont pierce a child who needs pinned to the chair.

I think a lot of people's piercings get infected because they are messing around with it in the name of 'aftercare'.

The best thing is to just leave it alone. No salt water, no twisting. If it gets gunky just wet a cotton bud and get rid of it. It's taken me MANY piercings to come to this conclusion.