Is your little one coming in for their first piercing? How exciting! In this blog post I aim to walk you through all of the commonly asked questions, considerations we need to take into account with mini clients, and give you a walk through of what to expect on the day. Consider it your go to guide for all things kids lobes!
My minimum age requirement is 6 years old. However this is subject to enthusiastic and informed consent from the child. Meaning they have to be able to confirm to me they would like their ears pierced, understand that it will hurt (PLEASE do not tell them it wont hurt. This is the most surefire way to have them leave without getting the second piercing done!), and understand they will need to be looked after for a considerable time.
Not all kids are capable or emotionally ready for their first piercings, and its okay to wait until the time is right. I encourage parents to bring their child into the studio to meet me and see the piercing room, ideally a week or two before their appointment. This allows them to become familiar with the surroundings without also having the nerves that come with an imminent piercing! They can also ask me any questions and build a rapport with me. Generally this leads to a more relaxed experience come piercing day.
ALWAYS a needle! Guns are unsafe for many reasons and no professional piercer has any business offering services with one. This topic is so expansive that I plan to dedicated an entire separate blog post to it, but the highlights are major hygiene concerns, low quality jewellery and unnecessary tissue trauma. Keep your eyes peeled for a deep dive coming soon!
A single lobe starts from £35 and a pair starts from £50. This price includes plain, high polish titanium jewellery.
If you would like to let you child upgrade their jewellery, they can either choose some on the day, or you can bring them in beforehand to pick some out.
Due to the fact it is common for people to get a single piercing, upgrade earrings are priced individually and start from £15 each and go up from there. For example, if your child is getting a pair of piercings, the total cost with the first tier of upgrades would be £70. Further upgrades are also availble and vary in price.
You can also choose to buy our sterile saline aftercare which comes in two can sizes, the cost being £8 for a small can or £12 for a large can.
No, its against both our business license regulations and insurance policy to perform a piercing with or install any jewellery sourced outwith the studio.
The child MUST be accompanied by a parent or court appointed legal guardian to fill in the consent form and be present in the studio during the procedure. This means that other relatives or family friends cannot bring them on your behalf, even with your permission. We understand that other family members may want to come along and be present, including other children. This is allowed only if a calm, relxed atmosphere can be maintained by all present. We do prefer that numbers be kept down as far as possible, and our piercing room is very small, so please dont invite the entire extended family!
The skin and new channels that have been made are very delicate during healing. Swimming in particular can be an issue as germs and bacteria present in the water may cause infection, and chemicals used to manage these germs can easily cause irritation to the wound. For this reason it isnt risk free to go swimming until the piercings are fully healed, however I do INSIST that it isnt safe for them to enter the pool for at least the first 4-6 weeks while the body gets these critical first few stages of healing underway. Swimming between then and a full heal (typically 6-12 months) is at your own risk. The piercings must be rinsed and dried properly on exiting the pool.
Other sports, such as gymnastics, dancing or school PE, may insist piercings are covered with medical tape. This poses no threat to the piercing itself and is safe to do, but can cause some false security. The tape cant protect from damage caused by hard hits or knocks so caution is still needed.
If your child plays a sport that requires jewellery to be removed completely, this generally isnt ideal until at least the 6 month mark, possibly longer depending on your childs skin sensitivity and healing tendencies. By this point, some kids can leave the jewellery out for some time with no consequenes, but some find it difficult to reinsert the jewellery at all, even after only a few minutes, and you may need to come back in and see me for some assistance.
On arrival at the studio, you will be asked to fill out a consent form for your child. The piercing room is upstairs, and equipped with everything we need for the appointment, along with some fidget toys and snacks that your child is welcome to. If jewellery hasn't been chosen prior then we can decide at this point too.
Every step is explained directly to the child as we go along so there are no surprises. We clean the ears and mark up the placement. Once I'm happy with placement, I'll invite you to check you're also happy, and then the little one gets the final say. It's their ears after all!
I'll then unpackage all the sterile components, check the jewellery is in good working order, and teach you how to check that it's fitting properly and also how to take them out.
Once we are ready to pierce, I'll explain to the child exactly how I'm going to touch their ears, where my hands will be, and that once I'm in place I'll ask them to take a nice calm breath in, and out. On breath out, that's when we do the piercing. I tell them that's the part where we expect the nip, that I need to fit the jewellery straight after and then we can have a break if we need to. After that it's exactly the same steps again if we are doing both ears.
As with adults, our bodies are our own, and when I'm piercing a child, they are my client. The parent has signed the consent form and (typically!) handled payment, but it's the child's body that is being altered. Therefore, I'm in control of the room at all times, but the appointment is led by the child.
Many kids are super brave. I've had 6 year olds that are cool as a cucumber and braver than a lot of us adults!
Having said that, it's also very normal for even the most well prepared child to have an emotional reaction to the first piercing. Should this be the case for your child, we implement calming measures to get them regulated again. We do NOT become upset with them. Children cannot calm down if they don't feel safe.
It is very normal for children to have an immediate response of 'I'm not doing the second one.' In this case, we listen to them and let them calm down. Once calm we can talk through options. We can encourage and support them to get the second piercing by building them back up. This will generally work. I only have a handful of kids a year that can't come round with some patience. We do NOT use shame, threats or aggression to pressure them into it.
Should your child be unwilling or unable to settle themselves into the second piercing, we simply let them leave with one. Often when kids are unable to get the second piercing, they do feel shame, guilt and sadness. It's important to show them kindness, grace and compassion in this moment. Once they feel ready, we can always add the second one!
Additionally, children are at a higher risk of healing complications and tend to have a longer healing period than adults. This is most often in the form of irritation bumps, often caused by wandering fingers and moisture issues. Should you experience any problems with your childs piercings, please reach out so I can help.
Aftercare will be given verbally to allow for any demonstrations or questions needed, and a written copy will also be given out so you can refer to it any time. All of my contact information is on the written sheet so you can contact me for additional troubleshooting support should you need it. Keep your eyes peeled for an entire aftercare blog, coming here soon!
You can physically come into the studio, send us a message on Facebook or Instagram, or send us an email using the contact page on this website!
If you have any additional questions please just get in touch. See you soon!