Children's Earlobes
Do you pierce with a gun or a needle? The short answer to this is that we will always pierce with a single use hollow needle and will never use a gun to perform any piercing. This is one of our most asked questions, so much so that we have decided to provide you, the client, with as much information as possible as to why you should not be pierced with a gun. For many years, the most common, and generally the only way to get your ears pierced, was by way of the piercing gun. Over the years through research, experience and collaborations within the medical field as well, we've learned as a whole that the piercing gun creates more problems than not. While it is an inexpensive and quick way to adorn your ears, in it's basic form, the piercing gun uses spring loaded tension to force a blunt piece of jewelry through your tissue. This creates a large amount of trauma to the surrounding areas by forcing the tissue to the side rather than actually piercing through, causing scarring, irritation and other complications in the healing process. Here are a few reasons why this is unsafe and should be avoided as much as possible.
1) Using blunt force on any part of the body creates an excessive amount of trauma to the area. While the earlobe is generally way more fleshy and fatty than say cartilage, the trauma caused by the gun can create issues in the healing due to the damage of the tissue surrounding the channel that forms.
2) There is absolutely no way to sterilize a piercing gun. They may sanitize and disinfect; however, there will always be bacteria left on the mechanism after each client. The only way to sterilize (kill all bacteria) would be to heat to approximately 273 degrees Fahrenheit via the means of an autoclave. If you try to sterilize a piercing gun, the plastic would melt and render the item useless. What this means is SEVERE cross contamination and the very possible transmission of Hepatitis among other diseases.
3) You will NEVER find suitable implant grade jewelry that is used for piercings done with a gun. The quality of jewelry is one of the most important pieces of information you need to know as this is what will be in your child's body.
(Please check our Jewelry Info section for more information on what materials you should looking to be pierced with).
4) The individuals doing your piercing at a mall kiosk have had 30 minutes of training and are usually kids themselves. Most reputable professional piercers have had rigorous training and realize that this is not "just an earlobe piercing."
With All That Being Said YES We Would Love To Pierce Your Child's Earlobe(s)!
REQUIREMENTS FOR CHILDREN'S EARLOBE PIERCINGS
We do have restrictions which are here to benefit the child and their well being as health and safety are our number one concern above all else. The child must be completely coherent and understanding of the process and able to tell our staff explicitly that they want the piercing. We do not force any procedure on anyone at any time and this is no exception. If the child plays sports we will most likely say no depending on the sport/activity they are involved with. We absolutely recommend/require a short 10-15 minute consultation with the parent and child to make sure all of these items are discussed and to make sure we are comfortable knowing that the child wants the procedure.
If there are any questions or possible concerns about this information please contact us before booking your appointment.
5 years old
Any photo ID with child's name*
Verifies relationship of parent and child**
Any U.S state or government issued ID
Child's Minimum Age
Parent ID
Birth Certificate
Child ID
*Acceptable forms of ID for minors are passport, Military ID, Student ID (must have a recognizable photo with name together).
*For children as young as 5, we understand finding photo IDs may be difficult. An option includes taking your child to the DMV and obtaining a state issued ID.
*Parent/Legal Guardian must be present at time of appointment.
**In special cases having to do with guardianship please contact us and we will discuss the situation with you.