piercing and boys

[marc]

wow 14 is a bit young 4 nipple piercings. i have one and as a bloke it is seriosuly painful i guess hes parents didnt no about this. That would of been a dream for me, to get that kind of thing done at that age. but my parents were very strict, even with earrings. i remember in the changing room in P.e. some boy (only 15) had a tattoo done covering his right arm. I was in total disbelief, and since then i wanted one every dya since.

a warning for parents who stop their sons getting ear piercings, they go behind your back and do sumthin that u cant see, trust me ive been there

[Helen2]

WTF,
I take your point but accidents can happen at any age. At least with Adam his ears have got 3 months to heal properly before he starts the rough and tumble of school. In James's year at school I would say all but about 2 or 3 girls have got their ears pierced at least once and about 5 boys have pierced ears, I haven't seen any of them with ripped ears. I thinks so long as they wear studs not hoops or dangles then I don't see much danger.
There is no doubt it is a difficult decision knowing when to have your childs ears pierced. I got a bit upset when I realized that James had to sit out PE for 6 weeks and I know Tracie was upset yesterday when Adam cried during the piercing of his ears.
On refelction Tracie and I are both happy with the decisions we have made as are James and Adam.

[Guest]

I personally think earrings just look good, period, doesnt matter if its a male or female at all.

I had my left ear pierced at 16 (im 33 now) then at 19 I added an earring to my right ear to make the pair, at the time I took some stick from my mates as this wasnt the 'done thing' at the time, but people got used to it and a couple of years later I added a 2nd earring in each ear, by the time I was 25 I had 3 in each ear and last year I got my 4th pair done in my lobes and about 3 weeks ago I had the tops of both ears pierced.

I also have a nose stud and pierced navel and nipples, but of all the piercings my ears are my favorite. I think its great that some of you encourage your younger sons to wear earrings at an early age, I think this is a great move as it then gives them the option of having the jewellery, if they dont like it at a later date the earrings are easily removed, but this way at least they have a choice, id have loved to have worn earrings at a younger age and I think by the time I was about 10 or 11 I used to be jealous of the girls in my class at school when they used to come in with their newly pierced ears.

When I had my ear done at 16 I got into trouble with my parents and after a lot of arguments the earring stayed, but it certainly wasnt easy at the time and I think its great attitudes and changing, after all, men can wear, watches, rings, chains etc, so why not earrings.

[louise P]

Helen,
It is a shame Adam had to have his ears pierced individually, we try and ensure both ears are done together when the customer is Adams age. Unfortunately during the week Claires have less staff on duty so simultaneous piercing is not always possible.
I have to say we pierce a lot of children around aged 4. Lots of mothers seem keen to have their children's ears pierced before they start school for the first time, I guess it avoids any conflict with the schools safety rules.
Personnally I think 4 is the minimum age for ear piercing, although Claires will pierce much younger children, so as one of their employees I have to pierce much younger kids from time to time.
I am sure Adams studs look great, just up to Tracie now to keep his ears clean and rotate the studs regularly. His holes will be nicely healed come September when he starts school.

[Nic]

My opinion is that boys as well as girls should have their ears pierced at young age. Then you can follow the healing much better.
Many of the people on this site agree I think.
I had both my ears pierced as a boy when I was 20 and still love the look. Before that I wanted it already for a long time but my parents wouldn't let me.
It is not a problem anymore for a men or boy having his both ears pierced. Even wearing studs, hoops or dangling earrings.
Best is to choose earrings that fit.

[Helen2]

Can't believe its already over 3 weeks since Brian and James had their ears pierced. I took time to have a good look at their lobes last night when I cleaned them, James's ears look absolutely perfect no swelling and his studs move really freely in the holes. Brian's are not doing quite so well, his studs are not so free in the holes and his lobes are still a bit swollen. I took the backs off his studs and gave his ears a good clean, dabbed a bit Savlon on where the stems come through before putting the backs back on. Brian says his ears are not sore or anything. Maybe thirty somethings take a little bit longer to heal than eight year olds.

[debby]

I got my ears pierced about 3 months ago and all ive worn are pearl studs. I usually forget about them and end up sleeping in them....my holes look really big and i am worried. i really dont want to have two massive holes glaring at me....what to i do to shrink these holes?? Please respond ASAP!!

[Guest]

I got my ears pierced about 3 months ago and all ive worn are pearl studs. I usually forget about them and end up sleeping in them....my holes look really big and i am worried. i really dont want to have two massive holes glaring at me....what to i do to shrink these holes?? Please respond ASAP!!

Make sure u get the smallest posts u can find. (I.e. the bit that goes in ur ear is very small in diameter. that way the piercing will heal aroung it, until it shrinks to that size. I have my ear pierced, and it was done with a BCR wich was bout 3mm. I shrank it to 1mm using a smaller stud.

[louise P]

Debbie,
I'm guessing that the pearl studs that you are wearing are the studs you were pierced with. The stem diameter of the piercing stud is larger than the earrings you normally buy. I would suggest buying a pair of sleepers to wear for a while, the holes will soon close up. Be careful not to let the holes close up too much, if you have only had them pierced for 3 months the holes in your lobes will soon close up. I would recommend still wearing your piercing studs some of the time maybe wearing sleepers at night and studs during the day or the other way around whatever you find most comfortable with. At Claires we recommend the clients wear some form of post earring for at least the first six months after piercing and for the younger ones its best if they wear some form of earring all the time.
Helen,
Don't worry about Brian's ears just sounds like his ears are taking a little bit longer to get used to the studs. Make sure you keep them clean and also ensure the back is not pushed onto the stem too far. The back should sit right at the end of the stem allowing air to get to the piercing site. Sounds like James's ears are healing well, will you be taking Brian and James back to Claires after 6 weeks to have them checked as we recommend.
I think your experience with Brian and James seems to back up the argument for ear piercing at a younger age rather than waiting for adulthood. The way things are going I think in the future most children male and female will have their ears pierced by the age of about 10. Then adults have the option to wear earrings if and when they want. After all I am sure Brian would have prefered to have had his ears pierced at James or Adams age rather than sitting in the window of a Claires shop surrounded by people watching him as he get his ears pierced.

[Andrew_P]

Im 36 and I have 3 earrings in each lobe, my wife is 35 and she has hers ears pierced 10 times in each ear, my 10 year old daughter has 2 in each lobe and now wants her 3rd set and my 8 year old son had both his ears pierced when he was 6, he also now wants to get his 2nd holes and has also asked to get the top of his ear pierced at the same time.

We agreed our daughter can get her 3rd set of pierceings at the beginning of the school summer holidays and my wife and I have decided to let our son get his 2nd set of earrings on the same day, allthough we havnt told him yet, we have decided against letting him get a cartlidge pierceing for now as its more work to look after and maybe should be left till he is a bit older.

My son even at 8 years old is very aware of fashion and a year or so ago he asked for some diamond style earrings like David Beckham wears, we got them for his birthday and he now has 4 pairs of earrings, 2 pairs of hoops, his piercing studs and the beckham style ones. He removes his earrings himself for bed everynight on school nights and as soon as he comes in from school he puts his own earrings in himself and he wears earrings all weekend. He has shown to be very responsible with this and so we are allowing him a 2nd pair. My daughter got her 2nd pair at 8 years old also and she was able to clean them every night and look after them herself, showing if kids are shown what to do and if there is some reward, ie, nice earrings, they can be very responsible.

I personally am all for boys and girls getting ear piercings at a young age as I think it makes things easier in the long run and they also appreciate it.

[Helen2]

Just got back from visiting my sister, its just over a week since Adam had his ears pierced. Tracie said Adam had a bit of trouble sleeping the first night after his ears were pierced he complained his ears were throbbing but Tracie gave him a cuddle and he went off to sleep and the next day everything was fine and there has been no problems since. It amazes me that children dont seem to bothered by wearing the studs in bed. Adam has never complained and neither has James however, brian finds the studs uncomfortable when trying to sleep and I know I cant sleep with earring in, not even the plain studs which I wear in my 2nd holes.

[Marc]

Just wondering here... what happens once you get bored of wearing earring? Will you have 'obvious looking' holes on your ear?

[Guest]

all 3 of my children have had their ears pierced as infants, 2 sons and 1 daughter in the middle. when i got the oldest son done the piercer was surprised i wanted to do both. now hes 12 and my daughters 11 they have just got their toungues pierced along with me and my husband 3 weeks ago. the piercing studio used a flexible teflon bar and clear balls for the kids as they tend to play with them more, and they wont chip the teeth and wont be as conspicuous at school. but sarah got noticed straight away because she had a lisp and i soon got a phone call, but i told them it is safer with the flexible bar and if she wants it , it will stay, they were ok with it. she now speeks 99% and we have all healed. but the kids have enjoyed the attention from friends as they are the only 2 yet that have them at school.

[Guest]

Just wondering here... what happens once you get bored of wearing earring? Will you have 'obvious looking' holes on your ear?

If you have worn earrings for several years the holes in your ears are permanent, but how obvious they will be depends on several factors. If you have taken good care of your ears and kept the holes pefectly round, they may be obvious to you, but with more and more boys having their ears pierced people are not going to notice them unless they are particularly looking for them.

[Dustin]

I am a 18 year old male and have been think about getting my ear pierced. I am not sure if i want my lobe pierced or the cartilage at the top of my ear. I think i would look better with a cartilage piercing but i'm not sure.

What is everyones opinion on cartilage piercings for guys?