Choosing the person to pierce your ears is arguably the most important part of the ear piercing process. You need to find a professional piercer who has a sterile environment and equipment, has experience, and makes you feel comfortable. Here are some of our tips on finding a qualified piercer:
1) Start by searching for tattoo parlors, body piercing studios, or professional ear piercers in your area. Tattoo parlors are generally very experienced in body piercing and ear piercing and sometimes are less expensive.
2) Look through their portfolio on their website or look through their Instagram, including photos they are tagged in. If there are any reviews about them on social media or on yelp make sure you read through them and note any red flags or concerns that pop up. If there are people tagged in their Instagram photos it can be helpful to reach out to them and ask them if they had a good experience.
3) Check the Association of Professional Piercers directory, here. These are people and businesses who are members of the APP and follow their strict standards for piercing.
4) Make sure they use a needle not a gun. Needles are much more accurate than piercing guns. If you are getting a new piercing you want not only the hole location to be accurate, but also the angle of the piercing. The angle of the hole determines how your earrings sit on your ears. The angle can be tailored so that your earrings face forward. The angle of the piercing depends partly on personal preference and partly on where the piercing is located on your ear.
Additionally, piercing guns cannot be fully sterlized and therefore are more likely to cause infection. Needles are fully sterilized and are only used one time, virtually eliminating the risk of infection.
Finally, piercing guns cause additional trauma to the area around the piercing which can make them hurt a lot more and take longer to heal.
5) If you are nervous, make a consult appointment so you can meet your potential piercer and see the space. It is important that you feel comfortable with whoever you choose to do your ear piercing.
