Why do I hear those "ban piercing guns" all the time, yet I haven't seen any problem with it?

Question

Most of my friends got their ears pierced at places like Claire's and very few of them had any problems. Yet those friends who got them done with a needle all said it was quite painful. I got my first hole at Claire's and my second one (still on the lobe) at a tattoo shop. And I agree that the needle is much more painful than the other one. (not mentioning much, much more expensive)

Answer 1

Well, to tell you the truth, there is nothing wrong with it. Professional piercers see it as a threat to their buisness. Most moms would rather take their girls to Claire's rather than a tattoo shop. Yes, I heard about how they are damaging to your cartelage and unsterilized, but the newer version of the piercing gun already solved this problem. You don't put the earrings in the gun anymore because the earrings are already in a new cartrige so nothing touches you except new parts.

BTW, I tried to research on data related to piercing guns in comparison to needles, I haven't found any. Therefore if they say something alone the line of "doctors agree that..." ask them for proof.

It all boils down to propaganda.

EDIT: like I said before, the newer piercing guns use an entire new cartrige (not just new earrings) every time, so nothing really touches you that's old. Has there been any heptitis outbreak since then? Not that we know of. In addition, the mechanism is now much slower to avoid shattering of the cartilage.

Again, professional piercers only see it as a threat to their buisness, otherwise the FDA would ban it a really, really long time ago.

Answer 2

Funny, I've been pierced with a needle and a gun, and I don't think the needle is more painful, and where I go (the best shop in the state, and a member of APP), it's only 5 bucks more expensive than Claire's. Whatever piercer you're going to must suck.

You'll notice that piercings done with guns take longer to heal due to the crappy jewelry and the damage done to the tissue by the gun.

And while you may not see it, the gun that you got pierced with was CRAWLING with germs from previous clients. There is no way to totally sterilize a piercing gun. the only thing that totally sterilizes something is an autoclave (used by doctors, dentists, tattooists and piercers), but the material that piercing guns are made of would melt inside one - so they're just wiped down with alcohol.

This fact lead to several outbreaks of Hepetitis due to piercing guns.

Piercing guns also have a history of cracking and shattering the cartiledge of the ear, when they are used for that. Doing that kind of damage with a needle is practically impossible.

Just because you have never experiencesd a problem doesn't mean they don't exist. I've never gotten AIDS from sex, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea for me not to use condoms.

P.S. The above poster is wrong. While there has been a new gun released that has a "single use" piercing mechanism, the rest of the gun is still used over and over. And since one of the problems with piercing guns (and not with needles) is blood spray due to pressure, it doesn't matter whether the piercing mechanism is single-use or not, since blood and tissue still gets all over the gun itself.

And they also, in real-world tests, had a tendancy to simply fall apart inside the ear while peircing cartiledge. Some "improvement."

Answer 3

My 6 needle piercings didn't hurt much and healed with no problems. My 6 gun piercings were the hardest to heal of any of my piercings, and they were only performed on my earlobes. Every one got infected, some multiple times throughout the course of healing. There is no reason for piercers to be threatened by guns--they are less expensive than the needle method, so it's likely piercers would use them if they were not proven dangerous. Professional piercers are a community. They do not feel threatened by each other or their businesses. The concerns are related to the unprofessional and dangerous manners in which guns are used--typically by young adults with virtually no training whatsoever.

This video gives more information on why guns are dangerous. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo-ezOaOtxk

Many people who are pierced by guns heal fine. But just as many do not. Just because some people avoid infection doesn't mean it's a safe practice. After all, some people recovered just fine from surgery before sterilization was introduced to the medical world. But many others got infections and died. Same principle.

Answer 4

Using a piercing gun higher up on the ear can shatter your cartilage, and sometimes people go into shock because of the sudden action caused by piercing guns.

Needles are safer in that they are more controlled and a slower process which allows your body to cope easier.

Answer 5

cassie t has it exactly right!

also, price wise - i recently asked my local claires branch how much for 2 piercings - they told me £18. this is more expensive than every professional piercer in the area (which range from £10 to £13) and would give me much more peace of mind, being professionally trained rather than given a piercing gun in a shop that sells poor quality jewellery to children

Answer 6

Sometimes when cartilage is crushed in the ear, the fragile veins do not regenerate and cut off the circulation to certain parts of the ear, therefore this portion dies and rots.
The choice is yours.

Answer 7

As Astrid said, there isn't a thing wrong with piercing guns at all! I mean, look at all the satisfied customer's of piercing guns at the end of this video:
http://www.tampabays10.com/video/news/?aid=32570&sid=39391

and it's not like anyone has any kind of EVIDENCE that they are bad! I mean, look at this: http://www.homiegfunk.com/gunssuck.htm they barely have any sources to back up all those claims!

So in the interest of saving money, why bother going to a trained professional when you can just go to the mall and have it done for a few bucks cheaper? It's not like there are any consequences or anything.

[/sarcasm]