Ear piercing later in life

Savvy_Sue

Well, I'm not quite a bona fide poster on this board, but I will be soon, and I'm beginning to think I might like to get my ears pierced. I like wearing earrings, but it's darned near impossible to get them with a screw fitting for unpierced ears. And I've just had an early pressie from my family of a lovely chain with small pearls and a pink pendant, and I'm told there are matching earrings available ...

So, has anyone else had this done later in life? I suppose that even if not, some of you will have been through this with your offspring, which I haven't had to with the boys - yet!

So where would I go? How much should I expect to pay, for one hole in each lobe and good quality studs? Is it hard to prevent infection? Will it take a long time to 'look after' my new ears? Will it take long to 'get used to' the feeling of studs? Will dangly ones drive me round the bend? Etc etc etc.

Oh, and of course, WILL IT HURT? :rotfl:

Rikki

I don't know the cost and I only waited until I was 17 before I had mine done.

I prefer studs to dangly ones, I don't always wear earings so I fell dressed up when I do. As for the pain its over quickly and just keep the ears bathed in surgical spirits and turn them you will have no problems. Yes the surgical spirit will sting and I found it strange when sleeping. It only takes a week or two. Personally I wouldn't be to quick to change your earings the first time.

lewt

Your docter could help. i know my docter used to do babys ears. it was over ten years ago tho...

Bossyboots

I took my MIL to have her ears pierced a good few years back. She would have been about 56 at the time. I took her to a jewellers to have it done but in those days no-one else did them. She felt a bit queasy for a short time afterwards (but hey that might have been my driving!) but was glad she had had it done.

You can get them done at lots of hairdressers these days. I would suggest you try to use someone following a recommendation if you can.

aliasojo

Depending on how much you want to pay, you can also consider buying your own earrings and taking them to a piercer rather than buying theirs?

Don't get me wong, there is nothing wrong with the ones supplied, but if you want a higher gold content for example then there's nothing to stop you taking your own along.

Best stick to studs at the start imo, much easier to get used to whilst sleeping and easy to turn in your ear.

You've had a jag before and survived this will be a walk in the park.

I can't quote a price but it's not all that much IIRC. (Mind you...there's always the MSE method.......ice cube and needle? :rotfl: )

Savvy_Sue

aliasojo wrote:

I can't quote a price but it's not all that much IIRC. (Mind you...there's always the MSE method.......ice cube and needle? :rotfl: )

:eek: NOOOOOOOO!

Guess I will have to ask around, I am sure my colleagues will be able to help (but they might also try to persuade me I need my navel and tongue and nose done at the same time!)

I don't think I could bring myself to ask the doc, it doesn't feel like a medical matter - and I hope it doesn't become one!

Bossyboots, I am VERY reassured by your post! Will definitely get someone to take me. Next question, do I ask DH to do so, or surprise him? :rotfl:

juno

I'm 20, and just had mine done! Mine were £14 for no gun and titanium (ie the best, I wouldn't use anything else in new piercigns and I have a few interesting ones...).

I don't think anywhere good would pierce with dangly ones, as you could get them caught and they'll tear so easily. It doesn't take too long to look after them. I tend to use the LITHA (leave it the hell alone) method, but cleaning only takes less than 5 minutes!

I'd recommend going to a decent piercing studio if you can. Hairdressers, Claire's Accessories, Pharmacies etc have little training and they use piercing guns which are not a good way to do it.

aliasojo

My Mum toddled off one day on the quiet. I think she was about 50 at the time.

I came home from school at lunch time and she never even let on. When I spotted them I couldn't believe it as she was always so kinda set in her ways and this was quite a 'mod' thing for her to do.

SS....if you don't tell him, you can see how long it takes him to notice.......then you can always play the 'see you take me for granted and you don't pay attention to me' card if he fails to spot them. Might be worth another pair of earrings for changing? :rotfl:

gatita

Hi Well I had my ears pierced at the grand old age of 65:p I was very apprehensive but the young girl that did it was great. It cost me about £15 to have them pierced silver studs and and a bottle of something to stop any infection lol I was TERRIFIED! but honestly I didn't feel a thing, and didn't suffer any infection or soreness at all. GO For It! its great to wear dangly earings at last:beer:

pavlovs_dog

well as someone with 6 piercings in my ears, i feel qualified to comment on this

i had my ear lobes piereced for the first time when i was 11 at a small local jewellers. at the age of 18, i then had my right ear rim (the top part of the ear) pierced, followed a year later by my left ear rim and my ear lobes pierced for a second time. all of these piercings took place at my local "blue banana"

now assuming the blue banana phenomena has reached bristol (hell, if swansea has one im sure bristol will ) i highly recommend them. i know that this is far from your normal shopping stomping ground, and some of the artefacts within may put hairs on your chest..lakeland it is not :eek:

however, i feel you - like i did - would take great comfort from seeing everything...from the jewellery they are going to use, to the equipment...be put through the autoclave (the sterilising equipment). im sure that if they could make one big enough, they'd put the people who want to be pierced in there too :rotfl:

whilst the multi tattoo-d and pierced body artist who does the piercing may look (and perhaps even come across) slightly anti social, you will at least know that you are being pierced by a highly trained professional using sterile equipment.

their aftercare is also very good. they give you a free bottle of tree tree oil and instructions on how to use to it to care for your piercing. i've never had reason to go back, but friends of mine who have (the ones who dont clean their piercings :mad: ) have spoken very highly of the service received.

its up to you who you do eventually choose. word of mouth is a good way of finding a suitable piercer for you. however, if you take heed of no other advice, then remember this: stay well clear of claire's accessories. the horror stories aboout their piercing service are numerous.

as for piercing in general...

on the pain front..well, you've come through brain surgery, how hard can this be? because the lobe is fleshy, it tends to sting more than hurt. you are aware of the sensation, but it doesnt quite hurt enough to be painful if that makes sense

for the first hour or so after the piercing, you may well be able to actually feel the jewellery in situ - although bizarre, this is quite normal after an hour, you've normally forgotten all about it.

you do need to take care for the first 24-48 hours or so after a piercing not to knock it, and where possible to avoid/minimise contact with shampoo/hairspray/ perfume and the like.

cleaning the wound is easy, and cheap. wipe the front and back of the ear (and your new jewellery) with cotton wool dipped in boiled, salty water (as hot as you can physically stand). im told that rock salt is slightly better than ordinary table salt to speed the healing process/fight any risk of infection, but if all you have is ordinary table salt this will be fine.

dont be perturbed if you see a little blood/puss dring the first few days, this is normal and will clear up quite quickly.

opinion is divided as to whether you should turn the stud or not. i always do, especially in the first week - to help loosen any dried blood/puss. however, if you do decide to turn your studs when you clean them, that should be the only time.. dont play with them!

sounds obvious, but dont use the same piece of cotton wool to clean each ear lobe, to help avoid spread of infection.

the wound can take 4-6 weeks to fully heal. it is not recommended that you change the jewellery during this time. (or at least, not for the first 3-4 weeks).

you may find that if you leave your jewellery out overnight/ for prolonged periods, that your holes may start to close up. you can normally re-open them yourself with by wiggling an earring around in the hole until it finds its right path..but this can be bit painful, so try not to let the close up on you in the first place

thats about it really. only other thing i can think of is the piercing process itself. whilst sterilising the equipment, the piercer will wipe your ears with an alcohol rub, and then draw a dot on each lobe to show you where they intend to pierce. its up to you to say whether you want it higher/lower/a little to the left if you only plan on having them pierced once, i'd say aim roughly for the centre for the lobe... unless you have massive ear lobes, or tiny ones like me, in which case you may need to ask the piercer to compensate for the fact.

this has turned into a bit of a mammouth post it really isnt that complicated a process, pain is minimal and fleeting..and its great looking for new earrings for a piercing. on the downside, its yet another thing to coordinate when you go out :rotfl:

Dora_the_Explorer_5

20-mumble years ago when I was 40-mumble I took my niece to have hers done on the understanding that I would have one of my done (I'd already had both done in my teens) first, so she could see there was nothing to it. I was pierced and had to hide the tears in my eyes and my red face and assure her there was nothing to it. She must have beleived me 'cos she had hers done two minutes later! So.....it stung ! But only for a minute or so !
We had it done at the hairdressers, can't remember how much it cost, and aftercare was dabbing/cleaning with undiluted TCP on a cotton bud, which is a nurse's trick if you can bear the sting of the TCP. OS is iodine - don't even think about it!
You won't feel the studs as your nervous system will become immune to the message that you have something in your ear. Dangly ones might bother you, they might not, but you'll have fun finding out.
Will it hurt? Compared to childbirth - no. Compared to DIY with a darning needle and a cork (OS) - no. Compared to blowing your nose - yes. Go for it kid.