Piercing Children’s Earlobes

In presumably every culture and society, there is a desire from parents to adorn the ears of their children. As a professional piercing studio, a huge part of our daily work is educating our clients to help them make informed decisions. This is why we do not shy away when we are asked, whether we pierce your children’s ears. On the contrary; we are enthusiastic and honoured to have been chosen by you to pierce your child’s ears as long as they are of the age of 8 or older with a parent/ legal guardian present. The reason for this age limit is that as a professional piercing studio we believe in informed consent. We cannot make a choice for your child that involves piercing their ears simply because we think it would be nice. Nonetheless, piercing a child’s ears can be one of the most rewarding moments of our work. We are aware of the privilege and responsibility to get your kid started the right way: with a safe piercing in addition to using high quality implant-grade jewellery in a professional and calm environment focusing on an experience that will let them leave with a smile.

In recent years, a lot has been done within the piercing industry to educate parents about the risks and dangers surrounding piercing guns which unfortunately are still used by high street shops and low quality piercing studios. The Association of Professional Piercers (APP) say, “While piercing guns may seem to be a quick, easy and convenient way of creating holes, they have major drawbacks in terms of sterility, tissue damage and inappropriate jewellery design”.

The apparatus, which is nowadays used in order to pierce ears and noses, was never intended for this use. It originates from the practice of putting tags into the ears of cattle. From this procedure to piercing children’s ears on the high street, not much has changed. This brings several risks with it that no professional piercing studio should ever expose their clients to.

A piercing gun ‘shoots’ a stud through the earlobe and cartilage by using nothing else than blunt force. The stud does not have a sharp or pointed end. This force leads to a shattering of the affected cartilage, which then can lead to a piercing that never truly heals and constantly ‘plays up’ in addition to potential visible scarring of the piercing site.
More often than not, the jewellery used in piercing guns comes with a so-called ‘butterfly back’, which in most cases is put on way too tight. This does not allow for swelling of the area, which is usually quite extensive due to the trauma cause by the blunt force of the piercing. Furthermore, the metal used often oxidises through contact with sweat and other body fluids, potentially leaving a permanent mark.
Piercing guns cannot be sterilised. The reason for this is that they are made of plastic. A proper sterilisation procedure utilises pressure and heat, and being made from plastic will lead to melting of the piercing gun. The difference between sterilisation and disinfection is simple: disinfection reduces the presence of bacteria and viruses to the lowest amount possible, however this STILL leaves bacteria and viruses behind. Sterilisation ensures the absolute absence of any bacteria, viruses or other pathogens. A professional piercing studio will always work with sterile, single use tools. Feel free to ask us about our procedure.
Not being able to endure sterilisation procedures, a piercing gun is usually just wiped with alcohol and then reused on the next customer. Wiping the surface of a piercing gun is by far not enough to guarantee a safe and clean procedure and poses a huge risk of cross contamination.
It is fair to assume that staff who are using piercing guns are not properly trained when it comes to areas such as aseptic technique, cross contamination or bloodborne pathogens. A professional piercing studio ensures that all staff are constantly undergoing training in these areas and will be happy to provide documentation.

How do you pierce children's earlobes?

We pierce your child the same way we pierce every other piercing; by using only sterile, implant grade body jewellery and sterile, single use needles in order to provide your child with the safest procedure possible. We do not believe that a piercing gun can be used safely so you will never catch us using one.

In most cases, the jewellery used will be a stud with a flat back called a labret. This prevents the jewellery from digging into your child’s neck should they sleep on it as well as any hair getting trapped in the body jewellery.

On top of that, we will take our time to make sure that your child will be as comfortable as possible, explaining everything if that is wanted and answering all questions. After all, a positive experience is what will help your child to be as calm as possible.

We strongly recommend a consultation

We are aware that a piercing is very likely to be the first decision a child makes about their own body. This is why we want to be able to help and guide your child together with you through this experience. One of the main factors that contributes to this is trust and nothing could be better than taking some time to get to know each other in a relaxed environment. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you and your child book a consultation with us before making the decision to get pierced. This will provide you with a chance of getting to know the studio and all members of staff as well as getting answers to all possible questions. Always remember: there are no silly questions.

This chance of consulting the piercer before making an appointment often helps the child and the parent / legal guardian to make a definite decision.

Does it hurt?

We have a moral obligation to be honest when asked questions like these. Yes, after all we are piercing skin. But it is in no way worse than getting a shot at your GP. And usually quicker.

Nonetheless, since informed consent is the only basis that we can work on we will take a “no” seriously. That means that should your child back out of the piercing - even at the last minute - then we will accept that without question. Forcing someone to get a piercing done is only one thing: traumatising. For the parent, the legal guardian, the piercer and especially for the child. This might mean that the studio has “lost” an appointment slot, but we would rather stop, wait and then deliver the best experience possible than force someone into it. In the worst case scenario, we will either reschedule your appointment or find another solution that will leave everyone happy.

Questions?

If you have any further questions that have not been answered in this text, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at hello@roninbodyarts.co.uk .