Best service, hygiene and price for ear piercing

rjh090384

i highly recommend skinworks to anyone that asks about this kind of thing - also if ur looking for a tattoo supermum ask for shane he is fantastic!!!

Rach39

Supermum, you should get the big S in a shield superman logo lol!!

Lobell

FWIW, I'd have to recommend Belfast City Skinworks too. You'll get a very professional service there and appropriate aftercare (if its needed). I've had both tattoos and piercings done by them and have only good things to say about them.

I understand your reservations about taking a youngster into a tattoo place but honestly, go along beforehand and have a chat to them there and get a feel for the place yourself.

SuperMum2008

Wow thanks guys, its definitely a thumbs up for skinworks then..I am going along tomorrow to have a look...with a friend who is talking me in to the tattoo! not sure about the "S" rach!!! Was thinking more along the lines of "the earth from a very long way away", otherwise known as a dot, like Phoebe on friends!!! Actually Ive seen a really cute knitting tattoo that I might be tempted by. Can you have a tattoo after taking valium?!

elliegibbo

Hi

I would def recommend skinworks, I got my nose pierced there in Sept and the bloke doing the piercing couldnt have been nicer, really professional. Totally put me at ease, with me being a complete pansy and scared of needles... same couldnt be said for so-called 'friend' who came with me and nearly wet herself laughing while I got it done!:rotfl:

carlamagee

Hi there.....thought i should add my tuppence worth for the OP to make their own mind up:

Hi, I work in a Claires Accessories and have done for 7 years working my way from sales assitant to Assistant manager. Can i say first of all, that yes, we do use a gun, but the only piece of equipment that touches the ear is the actually earring itself (which comes from a sterile pack like the other posters says!)
I would like to add that Lobell's information as quoted here in bold is now wrong. We previosuly used a different gun than the one we presently use, however Lobell has been misinformed on how that particular gun actually works, therefore passing incorrect information to others. Nonetheless, we now use a different system as from approx 2 years ago.

Lobell wrote: »

I would strongly advise only going to a piercing parlour (or a tattoo one that also offers piercing). Piercing should not be done with a gun...not only are the places that do it this was not always the most hygienic of places (like hardressers & shops such as Claires Accessories), but the gun used cannot be sterilised in the way that a needle can. They make a big deal about producing a little sterile pack of earrings and then insert them straight into a a bit of plastic that is harbouring the blood & tissue fragments of god knows how many punters that have gone before. The gun is also far more likely to cause trauma to the tissue which is more painful and takes longer to heal.

I've had several piercings with a gun (before I knew better) and, latterly, by professional piercers and the only ones that hurt and were problematic were the ones done with a gun.

I can assure you that even though we have changed the gun in question, even when it was the one being used, neither blood or tissue fragments EVER came into contact with the gun.

I have had piercings with both a gun and a needle, and personally, I think that it is down to personal opinion and where the piercings take place as to whether they hurt more/take longer to heal.

Again, in bold below is the reason why most parents choose Claire for their childrens piercings. We specailise in piercing children, and would argue that we have a lot more patience for piercing children than most beauticians/tattoo parlours etc.

BOBS wrote: »

I took my girls to Claire's accessories - they were a good bit more expensive than the local beauticians. My reason for choosing was that two girls worked together and did both ears at the same time with two separate guns - means that it is over and done in one go. I was scared that they would get one ear done and then be scared to get second one done. Neither of them complained about the pain it was over very quickly and the girls were excellent and gave them full cleaning advice and bottle of cleaning solution and brought them back ? 6 or 9 weeks later to check them.

I know lots of beauticians also do piercings too if you want to pay less than Claires.

anotherginger wrote: »

in my experience i would say defintely go to a tattoo /piercing place rather than a shop like claires. needles are much better than guns. guns compact the area leaving a longer healing time and are more prone to infections. also guns are less likely to be effectively cleaned, and at least you know the needle is only going to be used on you.

i went to skinworks when i was 15 (10 years ago!) to get my nose peirced, they did everything properly, checked id, made sure my guardian was my guardian etc.
i have also had really good service at the place in in-shops.
if anywhere says they are using a gun i would stay well clear!!

again, above in bold, complete personal perference?

I just thought I would share my viewpoint on the topic as others have done. Please do not dismiss Claires just from the personal viewpoint of a few other people. If you go into any Claire's, I can ensure that you will be given very good customer service, as it is earpiercings that we are encouraged to get to drive pour sales, and many stores have personal target goals for each of their employees; therefore each employee strive to actually sell, perform and successfully carry out an ear piercing.

If you have any further questions, pleae do not hesitate to reply or pm me!
Can I also add that having had longterm work in both the Connswater and Abberycentre branch, all girls are well informed top in their region for ear piercing. And if you decided that you wanted to use Claire's, I could reccomment a few girls expecially from each store! (I, unfortunately, am on maternity leave! )
Thanks, Carla.

arkonite_babe

I'll throw my hat in the ring on this one too.
Any piercing done with a gun, forces the ear ring through the tissue. Piercing with a needle however, punches a hole clean out right. (think of it this way, push a pencil through a piece of paper and the hole is ragged, use a paper punch and the hole is smooth and clean) There is less trauma using this method. I have had piercings from several places (tattooists and Claires included) the only problematic piercings I had were the ones done by Claires. Sorry, but I'd recommend going to a tattooist too. As for the solutions sold by Claires and others as aftercare, I suffered a reaction to this. The only solution I would recommend is saline. Fill an egg cup with boiling water and add a tablespoon of salt to this. Stir to dissolve the salt and allow to cool before using.

Tattoo parlours will all be registered with the local council and will display a certificate to state this. If you don't see one, ask. reputable parlours will be more than happy to do this. In my own personal experience, any of the salons I've been in which offer piercings don't have this info on display.
I'm not putting down Claires or any other salon that uses piercing guns, this is all my own personal opinion and (very painful) experience, but I know if I do decide in future to get any more piercings, which method I'll choose.

At the end of the day it's all down to you and recommendations, which route you choose with your daughter, if in doubt on any salon or tattoo parlour, walk away!

Hope this helps

craftyfox

i had mine done when i was eleven :eek: in luke murry's the jewerllers in newtownards with a gun and i had no problems ..... much later i had another hole added ( i was about 20) and again it was done with a gun in the hairdressers and again no problems . but i remember coming home on the school bus and mostly boys having their ears percied with a darning needle and an ice lolly:eek: and if the bus was a bit bumpy they might have ended up with more than one hole and only one earring to put in them:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
my eldest asked when he was about 9 if he could get his ear percied and his father went off on one ..... you know the usual - no son of mine ......
and over my dead body and all the usual guff but i told him when he was about 14 i would take him and get it done the right way and told him the bus story but i also added that it might make your ear lobe bleed and would be sore ............ he changed his mind :j

louise_P_2

I used to be a manager at claires and I have pierced more ears than I care to remember and I do not recall one complaint.
If I had child who wanted their ears piercing I would not hesitate in going to claires.
My husband even had his ears pierced there and he is the biggest coward that I have come accross.
My ears are pierced 4 times in each ear and 3 sets have been done at claires with no problems what so ever.

booklover

Hello everyone

I had my ears pierced many yeas ago but as I haven't worn earrings for a while I need to get them re-pierced.

Any recommendations as to where I should go please?

many thanks in advance :A

Fiona