A Piercing Love ...

Now, we have all seen the signs in certain shops advertising ear piercing’s, and yes they are cheap but are the risks really worth it?

Now, this is a subject that really makes my blood boil, In this blog I will be putting forward points as to why I believe gun piercing’s to be so dangerous – Now please remember this is my opinion and I do try and back up with as many facts as possible.
I hope this educate people as to why they are dangerous.

Firstly, a piercing gun cannot be sterilised. They are made of metal but have a plastic coating so if properly vacuum autoclaved it would melt – Thus the actual gun cannot be sterilised. Yes, I know that the studs have a disposable plastic casing around them, but the actual gun is NOT sterile. Would you have a doctor use a scalpel if the handle was dirty? No. 
Why I hear you asking, is it so important the gun should be cleaned – Well. Obviously you want anything going near your body during the course of getting a piercing to be sterile but, During the actual piercing procedure airborne microbes are pushed up into the gun which could be potentially very dangerous. With needles they are single use and always sterile. 

During the procedure.
Now, many people reading this will of had a piercing (more than likely earlobes) done with a gun and I can honestly say I am one of them. I had my ears pierced with a gun at 12 years old before I had the knowledge I have now. 
The way a piercing is done with a gun is the gun uses blunt pressure to push the stud through the tissue and this creates a lot more swelling and trauma to the site than a needle piercing’s would. The jewellery that is used in gun piercing’s is not long enough to allow adequate room for swelling and increased blood flow. 
The stud and back simply crush the tissue between them until the “sharp end” (which is about 1/100th as sharp as a needle) simple clicks into place with the horrible butterfly back used. This smashed through any tissue that is in the way. Whereas a needle parts the tissue it is going through with the bevel (sharp end) which is much safer, plus your piercer can choose the right length of jewellery you need to allow for swelling and such, piercers also use a normal barbell for ear piercing’s which do not use the butterfly backs which can trap any infections, germs and bacteria in them. 

Now yes, I do understand that gun piercing’s are seen as cheaper and more convenient that going to a proper studio. But it is always worth seeking out a professional studio since they will be in a clean room (unlike at Claires accessories) and use sterile equipment, so paying a few extra quid is a lot better in the long run. The only “up side” for a gun piercing is they are arguably quicker, but a professional piercer can pierce your ear quicker than a gun, but then has to insert the jewellery so the overall time is a tiny bit longer, but well worth the extra 5 mins.

Looking more into the jewellery used with gun piercing’s. They are normally not very good quality and nowhere near long enough to allow for the swelling and such, I do believe the standard length used it about 6mm whereas a professional piercer normally uses about 10mm. The jewellery is usually nickel plated and coated in 9ct gold or sterling silver – both of which are porous metal unsuitable to be used in fresh piercing’s. The backs have a very large surface which gives bacteria lots of places to hide, unlike a smooth barbell or ball closure ring. The backs are often uncomfortable to sleep on and the backs usually stab you in the neck whilst sleeping. 

The “training” people get to use guns is often gained on a hirdressing course and usually takes about an hour – Yes an hour. Thats one hour experience compared to professional piercers who go through years of training to preform piercings. Also on these “courses” they are not given any training on the lymphatic (immune) system, and circulatory system. They are also not given any training on sterilisation or proper aftercare.

Also remeber - piercing guns were orginally designed to tag cattle.

Now, these so called “piercers” are narrow minded and do not see what they are doing as, yes a very minor, surgical procedure. I have seen in many places using guns they do not even wear a pair of gloves performing the piercing’s. Also, piercing’s using guns are usually (I will not say all the time) wonky and unevenly spaced. And the aftercare given is terrible, and the “aftercare” solution given usually contains Benzalkonium chloride or Benzethoium chloride, these are antiseptics and disinfectants and are designed to kill and inhibit the growth of germs BUT they do not effectively clean the skin. And NEVER go by the Claires aftercare sheet – trust me, I’ve read one.

Now, not saying that every piercing studio will have a strict NO GUNS policy, but most will still offer to do lobes with a needle, but the majority of gun users are in hairdressers, nail bars, beauty salons and Clairs Accessories. 

Piercing earlobes with a piercing gun is bad enough, but I cannot even BEGIN to tell you how dangerous it is to pierce any other area (especially cartilage) with a gun, it damages the fleshy earlobe enough let alone the blunt pressure it will put on cartilage. 

Now, you my be wondering, if piercing guns are so bad why are they legal? The simple answer is the law will not touch body piercing with a stick and anything they DO legalise is not policied properly – if at all. 
I have mentioned Claires Accessories a lot in this blog, I have nothing against the actual Claires stores or products, only there gun policy. To Claires, its more about money they get from gun piercings, Its cheap. Since they use a pair of (poor quality) ear piercing studs, a few squirts of disinfectant to attempt to clean – NOT sterilise the gun and the surgical spirit used to clean the piercing (NEVER use surgical spirit on your skin its like bleach) along with the sheet that instructs you to turn the piercings, which is a BAD idea since it causes more trauma, swelling and bleeding to the area and all this costs them anout ￡2. And I know that Claires offer a “free” ear piercing when you buy the starter pack which consists of the so called “aftercare”, sheet and pair of studs (which vary in style and price) the starter pack costs about ￡10 upwards – depending on the style of studs you pick. 

Now, ￡10 for a gun piercing’s or, at least at the studio I visit regularly who have a strict NO GUNS policy, is ￡15 for a pair using a sterile needle in a clean room and using correct jewellery – which would you prefer? 

okay so, needle piercing’s are often snubbed because people are scared of needles, this is simply combated just tell your piercer and he/she will often keep the needle out of your sight and take you through breathing techniques to help relax you. they will often advise you to close your eyes and will tell you when they are doing the piercing. I know some people have a real fear of needles, but then you cant get any piercing if your scared of needles right? 
Needle piercing hurt much less than gun piercings. the healing time for a needle piercing on the lobes is about 2-3 months, with a Claires gun its about 6 weeks (notice this is the length of the summer holidays? moneymoneymoney)

So lastely, please do NOT flood this blog with “well ive had all my piercings done with guns and they are fine” ect You see, yes needle piercing can also swell and get infected but the risk is much less likely than with a gun. And the damage done (if any) is not permanent or extensive. Proper aftercare is required with any piercing, failure to follow it can easily result in a poorly piercing,weather done with a gun or needle.

Gloves anyone? This is so unhygenic, you wouldnt expect any other piercing to be done where your piercer wasnt wearing gloves would you?

A lovely example of a very common probem with gun piercings … That is the horrible butterfly back becoming embedded into the back of the ear, many proffesional piercers are very used to having to dig these out the beck of lobes.

And this is what the butterfly back looks like when its been dug out .. All lovely bits of body tissue, blood and lymph fluid stuck in and around it … Lovely huh?

Nice little close up diagram of a piercng gun … I personally wouldnt want something used on my body that has the word “trigger” included. 

You can read other articles on gun piercing at the links below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_piercing_instrument

http://www.bluestartattoos.com/piercing/piercinggun/piercinggun.html

I hope this educates, even just one person, against gun piercings.

Katie 

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