To not let my daughter get her ears pierced at Claires?

[Hdaniels11]

My Dd has just turned 9 and has been begging me to let her have her ears pierced so i agreed but i told her that we will have to go to a "proper" piercing place and not Claire's. I didn't really know much about Claire's until i started looking into it and apparently it's got a really bad reputation for piercings and i have read multiple things online about how piercing guns are bad?Im not sure how true that is tho. My Dd specifically wants them done at Claire's because she loves the shop and that's where all her friends got them done but i don't want to risk her going there and getting a nasty infected piercing. I do feel mean saying she can't go there but i don't know what else to do.
Should i give her a choice between getting them done at a reputable place or no piercing at all?

Plenty of information on the UKAPP* website regarding this and you can use the member locator to find a reputable piercer close to you.

*United Kingdom association of professional piercers

Trouble is @SapphosRock is that anecdote =/= data. I might walk into traffic without looking and be fine but evidence suggests it's not safe.

Piercings should not be done with a gun, in a fripperies shop.

Mine is 9 too, and her best friend said 'Claire's are better because piercing studios are dirty'. I explained exactly why she was wrong and we agreed that when she gets them done. It will be at a piercing studio that has been recommended to me.

I can’t see any difference in getting them done by a gun in Claire’s or a jeweller or a hairdresser!
I’d go to a piercing studio, the needle is less traumatic, the studs with the screw on front but are easier to keep clean and there’s less likelihood of them being wonky. She may be too young at 9 though

Never get them done with a gun. Our rule has always been not untill you can ask and understand and it will only be done via needle at a tattoo and piercing shop.

you can’t even clean the guns properly let alone the trauma and the fact the training is basically a 5 minute video, the upsell is also horrible.

I personally don’t know anyone who would risk taking their children to get pierced at a cheap accessories shop. Would you be happy with a barely trained teenager forcing a metal bar through your skin at Primark? Doubt it. Why do people do that to their children? I’m sorry you don’t know anyone who puts safety first in these situations.

Can you pierce her ears somewhere sensible with a needle and tell her you will take her to claires to buy some (overpriced) earrings to wear once they have healed?

I just don't understand that in RL everyone uses Claire's and on MN it's a scary big no no
Because knowledge is power. I had several love piercings done with a gun and a nose piercing with a gun when I was younger.

Fortunately I didn't have any serious issues, though the nose piercing didn't heal quickly and when I took it out for an afternoon it had started to heal so that was the end of that.

Now I know better I wouldn't have any piercings done with a gun because it would be fairly foolish to ignore the new knowledge I've gained.

There’s definitely been a thread before about this and the use of guns. No go to a proper place

Maybe a little unreasonable to me , but its your child’s ears 😊 I had mine pierced at Claire’s about 4 years ago and they were absolutely fine. No problems. They are so busy in there that I’m sure the people doing it have lots of experience. DS had his pierced at Superdrug in the summer, again they were really good, used a gun but great.

Tattoo/piercing places are good too, but more expensive. I had a piercing at such a place and the earrings available were eye wateringly expensive. Also not what I would want to keep in long term once the holes had healed. Some places also don’t pierce under 18s even if accompanied by a parent so you would have to hunt around more.

There are quite a few people who won't use them. It's no secret they aren't trained properly (another poster mentioned this), gun piercings are more susceptible to infection and causes more trauma to the area, that's just a fact of gun piercings, which Claire's use.
I've just looked at their piercing page and saw they do cartilage piercings - bugger risk of damage with a gun than the lobe - and nose piercings - which is bloody awful. You should never, ever have a nose piercing from a sales assistant who's had minimal training with a gun, it's actually ridiculous they're allowed to do that.

Whilst I’d go for a piercing studio I can’t really understand all the hatred of guns. The earrings are sharp, it’s not a blunt end that is pushed through and I’m pretty sure they’d have been banned if there were cases of transfer of blood borne infection from them. My biggest worry would be inexperienced staff putting them in wonky!

My daughter had hers done with a needle but I must say I know loads of girls who've had it done at Claires and they've been absolutely fine. I do think people exaggerate a little..

My kids all got theirs done at Claire's. Some went back for second piercings when they were teens.

They had no problems.

If you believe all the scary stories you read online about all the normal things tweens and teens want to do, you'll lose the confidence of your child.

A certain group of people tend to use claires. The same kinda group who tend get their babies ears done before they are even dry and I don’t mean those who do it for cultural reasons.

Those who wait and still use Claire’s tend to not be very well educated on the risks of such things and just see it as a fun girly mummy trip to buy pretty things and pretty earrings.

@OhmygodDont

Did you mean to come across as such a caricature of snobbery?

Survivorship bias. My mum let me get my ears pierced with a gun (neither of us knew the risks back then). I still remember it spewing out pus after it got infected despite following the aftercare advice given to the letter.
It's a fact that it's less hygienic and is more traumatic to the area being pierced - not just opinion. Fine if you want to take the risk, it might be okay. But sounds like OP wants to take the option with a much, much lower risk of damage and infection.

Also, the aftercare kit for which Claire's will no doubt charge a fortune - professional piercers will recommend warm salt water to clean your ear piercings - a lot less pricey I imagine!

I couldn’t laugh harder at being a snob tbh, in my leggings covered in tattoos drinking wine out of a plastic cup 😏😂.

More likely to actually have those kinds of women use such places that use guns in pretty accessory shops or beauty parlours as they wouldn’t be seen dead in a tattoo shop.

I was thinking exactly the same.

Oh I see I shouldn’t have engaged really both those who take offence have had guns at Claire’s. Says it all really.

My dds were 7 and absolutely fine having their ears done at Claines.
Having said that, I wouldn't get them done in the Christmas holidays cos they won't have time to heal and be able to take them out for PE. Summer holidays are best.

My daughter had hers done at Claire's, one of her ears became infected and it never fully recovered. Go somewhere better :(

Really weird, mumsnet snobbery I'm afraid. They're the sane about Clarks shoes

Well I’ll go against the grain here, both my dd have had piercing done at Claire’s with not a bit of bother . Staff were lovely and reassuring to my dd. One dd got another done at a piercing / tattoo place and it became infected.
I don’t anyone in real life that has had a problem with Claire’s.

Definitely go to a reputable piercing place. Why not let her pick some earrings from Claires for when they've healed. They have hypoallergenic earrings and have a lot of choice so great for buying earrings just not for piercing.