Say No To Piercing Guns:
The Advantages Of Professional Piercings For All Ages

As a professional tattoo and body piercing shop, we always try to educate our customers on the various health standards of the industry through tips, advice and suggestions. We pride ourselves on providing a piercing shop that is safe for customers of all ages, and raises the bar from your stereotypical tattoo and body piercing shop. This week, we wanted to share and emphasize the importance of NOT using a piercing gun for any piercings on anyone, young or old.

There is a big movement currently centered on “Saying no to piercing guns.” These guns cause harm and damage to your ears and can do severe damage to the body. And trust us, we hear you and understand when you say: ” Well, I got mine done in the mall and my ears are fine.” But, knowing what we know, and considering the following reasons, we hope this helps you change your mind, and think twice before having someone in the mall piercing your own or your child’s ears.

One of our customers, Amy Rutter, of Amy Rutter Photography, contacted Stick Tattoo for this exact reason. We appreciated Amy and her family coming in and having this memorable experience with us, but also, using her photography talents to document it. Here is how she described her experience:

“A tattoo parlor isn’t exactly the first place you think to take your 4 year old daughter and 80 year old mother-in-law, but it is the ONLY place we will be getting our ears pierced from now on! My oldest daughter and I both had severe problems with piercing guns from the mall – even requiring surgery to repair. I decided to do my research and take a different route with my next daughter. I found STICK Tattoo and was so impressed with the cleanliness and professionalism there! My 4 year old and my mother-in-law both haven’t had any issues whatsoever with their piercings! I am so happy we decided on a healthier and more sterile option with STICK Tattoo! I only hope others will be made aware of the danger of piercing guns and will make the same change we did!”

For those of you wondering why to “say no to piercing guns”, here are a few reasons:

Reason No.1 – Risk of infection and disease:

Because places that use piercing guns are not as regulated as tattoo and body piercing shops, they run the risk of practicing sub par sanitation. Disease transmission and infection is even possible when using disposable needles when they are not used correctly, or if the operator does not understand or implement standard hygiene practices. Common bacteria and body fluids could potentially come into contact with any area of the piercing gun and then later can be transferred to another client.

Why even take that chance to risk serious infection?

Reason No. 2 – Piercing guns cause blunt force trauma to earlobes:

Most piercing guns aggressively force blunt ended studs through the tissue of your ears which is painful and unnatural, and can cause serious damage. This process simply forces the stud through your ear, wedging the jewelry between irritated and now-inflamed skin.

A piercing professional, such as a certified body piercing specialist like STICK Tattoo’s Harmony Mafield, will pierce you with a razor-sharp hollow needle that will safely remove the section of skin with the needle, without causing damage to the surrounding tissue. This process is generally less painful than using a piercing gun, and will allow for a much more natural healing process.

Reason No. 3 – Lack of piercer training

Most retail shops offering piercing gun services do NOT have the same health care standards and restrictions as a professional body piercing shop. Many people who have worked in these retail establishments have told us that they began piercing after a short amount of training, often only a few hours. This is not enough training or knowledge to ensure proper technique or sanitary precautions to adhere to proper healthcare codes.

At STICK Tattoo, we are dedicated to providing the most safe and sanitary environment for our customers ensuring that we not only meet, but exceed all state mandated health codes. Our body piercers are career-driven professionals who are trained and experienced for your benefit. Our shop also requires the following certifications in order to pierce:
• WV DHHR Registration Body Piercing Certificate
• OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Certificate
• Monthly 3rd Party Autoclave Spore Testing
• Routine WV State Health Code Inspections

Reason No. 4 — Bad jewelry, bad placement, bad experience

If the first three reasons are still not enough to make you think twice about getting your ears pierced from a non-professional – AKA, anyone who uses a piercing gun; then please consider the other potential issues that may result. Bad or poor quality jewelry may be used or suggested due to the lack of knowledge and experience found in retail shops. Because a piercing is essentially creating an open wound in the ear, you will want to use professional and surgical steel jewelry when first pieced. Often, customers will want more fancy or decorative jewelry, but, at our shop, we ensure the proper jewelry is used at the time of piercing, and proper aftercare information is provided.

Too often we see customers come in asking us to fix a bad or crooked placement of jewelry. While it is not impossible, the solution is to often remove the original piercing, allow the ear to heal, and then re-pierce. A process that could have been avoided by simply getting pierced initially by a professional body piercer.

Also, please know that piercing guns should NEVER be used to pierce any parts of the body except an earlobe. Do not use them on your cartilage or other areas of your ear. Ear cartilage can be shattered by guns and many states have added laws to prevent inappropriate use of piercing guns.

Come visit our shop or schedule a consultation:
At STICK Tattoo, we pride ourselves on ensuring a positive and overall great experience with your piercing, especially when piercing minors. We encourage you to research the location you are using before allowing them to do something as simple as an ear piercing on your child. We also invite you to come in and check out our shop for yourself, and bring your child with you, to see how dedicated we are to raising the bar from the stereotypical tattoo and body piercing shop.