Ear piercing before "the Gun" was invented

[Guest]

Thanks for your story Louise.
She had her ears done on the first day she went to a new childminders, whose daughter was getting a second set (Mum had about 4 per ear and each daughter was done once) and she watched it and my wife gave her the choice, after a bit of thought she said OK and was very good about it.
Our niece had hers done when she was 4 back in 1988, not her choice she was taken to have them done one day by her Mum who had said when she was 2 that she wanted her to have studs. We were told she screamed, and was told by her boyfriend at the time that she was cruel, I agreed!
I really don't go along with taking younsters and more especially babies to have their ears pierced. I have seen babies in Claires being restrained forcibly and they are screaming their heads off. I see you work in Claires, so you must have seen that happening, do you do ear piercing yourself and what is the training given? Can you sense when the child does not want to have her ears pierced.

So if her daughters ear were getting double pierced, how old were they at the time?
How many piercing do they have now
How many piercings does your daughter and neice have now?

Alex

[Guest]

So if her daughters ear were getting double pierced, how old were they at the time?
How many piercing do they have now
How many piercings does your daughter and neice have now?

Alex

Hello Alex,
My daughter was 9 at the time, so her daughter getting double pierced must have been 8, the younger one must have been 4 or 5 at the time
(she wasn't getting a double)
My daughter still only has one per ear, she did talk about getting them done again a year or so ago, but my wife said no and there was no argument, just lately she hasn't even been wearing any earrings at all. She would rather buy clothes than earrings and still only has a few pairs, she's not really into big showy earrings. The oler she gets though, I guess it will come up again and I hope I am there to see it.
My neice is now 23 and had hers double pierced about 3 years ago along with her Mum. I don't know who pierced her mum's (my sister-in-law) originally back around 1975 but they were terribly positioned - not even in the middle of her lobes. My wife's are positioned perfectly, right in the middle.
What is your interest Alex? Just fascinated by ear-piercing, or by sleepers or studs?

[Louise P]

PaulM,
If I remember correctly there was two other girls with pierced ears in my class, one of which was my best friend Elaine. I remember going to school that first day after my ears were pierced with my hair tied back so that everyone could see my new earrings, it was a great feeling. Another friend of mine had her ears pierced a few weeks after me also for her 7th birthday.
By the time me and classmates had taken our 11+ exam I would say all but about 4-5 girls had their ears pierced and I remember that 2 of those girls had them done as a reward for passing the 11+ exam.
When we went up to Grammer School we were not permitted to wear earrings at school so any girl that did not have their ears already done were not able to get them done until they finished normal Grammer School at 16. Once we went up into the six form we were then allowed to wear one pair of earrings but they had to be plain gold ball studs (basically the piercing studs) nothing else was permitted.
My mum finally got her ears pierced last year at the age of 59, ironically it was my birthday present to her. She had been talking about having her ears pierced so she could wear earrings at my wedding so with her birthday approaching I suggested that I would pay for her to have her ears pierced, Mum agreed and we went down to the Claires where I work so she could have them done. Mum could not believe how painless the piercing was and now you never see her with earrings in her ears.
Yes, I do piercing nearly every day, it is terrible when we have to pierce a childs ears against their will at a parents request but most of the time children leave Claires smiling happy with their newly pierced ears. All the staff at Claires are trained in all aspects of ear piercing.

[alex170170]

What is your interest Alex? Just fascinated by ear-piercing, or by sleepers or studs?

~Pierced ears are great, because if you cut you lobe by accident
blood just pours out, but when pierced nothing.~

The more piercings the better, just the look of a row of studs
is great.

Nice to hear of your childminder's daughter getting double pierced
ears at age eight.

Would be intreasting to know the youngest person Louise P
has double pierced!!


Alex

[Louise P]

Would be intreasting to know the youngest person Louise P
has double pierced!!

Alex,
I am not really sure but I would guess about 3 years old would be the youngest I have ever double pierced but I don't think this ia a good idea because as the child grows the positioning sometimes changes and studs finish up being in the wrong place on the lobes.

[alex170170]

Would be intreasting to know the youngest person Louise P
has double pierced!!

Alex,
I am not really sure but I would guess about 3 years old would be the youngest I have ever double pierced but I don't think this ia a good idea because as the child grows the positioning sometimes changes and studs finish up being in the wrong place on the lobes.

Awesome, two in each ear is so cool, the way you say 'not really
sure' would suggest that double piercing is a commom thing
with younger people.

As for the studs migrating, what a good excuse for more studs
later in life!!

[Guest]

!! I have a small collection of ear piercing instruments dating back certainly to the 50s & 60s and possibly earlier but I haven’t been able to confirm this.
Ian

Hi Ian, I'm guessing it's you who is bidding on the vintage french ear piercing device, what a strange piece of kit, looks like an instrument of torture. Hope you are successful.

And thanks Louise for your story about your Mum - did you get to pierce her ears and so coming full circle - she took you to have yours done and she came to your shop to have hers done, a special day for her that she made for you years earlier.

Paul

[Akshun]

!! I have a small collection of ear piercing instruments dating back certainly to the 50s & 60s and possibly earlier but I haven’t been able to confirm this.
Ian

Hi Ian, I'm guessing it's you who is bidding on the vintage french ear piercing device, what a strange piece of kit, looks like an instrument of torture. Hope you are successful.

And thanks Louise for your story about your Mum - did you get to pierce her ears and so coming full circle - she took you to have yours done and she came to your shop to have hers done, a special day for her that she made for you years earlier.

Paul

Someone has read all the old messages! Guilty as charged, Paul. I have missed out on one or two other devices which looked EVEN more scary. We'll see how the bidding goes.

The posts from Louise on this and other threads always make interesting reading. Thanks.

Ian

[Louise P]

Paul,
I didn't actually do the ear piercing myself as I wasn't working that day but I got to watch and hold Mums hand as the studs went in.
Since Alex asked about girls having doubles done I have taken particular notice of what age most girls are coming in for their 2nd pair of studs and it seems to be between age 10 to 12 that is the most popular. So it seems girls are having their doubles done younger.

[Thinking of it]

Louise,are these holes in the ears made by the piercing studs perment.Thinking of getting mind done.Wondering what the pros and cons are.What sort of gun do you use.Understand there are different types.What well this mean to the person pierced.

[Louise P]

Louise,are these holes in the ears made by the piercing studs perment.Thinking of getting mind done.Wondering what the pros and cons are.What sort of gun do you use.Understand there are different types.What well this mean to the person pierced.[/quote

If you keep the studs in your ears for a long time say 6-12 months then the holes will become permanent but this varies form person to person.
As for pros and cons, I can think of quite a few pros not so many cons.
The pros are being able to wear any type of earring easily and without discomfort and the variety of earring available for pierced ears are much greater than clip on or magnetic earrings.
I guess the main cons are actually having your ears pierced i.e. slight discomfort as the studs go in and having to wait 6 weeks before you can remove the piercing studs.
In Claires we used two different types of ear piercing gun, the Studex System 75 and the Studex Universal Piercing System.
System 75 is a more modern system and is used in Claires to insert solid gold piercing studs this system uses the operators hand pressure to push the stud through the ear. The Universal system is used in Claires to insert the cheaper plated and steel studs this system uses a spring load action to push the stud through the ear.
System 75 tends to cause less discomfort for the client than the Universal
system but both sytems are very good. I personally have only ever been pierced with a spring loaded gun like the Studex Universal.
Don't just think of it, do it, you will not regret it. I have never come accross anybody who has regretted having their ears pierced.

[Thinking of it]

Thanks Louise for that information.I shall be getting my ears pierced on my birthday next month.I wiil ask first what system they use.I was talking to a friend five minutes ago and she said I should have then done by the spring gun as the studs are thicker and the larger hole heals better and there is less difficulty fitting studs,especially sleepers.She said hers friends also agree with this.What do you think.

[Louise P]

Your friends are right, the Universal system we use at Claires uses studs with larger diameter stems and subsequently makes a bigger hole in your lobe. At Claires we recommend a 6 week healing period for both systems. I have had my ears pierced with the universal system a total of four times in each earlobe over the years and every time my ears have healed really well with no problems and the piercing studs have felt as if they could come out after only about 3-4 weeks however I always kept them for the full 6 weeks just in case I was wrong.
When I pierced my husband's ears with the same system his took the full 6 weeks to heal and even now 2 years on he has to wear earrings all the time otherwise his holes start to close. I even put his original piercing studs back in every night before we go to bed that keeps his holes nice and free, I on the other hand can go without wearing any earrings for weeks and I have problems with the holes closing.
The main thing is to choose a reputable clean establishment to have your ears pierced and once pierced ensure the studs are cleaned and rotated at least twice a day during the 6 week healing period.
Why not have your ears pierced now so your ears will be just about healed in time for your birthday then you can wear some different earrings which might have been given to you as a birhday gift.

[Thinking of it]

Thanks Louise for all the information. If you were to have it done tomorrow what size studs would you use.Large or small.I am going to follow you on this.Thanks.

[animallover15]

My Mother peirced my ears herself with a needle and an ice cube when I was 5 years old...It wasn't painful at all!