Best place to get ears pierced

[ICantFindAFreeNickName]

My DD is going to get her ears pierced & I wondered where is the best place to go.

They seem to do them at Claires, Debenhams, Beauty Salons, Hairdressers, Tatoo & Piercing parlour.

I think the guy in the tatoo parlour place is proably most experienced, but to be honest just looking in his shop scares me, so I think it might be too much for my DD (or give her ideas about tatoos when she is older!).

The girls in Claires look very young & I doubt they have had much training, but it's a nice safe happy place for my DD.

Has anyone got any experience / suggestions.

bumping so I can see comments

I asked this a little while ago and the answer was that tatoo parlour. They use a gun at Claires that can do more damage than good, I wouldn't take my dd there. I still haven't taken dd1, partly because I'd prefer to go to a jewellers or beauty place, but can't find anywhere that does it.

Don't bother with Claire's - go to a tattooist/piercer. You can look at the equipment and judge how clean everything is...they know what they are doing.

That's funny, my local tattoo parlour said that they can't legally ear pierce people under 18. Some complicated reason, I had the impression it came down to them being primarily a tattoo place.

Tattoo guy recommended a local beauty clinic which does it, I feel okay about them -- I would prefer a local place, and probably a gun not a needle, anyway.

My local piercer did my then fifteen year old's ear with me present but would not have done any other part of the body until 18.

needle much better - hurts less and is more hygienic than a gun

Our local Claire's was great.

Two assistants, two guns - so both ears done at the same time so no backing out of it.

Young girls yes, but very kind and put my DD at ease. She was 7 at the time.

the ear?

Non gruesome piece which explains why I would prefer a needle to a gun every time. Some of the literature out there about guns is not sutiable for lunchtime reading.

And why I would not go to Claire's accessories to have my skin punctured.

Lots of my DD's friends got infections from having ears pierced at Claires with lots of cases of the earring becoming lodged in the ear lobe requiring GP intervention. GP visit costs 60 euro in Ireland so, as well as being very sore for the child, was costly for the parent!

My DD wanted hers done but I phoned an ear piercing place & they won't do them till she's 12 and the lady advised me categorically not to go to a place that used a gun due to the risk of infection (various components of the gun cannot be properly sterilised) and also the trauma caused to the ear due to a blunt earring being shot into the ear lobe.