To use piercing gun for DD first earlobe piercing?

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Have been debating allowing my daughter to get her ears pierced after she's been asking me to get them done and am thinking of just going to a high street jewellers where they'll use the studs and a piercing gun.
Friends have all taken their DDs to high street jewellers for piercings, Claire's etc. where piercing guns were used and been fine. However, the internet seems to be full of hate against piercing guns and advocating for using needles! They say piercing guns aren't as clean of a hole, they can be unsanitary etc... does it really matter?!

YANBU - of course it is fine to go to a high street jewellers - they're only first earlobe piercings, not cartilage etc and it's all hype about not using stud guns - most people go to high street jewellers and are fine

YABU - go somewhere where they use a needle as stud guns are awful!

We went to a reputable jeweller where they used the Inverness system - it was a great experience and healed brilliantly. Will take my younger one if she wants them done when she's older. Lots of friends have gone to Claire's and also ok, I don't actually know of any of their friends who have had them pierced with a needle!

That was the safety back thing I was thinking of that my nieces had. They haven’t had any issues either.

My dd had a gun just not at claires. Somewhere I've been pierced multiple times so trusted. I bought spray for them off amazon.

I made sure she didn't keep her earrings in if they got wet as it's a breeding ground for bacteria.

Healed fine. If you think about it, most generations probably had the gun. I know I did and most of my friends. Just avoid Claires

Well, no. Humans have pierced their earrings since prehistoric times, as evidenced by mummies and ancient drawings. Guns have been in use for about 40 years, and have rapidly fallen out of favour in that time.

Still been used routinely though for a vast amount of people. Of course they're not going to be perfect for everyone. Aftercare is important. Correct piercing size and metal is important. It's not simply the gun.
It's too frowned upon imo. If you want to get a needle then good, but for simple ear piercings I'd not overthink either option.

Indeed. Ear-piercing is the tip of a vast tradition iceberg of body modification and cultural adornment. The anthropology angle is fascinating. I recommend the Pitt Rivers Museum for early examples. And that's before you get near suspension.....

If you tried to screw a not very sharp screw into wood without drilling a hole first, it would probably send cracks outwards and weaken the wood, because it is being forced into something that didn’t have space for it. That’s why you should drill first.
Gun piercing is similar. All the flesh is still there but forced outwards, and the stud is not very sharp. As a PP said, it’s blunt force trauma.
A cannula needle is super sharp and actually punches out a little hole, so there is room for a stud/earring. A needle is far superior for piercing.

In my experience, if you ask on the Internet everyone talks about blunt force trauma and how you must go to a piercing studio as that is the only way to prevent ears from falling off.

If you ask folk you know, most will have gone to Claire's or a beauty parlour and had a gun to pierce their ears and nothing fell off.

When i agreed to get my daughter's wars pierced, I got in touch with half a dozen piercing and tattoo places and they all said they wouldn't do it as she was 10, they all said she had to be 16.

We went to Claire's and it was fine. No issues. No manky ears and the blunt force trauma holes in her head haven't been a problem.

How much are we expecting to pay for decent ear piercing these days? There’s a lady who’s highly rated locally who charges £75 (including earrings).

This. I have 3 piercings in each ear, all done with guns and they were fine (even a cartilage piercing). The most important part really IS the aftercare - you do need to clean them every day without fail for a number of weeks.

I had mine done by gun at local beauty salon when I was a teen, it was fine and hygiene was decent.
I'd say aftercare is most important aspect.

Exactly. What a waste of money.

Sewing needle and a lighter is all you need.

How painful is a needle piercing in the lobe for a child? My elder daughter had hers done at Claire's, I'm just planning ahead for my younger daughter. I have a cartilage piercing that was done by needle that hurt like hell for a few seconds. I'm thinking if it's the same for a lobe piercing, my daughter will only end up with one ear done!

I've had my ears pierced both ways - needle as a child, gun when I was older and wanted a second piercing.

Luckily no major issues with either, but needle is better - hurts less when it's done, heals better.

My daughter has had a few from a local chemist using a gun, aged 14-18. The piercing studio didn’t take under 16s. All her friends went to this chemist too. No issues.

Was it H Samuel??? I've had my cartilage done there using the Inverness system, my youngest has also had hers done there with no problems. I took my oldest daughter to a tattooist/piercer who used a needle and labrettes. She ended up with a big lump on the back of her ear and my husband having to use pliers to take the earrings out so I guess it shows everyone's different.

I had mine done at Top Shop 😂 She used a gun, one of the three holes got infected, it was no big deal. I've had to re-pierce them a few times, I just use an earring (but now keep permanent, gold, screw-on studs in them so it never happens again).

It's definitely best to have it done at a tattoo place. I'm just saying that piercing guns aren't as evil as they're being painted - it's all about your aftercare.

I have never known a single person other than my mum have lobes done with a needle. And hers are wonky.

So long as the hygiene is ok, I'd be ok with a gun for lobes. It's not like cartilage, it's just soft flesh. I know when I had mine done, the earrings had thicker, pointier posts than regular earrings. PS several of my friends did theirs with a needle and an ice cube!

Aftercare is more important. I'd recommend whatever saline solution they have and some of this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01N8WVAEJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I've bought it 8 times . It's brilliant for soothing sore piercings (wouldn't use on brand new ones, but after a week of healing it's brilliant, assuming no sensitivities to essential oils.)

(If it makes a difference I have multiple ear piercings, lobes done with a gun and the rest with a needle. Bold Street Piercing is good in Liverpool if you're that way inclined).

Using a needle at a tattoo place wasn’t any harder or more expensive though - she wanted DD (8 at the time) to confirm she wanted it then it was painless for DD to do. And it hasnt (7 years later) had any issues (and some of her friends have) and used titanium (and I think the picking of the earrings is just as important)
I agree though with aftercare

I fell for this too, OP. I booked DD8 into a local piercing place and DD took one look around and freaked. It's not a very child-friendly vibe and environment, is it? A woman who was waiting to get a piercing leaned her and said to me, "oh just take her to Claire's", which I did and it was absolutely fine. I've since learned that needles really aren't necessary for lobes.

DD recently got hers done with a needle. I said it was that or no piercing. Please don’t go to Claires!
The woman who did it in the piercing/tattoo place looked like she was scrubbing up for surgery beforehand. I’ve never seen them be that clean about it on the high street!

I had the gun and remember it being really painful. It also got infected, all my friends got infected ears (1980s) to some extent but probably zero hygiene.
I took DD to a piercing studio, it didn’t hurt and the aftercare was great, we had to go back and they were brilliant.

My teenager has finally decided to get her first ear piercing. Despite the fact that she is old enough to drive in my jurisdiction, she is not old enough to get her ears pierced by a professional piercer without a ridiculous amount of bureaucracy to the point that none will do it. Our only option is the piercing gun, operated possibly by a teen younger than my child.

we will instead be traveling over the border and getting them done in a different jurisdiction where piercers are allowed to pierce the ears of minors who are old enough to state they want their ears pieced and understand what that means. It’s absolutely worth the hassle of travel for me.

The biggest risk with a gun is cross contamination. It's impossible to fully sterilise them. Needles are sterile and single use. Yes, many people have no problems at Claires or wherever, but many people do. The amount of mopping up after them that professional piercers do is greater than you think.

At the end of the day, any body modification, even just getting your ears pierced should be taken seriously as it comes with risks, hence the stringent attitude of most professional piercer, and the fact that the tattoo and piercing industry have their own regulatory body - the APP - to keep up with best practise and changing regulations.

My DP used to do a first aid course every year too. Some people faint, vomit or have health conditions that need to be factored in.

People getting pierced at DPs clinic had to fill in about 20 questions before being pierced, and they reserve the right to refuse to do a piercing if it was likely to be problematic.

Recently things tightened up considerably after some modifications lead to a well known piercer and body mod specialist being prosecuted as there is a grey area around whether it strays into unlicensed cosmetic surgery territory.

It may just be lobes for your 8 year old, but it's livelihood and reputation for piercers, many of whom are doing it because of far deeper reasons than the cosmetic. And the last thing a professional piercer wants is for the person they are piercing to suffer unnecessarily, especially kids.

Of course every piercing comes with a risk, and some will go wrong regardless of how / where it's done - some people are just unlucky, and quite a few will disregard aftercare instructions and blame the piercer. Nothing is perfect but statistically needle piercings done correctly tend to have a better overall outcome.

Was with DP for 11 years, and heard plenty about it all.

My first year piercings were with a needle device that slid a sleeper earring into each ear. Second piercings 32 years later done with a gun which fired a stud in. Both times had no problems and holes are evenly placed. Didn't hurt either.