How it's Done
Contents
The piercer should be wearing a new pair of surgical gloves. The equipment (needle and tube, or the gun cartridge, plus the jewelry) should be in sterile, unopened packaging, opened immediately before each ear is done. She will mark your ear with a sterile marker and confirm the positioning with you. If she’s using a gun, she’ll install the cartridge (which holds the stud), mount the stud and its backing in it and place it over your ear. A deep breath, a sharp pain that quickly goes away, and you’re done.
If your piercer uses the needle method, she will hold the hollow receiving tube firmly behind your ear. The needle’s going to slide into the tube, thus protecting your piercer’s fingers. She’ll then place the needle firmly on the mark on your earlobe. A deep breath, a firm press of the needle and a sharp pain that quickly goes away. She’ll remove the tube and fit the end of your steel ring into the end of the needle as she withdraws it, then clip a tiny ball between the ends of the ring to secure it, and you’re done.
Oops, not quite. The other ear is next. A freshly opened gun tip and jewelry or a new needle and die, and away you go again.