Child ear piercing gone wrong - help me with what to say

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DD8 had ears pierced today at Claire’s. All went fine, until we got home and she said “my earring has fallen out” and after initially telling her that was impossible l looked, and sure enough there was no earring in right ear. She hadn’t fiddled with them in the 3 hours they had been pierced and we got home, and I found the earring itself in the hood of her coat, no sign of the back so assume it was loose from start and is still somewhere in the shopping centre.
she was very upset, obviously, as she’s 8 and was panicking due to some blood around hole. I called Claire’s and explained what happened, the lady I spoke to sounded very shocked and said she had never had this happen and she needed to call her senior. She called back to say they were very sorry, that it must have been a fault with the earring (though it looks fine) and all that can be done is to leave it a week to heal over and they will pierce it again and as an apology not make me pay again!

I was too shocked to really process it other than to say that I didn’t think she’d want to come back there given she’d been brave to get it done in the first place and was now very upset, and said I had to go as had a very upset little girl to sort out but Could someone senior get back to me. That didn’t happen by the end of the day.

what do I do now? Contact head office? I spent £68 on good quality piercing earrings and about £15 on the piercing aftercare which for me is a lot but it was a special occasion that has gone really wrong. I’d like a refund because I feel I’ve paid for a service that has been poor (be it the fault of the equipment, or staff not checking the back was secure). My daughter is upset she only has one earring (fair enough) and I will try and encourage her to get it re-done elsewhere but right now there’s no way she’d agree to being pierced again.

I don’t write very well- could someone help me word an email and what I should say/ask for? I mainly want to stop this happening to someone other child but I’d also like my money back, not just free new piercing which can’t be goof
for her ear after a week? ☹️

thank you X

She actually found the piercing itself fine- didn’t even flinch (she’s sadly a veteran of needles and pokes). So she skipped out the shop happy as Larry, I have no doubt she was ready for them to be pierced. But to have one fall out and be told she’ll need to only have one until next week and go through it again? Yes, she had a weep over that as I think most older girls would too.

OP it can happen. Ears can also get infected and close so it’s not an exact science. If your daughter is very upset it happened I think maybe you should have considered the potential risks before?

I get you are upset and your daughter is disappointed but your language is a bit catastrophising. Take a breath and reassure your daughter it can happen and she hasn’t done anything wrong.

I would go and ask for a refund for at least the one she no longer has pierced. Let it heal and take her to a piercer. My daughter had no end of problems with her ears when Claire’s pierced them. I ended up going to a tattoo shop. They are usually not as keen to piece children’s ears though. She had them done with a needle there and had labrets in her ears instead of studs. They healed quickly and was no way near as painful for her. Also Claire’s overpriced after care is crap. Try prontolind.

Totally agree with this. I tell my daughter she can have it done in the summer holidays between leaving primary and starting secondary school, but even then I’m not keen. I hate seeing earrings in little girls.

I don’t think I’ve catastrophised- I’ve tried to be calm and reassured her and just want help to word how to ask for a refund in place of it being repierced in a week which clearly isn’t safe.

I took my then 10yr old daughter to a piercer at a tattoo parlor as I was adamant I wanted them done with a needle not a gun. It cost £25.

So my follow on advice in your case is that I would look for a decent tattoo parlor/piercer open tomorrow and ask them to have a look. We went back to the our parlour when my daughter couldn't get an earring as she was swimming for club at the time and took her earrings out a lot. The piercer flushed her "holes" through painlessly. I'm sure they can have a look and put some new earrings in.

I respect your opinion, for me there’s not much difference between nearly 9 and 11 in terms of “little” girls

That is just appealing advise.

Why people think their home remedies are better advice than advice from experiences professional piercers who have done this for decades is beyond me

I think I'd just explain it as you have here- you've spent a lot of money expecting a service that unfortunately went wrong and you will be needing a refund. A week isn't enough time to let it heal, and you would like more time for your daughters ear to recover before you get it done again. (Don't need to tell them that it will be elsewhere before you get your refund) Poor thing that would have been very disappointing for her.

Ask Google Gemini or chat gpt to create an email for you stating your complaint and requesting a refund.
Then you can edit it how you like before sending to Claires.

I think take the other one out, let them heal and try again in a few months time.

Another story about Claire's being shit: when I was a student, I went there to get a stud in the cartilage at the top of my ear, and they used one of those little piercing guns that's preloaded with a stud. I didn't realise at the time that guns could shatter your cartilage! Anyhoo, the second they did the piercing, the stone (a clear crystal) fell out of the earring. They didn't know what to do, so they just gave me one of their piercing guns with another earring in it to take home, and said "keep the first stud in for a year then swap them and throw the gun away". It's never really healed properly and I can't wear anything in it without it really hurting and burning

Take the other one out and let them heal then take her to a proper piercing studio to get them redone. if claires have confirmed the warring was faulty just request a refund.

Take pictures and persue your refund in the week.

More pressingly, find a proper piercer open tomorrow, travel if necessary and get it redone ASAP, otherwise you may aswell take the other one out and wait a good few months to have another go.

I’m speaking from the stone ages, but when I got my ears pierced (aged about 13) I must have jumped when they pierced one ear, as they were obviously not level. We went back the next day and they agreed they weren’t level and re-pierced one ear in a better location. This was in a pharmacy in the mid 90s. I’m curious why it would be more complex now.

Sorry, SIXTY-EIGHT QUID to have ears pierced with a gun in the middle of a shop?

DD had hers done last year. Fifty quid for both lobes in a private studio with sterile needles and hypoallergenic flat-back studs.

I’m absolutely stunned. I assumed the only reason anyone went to Claire’s was because it was cheaper than a professional piercing studio.

Whenever she’s old enough to not fiddle with the earrings till the back falls off, and to not cry when you try and put it back in

I would tell them you want a full refund and then go to a proper piercing place that uses a needle and not a gun (a decent tattoo place normally have good body piercers).

She didn’t fiddle with it 🙄

Claire’s is awful. Piercings should only ever be done with a needle. I’d leave it for now, try and get a refund from Claire’s and then go to a UKAPP piercer when she’s ready. I promise needles hurt way less than those devices that Claire’s use.

How does an 8 year old play with earrings ? Arnt you frightened they will get caught and ripped ?

My cartilage piercing took years to heal. It was done at a proper piercing studio with a titanium post and a gold stud. It kept getting crusty and sore and the piercer couldn’t work out why. It only healed when I changed the stud from gold to titanium. It makes no sense as it still has the same post and I wear gold earrings in my lobe piercings but it’s now healed. I’m not sure I’d trust it not to heal over if I took it out but I’ve no plans to do that.

Eight is fine to get ears pierced. Mumsnet is just weird about it.

Kids of that age fiddle. They jump about. They knock their heads regularly. They run around and roll about with their friends. They’re rough taking their clothes on and off.

How you can expect a child of 8 to not do anything like that for 6 weeks (or however long Claire’s recommended keeping them in for) to ensure the earring is 100% protected at all times is madness. Completely unrealistic and impractical.

This type of thing so often happens when young children get their ears pierced.

Im sorry your DD is distressed but you need to have a plan for these situations if you want her ears pierced at this age.

What does that have to do with anything? Kids do things that their parents havent done all the time. Maybe OP just never wanted hers done, her daughter did. Not really a big mystery.

It's very common over here in Ireland for little girls to get their ears pierced either before or just after their First Holy Communion so that's around 7 or 8 years of age

Your poor daughter how awful for you both but yeah Claire's is really not the place, the staff aren't trained & as you now know they use those awful guns. which are just barbaric. Take everyones advice & get a full refund, that's a shocking amount of money to spend for sub par service & if & when your daughter wants to retry go to a professional piercer, they're so gentle in comparison