Piercing Her Ears

Claire's is great because you can get both done at the same time. It's very sterile. I wouldn't worry about that. The most important thing is that you keep them clean afterwards and clean them every day for like 3+ months.

Have fun!

We went to Claire's. They were very professional. My girls were 4 and 6 when they had it done. I was perfectly happy with Claire's. If all Claires' have the same standards (which, I really don't know), I'd have no problem recommending them.

I had both my girls done at Claire's, no problems at all.

I took my daughter to Claire's - they did a great job! I was a little leery at first as well, but everything turned out fine. Make sure you see them clean the ear then ask to see the "dot" they put on her ears before they do the piercing - just to make sure they're going to be even.

My Mom and I also had ours done at a shop in the mall years ago - probably Claire's - I don't remember, but we never had any problems. And I have two holes in each ear!!

Also, be sure she keeps up on the after-care! Alcohol them, etc. to keep them clean.

Good luck!!

I got my first hole from the pharmacy in the small town I grew up in when I was little. The second I went to the JC Penny salon and they did it. The third was at Wal mart. It's all about how you take care of it after it's done that makes the most difference.

Take her to a professional piercer at a local tattoo parlor. The girls at Claires have about 2 hours of training, no sanitation standards and the gun just forces the earring through the tissues. A professional with a needle are safer, cleaner is much better trained.

ETA: Just because the earrings are on sterile packages, doesn't mean Claires uses sanitary practices. Have you ever seen them clean the gun, which touches skin and sometimes blood, with anything but a quick wipe with an alcohol pad? Not trying to start a fight, just pointing that out.

I took my daughter to Claire's and it was great - no issues at all.
Many salons will also do it.

Poked in her body? I thought she was getting her ears pierced.

The studs they use are sterilized and sealed before they are shipped to the store. They open them in front of you so you know if they have been handled. The other huge upside is they can pierce both ears at the same time so it is over pretty quick.

Our pediatrician does it, but my girls REALLY wanted to go to Claires, so that's where I took them. They were 8 and 9 at the time, so I felt they were old enough to handle the after care. They did great, no problems or issues :)

Some pediatricians will pierce ears (our does). A few doctor's office's will, also you could call local jewelers, and you can always try tattoo/piercing parlors. In fact, they may do a better job, since that IS their main profession (body mod) so they will thoroughly understand how to correctly pierce an ear, and should have plenty of training. Of course, you would want to go to a safe, reputable place WHEREVER you choose.

Personally, my ears were pierced at wal-mart, back when they did that. Then, I got second holes pierced at Claire's and when i went to college I got my cartilage pierced at Claire's- I guess success there depends on how long the piercer has been working there...

my 3 (almost 4) year old is going to get her ears pierced soon. We are going to have my Dad's girlfriend do it. If she wasn't the one we would probably take her to the local tattoo shop. I don't want her associating the doctor with more pain and anguish than she already does!

-M.

My daughter got her first set done at Claire's and had no problem at all. She got her second set done there in August and I think she didn't play with them enough or clean them enough, because they got infected. But that has nothing to do with Claires. We just got them redone at Icing, which is Claire's for "older" girls, and they are great so far!

I never had a problem at Claire's, but I wouldn't have a cartilage piercing done there.
Many pediatricians do ear piercng, and many tattoo salons also do piercing.

I just took my 3 year old to get it done. I want to a fine jeweler that a lot of people in my neighborhood recommended. So far, at 1 week in - very good experience. And it only cost me $20 with the gemstone earrings.

just make sure the place you use will do both ears at once. I also recommend getting surgical steel posts in order to minimize the risks of a metal allergy.

the most sanitary place to get ears pierced is pediatrician or dermatologist, although not all doctors perform the procedure. i would probably agree with Missy F and opt to take her to a tattoo place, although i would be hesitant to take my young child in a place like that.

When I got my ears pierced (first one in 1981, second one in 1986) I had both done at my hair dressers. My daughter (12 years old) had hers done at Claires. I looked all over the place for someplace else to have her ears pierced and couldn't find one. All of the hair salons/hair dressers no longer will pierce ears because of liability costs. Claires as a national chain has decided they will foot the liability costs for piercing ears. And for the most part, they are the only place you can have piercing done.

I'm not sure I feel comfortable taking a young child into a tattoo place to have a piercing done, but it's nice to hear they will do piercings. And I've never heard of any pediatricians doing ear piercing around here.

As one poster said, the biggest issue is making sure you clean and turn the new earring posts twice a day and keep the earrings in for at least 8 weeks. When I had mine done, they had to be kept in for 10 weeks; I think that allows for a longer healing time, and I'm going to have my daughter wait the extra two weeks.

What I wasn't expecting is how EXPENSIVE ear piercing has gotten. When I had mine done, it cost me $10 for each piercing, and the cleaning solution was free. When my daughter had hers done at Claires, CZ 10k white gold post earrings, a bottle of antiseptic/cleaner, and 2 cards of earrings (on sale when ears were pierced) cost me $78--$50 of that was for the earrings! (and the $10 I paid WAS for 14k gold posts)

Thank goodness, they use a regular style earring nowadays instead of the real thick post they used to use when I had mine done, so at least my daughter can wear her starter earrings over and over again.