I want to pierce my ears by myself and I don't have a piercing gun. Any suggestions?

Question

Can I use a very well sterilized needle? (stainless steel) Or a thumb tack? How can I keep it from being so painful? I am piercing my ear lobes by the way, not the upper part of my ears or anything, just the center of my ear lobes. Just answer my questions please, not why I shouldn't do this. Thanks!

Answer 1

don't do it! it'll hurt so bad & chances are, it'll get infected and the holes will swell and hurt even more... then they'll close back up anyway!

Answer 2

Here's the deal with a piercing gun. Have you ever stabbed a pen/pencil through a piece of paper? You see that little cone thing it creates? Same thing with your ear. It's a blunt object, it hurts more and it takes twice if not more time to heal.
It's best to get pierced with a hollow needle. This actually removes the skin creating a cleaner piercing, healing time is much faster and your ears will not become as swollen. I would recommed that the jewelry you use is Surgical Stainless Steel, a ring would be better.
Stay away from thumb tacks. That is unsanitary, and just dumb. You want it to be less painful, right?

Also make sure that you keep it clean. A piercing is an open wound so treat it that way. Clean it 3 times a day with a clean Q-tip and Dial Anti-bacterial soap and warm water, and soak a cotton ball with warm sea salt water in between cleanings. This will reduce swelling and kill germs. Do not use the same cotton ball on the other ear, get a new one. The area will become dry and crusty, don't use lotions or peel the skin off. Keep your hair and your hands away from the piercing at all times.

Also, please avoid doing this yourself. Go to a professional, it's cleaner, they know what they are doing, and it wont be as painful.

Answer 3

I did a second hole in my right earlobe by myself with a friend and this is how we did it.

First I cleaned the area where I wanted my peircing to be and marked the spot with a fine tiped pen.

Theres nothing you can really do about pain except numb it with ice cubes for about 20 minutes. You can also put clothes pins on it

You need a long and thick needle about 3 inches long. I used an upholstery needle. To sterilize it wipe it off with an alcohol then burn it with a match till its basicly black.

For this part you need a friend. Its easier if you lie down holding ice on your ear until seconds before your friend pierces your ear. That way it wont sting as much.

Cut an apple or potatoin half. Hold it behind your earlobe. Your friend needs to do it with a quick movement if they hesitate it at all it WILL hurt way more. Then with anouther quick movement they will have to remove the needle. You should hold the earring and hand it to your friend as soon as they remove the needle.

There might be some slight bleeding but thats normal since its a home piercing.

Oh ya and the needle has to be a rather thick needle. An upholstery needle is perfect because its made to go threw thick fabrics. If you cant find an upholstery needle get one of the largest available, It has to be thick so the skin can expand.

After your ears are pierced you need to rotate the earring everyday and clean daily to prevent infection

Good Luck!

Answer 4

I hate to tell you this but your going to get a lot of answers on here telling you exactly what you don't want to hear. How old are you??? I can't see an adult in their right mind wanting to pierce their own ears with a thumbtack or needle. First of all there is no way that you won't be able to feel the pain no matter how you try to do this at home and what you plan to use. Even if you do sterilize a needle or thumbtack, that doesn't mean your ear is not going to get infected. The best thing to do is to let a professional do it for you. It doesn't cost much at all. It's just a couple of dollars. It's fast and it won't be painful if you get it done professionally. If you want to take the risk of having a messed up job on your ears then by all means go ahead and do it yourself.

Answer 5

Please don't use a thumbtack! I had that done when I was in my 20's and it hurt like hell! (And I was very drunk when they did it!) Not only that but the thumbtack is not sharp like you think it is. And mine didn't go all the way through so they did it from the back also. It actually made two non-intersecting tunnels through my lobe. I had to keep re-piercing the divider flesh when I put in my earring. Always infected and so painful for years. Finally I just let it grow over and don't wear one now.

But yes, you can use a sterilized needle. Put an ice cube on each side of your lobe until it's about frozen (or at least VERY cold). Then stick the needle through (ALL the way through the first time!). Apply alcohol or peroxide. Insert starter earrings and keep turning them for about a week so that they don't scab in. Put alcohol or peroxide on them a couple of times a day to keep down infection. You should be able to take those out and put others in after that.

Answer 6

First of all...NEVER USE A NEEDLE AND THEN TAKE IT OUT AND REPLACE IT WITH AN EARRING! This is one way to irritate your ears and get them infected sooner. You use a piercing stud, it's sharp like a needle and the guage is usually 20 or 18. If you do it yourself, get a clean cotton ball, wipe down the earrings and your ear with rubbing alcohol to sterilize the area. Get an ice cube or two and hold them on the spot you want pierced for a minute or two. Then take the earring and push it through your ear making sure to keep it straight. It won't hurt because your ears will be numbed from the ice. If it does, hold ice on it for longer. The healing time for ear lobes is 6-8 weeks, more if you're a slow healer. For cartilage I believe it's 4-6 months. And never take them out while they're healing, this can cause infection and they could close up.

I know Anti-You will respond to this and give me a thumbs down for suggesting to you using rubbing alcohol and peroxide if they get infected. But you know what? That's what I use to clean my ears and earrings once a week and it does not irritate my ears.


When I got my first ear piercing done, it was with a gun and it hurt like a ***** for about a week. After that my mom did the second pair herself on me, and they never hurt. I continued to do 5 more pairs, and they never hurt. So piercing guns aren't always the answer. And I did go to a good piercer too.


I'd also like to add...You get infections no matter who or what does them, professional or not! There's a foreign object in your ear with skin trying to heal around it, of course you're going to get an infection. But you can keep it at bay by keeping dirty fingers away from your ears, turning the earrings everyday with clean hands, you can soak your new piercing in a dish of warm water and epsom salt, or take a hot bath so they can soak. Or if your skin isn't sensitive like most people's, use peroxide and/or rubbing alcohol. I use all of these methods and my self piercings are better than the professional one I got when I was younger.

Answer 7

Put a clothes pin (wooden one with tight grip) on it and keep it there until your ear is numb then use a piercing earring that is brand new put it in alcohol then push it through the numbed lobe until you hear 2 pops. I have did this when I was younger 5 times and did my best friends as well. The key is to make sure your ear is numb. If you feel pain while pushing the earring you're not numb yet.

Answer 8

I did my own years ago with a sterilized needle and ice cubes. Just numb your ear with the ice cube and then push a sterilized needle through your ear lobe, just be sure to get the needle straight. It my take a few tries but it can be done. Good luck

Answer 9

Well, I pierced my own ears once, and let me tell you, its much better to get them pierced with a gun. But if you still decide to do them yourself, I would suggest that you use a needle. I got the longest needle I could find, dipped it in alcohol, placed it over a flame. In order to reduce some pain, I numbed my earlobes with ice. I would suggest to use a thimble to push the needle through because its hard to push it with bare fingers. But let me warn you, the piercings may not be even with each other, so do this at your own risk.

Answer 10

Save you money and have a professional piercer do it for you.

Conventional needles found in your house will not be the proper sharpness and gauge needed for piercings. Its a piercing, its going to hurt. Self piercings do hurt more, but if you are that worried about the pain..just don't do it or take some Motrin for pain.

Answer 11

crush up ice and put it on your ears for like 10 mins before the actually peicing... sterilize a sewing needle in rubbing alcohol...then get the needle cold.. it will probably bleed, but poke it thru your ears(keep the ice on the reverse side)...keep the pin in for a couple mins so its open enough..as soon as u pull it out put a stud in and than put the butterfly(backing) on...