Where to get dd's ears pierced?

[ZenMamaJen]

DD will be getting her ears pierced in August after she turns 7. It's her choice, I've told her honestly what to expect and the care they will take.

Anyway, our ped doesn't do ear piercing, and the piercing shop I use won't pierce kids (city of Philadelphia prohibits it!). I do not want to go to the mall. Any other thoughts/ideas?

[GoBecGo]

Ask for a rec from the piercing shop? My mother didn't let me get mine done until i was 12, and took me to a reputable salon which had a piercing suite to have it done. I'm pretty sure my mother would have said that if the city prohibits it then it's not happening!

[ZenMamaJen]

Thanks!
I did ask them and they said the mall. Ha! And they are the most reputable piercing shop in the city.

It would be interesting to find out if shops at the mall in the city are allowed to pierce kids. Maybe I'll look into that, just to amuse myself.

[One_Girl]

We went to Claire's in the mall. They have had the same people working there since before I had my dd, so I knew they had a lot of experience. They also use the things that touch the kids ears once and swab with alcohol before. If the mall is your only choice it may not necessarily be a bad choice.

[abeliamama]

Merle Norman in our mall does it. I have been looking for a good place, too.

[hipumpkins]

Our local pharmacy did my DD's and the best part was that they do both ears at the same time. It was clean and quick and pretty cheap.
I recommend them all the time .

[claddaghmom]

You could buy a gun and do it yourself. It will still be a gun (tearing) but better than having someone else do it with a reused gun.

[Marimami]

I had this problem 6 months ago. I discovered a local kids-only urgent care place that offered ear piercing.

Like this.

[meemee]

yup. i had to do it at the mall too. i did not find any other options. and i researched a lot. the first time dd's ears got infected (not coz of the gun but coz her dad removed her earrings before it was time). this time its just fine.

[PoppyMama]

I would do it myself with sterile single use needles and put titanium jewelry if that was my only option beside the gun. Some plastic surgeons (or their nurses) will do it.

[pigpokey]

Any leads on good nickle-free piercing supplies? Is titanium allergy safe (do people get titanium allergies)?

[annethcz]

I went to a reputable tattoo/piercing salon and had DD1's ears pierced. It worked out well, but it was really expensive.

DD2 wants her ears pierced, and I'm having a hard time justifying spending $100+ to have it done at the same place as we had DD1's ears done. I'm leaning towards doing it myself instead of going to Claire's.

[MsVyky]

Originally Posted by pigpokey

Any leads on good nickle-free piercing supplies? Is titanium allergy safe (do people get titanium allergies)?

Titanium (if it's an implantable alloy- 6Al-4AV-Eli per ASTM standards), is considered 'hypoallergenic', as there is no incidence of nickel.

To the OP- I BEG you, do NOT take your daughter to the mall to have her ears pierced. There isa myriad of problems associated with piercing guns:

1. Risk of infection due to cross contamination- it is possible to contract viral and bacterial infections, including HIV and Hep C from contaminated equipment. The people who operate them have no cross contamination prevention training, and do not know how to properly sanitize the machine (And sanitizing isn't enough- look for a completely sterile set-up)

2. Damage to the tissue- excuse the gory analogy, but piercing guns use blunt force to insert the jewelry, it's like getting stabbed with a baseball bat.

You are in Philadelphia? If I could refer you to a studio in New Jersey is it possible that you could get yourself there?

[MsVyky]

posting to sub

[Rosegin]

If I couldn't find a reputable piercer to do it without a gun, I wouldn't have it done. There are SO many reasons not to use a gun for ear piercing.

http://tattoo.about.com/cs/psafety/a/piercing_guns.htm

[elmh23]

If the city of Philly won't let piercing shops work on children, I would find a reputable shop in a nearby city who would do it. I would not go to the mall or do it myself.

[claddaghmom]

Originally Posted by MsVyky

Titanium (if it's an implantable alloy- 6Al-4AV-Eli per ASTM standards), is considered 'hypoallergenic', as there is no incidence of nickel.

To the OP- I BEG you, do NOT take your daughter to the mall to have her ears pierced. There isa myriad of problems associated with piercing guns:

1. Risk of infection due to cross contamination- it is possible to contract viral and bacterial infections, including HIV and Hep C from contaminated equipment. The people who operate them have no cross contamination prevention training, and do not know how to properly sanitize the machine (And sanitizing isn't enough- look for a completely sterile set-up)

2. Damage to the tissue- excuse the gory analogy, but piercing guns use blunt force to insert the jewelry, it's like getting stabbed with a baseball bat.

You are in Philadelphia? If I could refer you to a studio in New Jersey is it possible that you could get yourself there?

to all of this....trust me, they do not clean those guns and they are not stored properly. They sit in an often unlocked, unsealed drawer collecting dust. The store manager told me to use one alcohol wipe and simply wipe down the top/sides of the gun. (As a teen taking microbio at the time...I was beyond grossed out lol).

Although I'm not entirely anti-gun due to the blunting/tearing effect.