Ear piercing guidance, please... - Page 3

[Panserbjorne]

I missed so much!  So glad it went well!  Yes, needle piercings are WAY different than gun piercings!  So happy she's doing so well.

[Thalia the Muse]

Very cute!

[sunnysandiegan]

Her ears look perfect! Like she has had her piercings for years, not days. She is so thrilled to have pierced ears!!!

Apparently, she has been educating her peers about needle piercings vs gun piercings, too. LOL She also polled her friends. Everyone who has pierced ears got them pierced via a gun. (They are only lobe piercings and everyone I know got their lobes pierced with guns, too.) However, several of them used saline soaks/irrigations instead of the commercially prepared stuff (aftercare pack at Claire's??) or hydrogen peroxide.

[Ella Enchanted]

I know I'm a bit late to the game, but some states have extremely stringent guidelines on who's allowed to give piercings.  Also not all members of the AAP are piercers, yet still are members.  It's not a government-sactioned or sponsored organization, but rather one that is self-governed by a group of piercers that not all piercers acknowledge.  It can be hard for a lot of people to accept as the authority an organization started by a core group of individuals who decided to take charge and start up an organization that does make money.  A good friend of my husband's is a member, and he's only a member because the "find a member" search basically serves as a form of advertising, and so he gets clients he wouldn't otherwise get.  For California, the qualifications to be a member of the AAP are no more stringent than to be legally allowed to pierce ears at Claire's.  Regardless of where piercing is done, the government sets a minimum set of qualifications, and the AAP's are no higher, but its members can and do charge more for the privilege of of claiming membership.  My husband's friend charges $120 to pierce using the same disposable guns used at mall stores, and $150 to piece with needles.

Among all my friends, I've got the fewest piercings, 4.  Most of my friends consider it a serious art, and the only reason some of them go to pricier places is for the overall experience and because they regularly get tattoos done by the people who pierce ears, and so have the camaraderie with the one who will do the piercings (plus my husband's friend does it for friends at cost plus a six pack).  No one's got a problem with mall shops.

[Arduinna]

Glad she likes them. Personally I can't sleep in CBRs at all, my daughter got hers pierced with them because they do allow easier cleaning but she was over 18 anyway. I much much prefer sleeping in labrets, I wear the neometal threadless labrets all the time they are the most comfortable earrings I've ever had to sleep in.

[Arduinna]

Originally Posted by sunnysandiegan 

My DD really wants purple hoops. I was quoted $105 for the piercing and earrings that night. The piercing is $25, so that leaves $80 on earrings. That is way too high for something she doesn't like or want. Sure, I can buy her purple hoops (captive bead rings) for after the 8 week period, but what about the $80 earrings??? Ugh.

The price for those earrings, even if they are anatometal anodized titanium is easily 4x what you can buy a pair for online. I have a whole assortment of their colored CBRs they retail online for 8 dollars a piece.

[sunsetdancer]

Do you mind me asking how much the piercing did cost?  I was quoted about $50 for ear lobe piercing for my daughter and that was including the earrings.  I live in the midwest so things are cheaper here.

[sunnysandiegan]

The piercing was $25 and earrings are additional at this place. The earrings she chose were $20 each plus tax (anodized titanium CBR), which is on the low end for this place. They only use titanium or LVM surgical grade stainless steel (internally threaded) with fresh piercings.