needle or ear piercing gun?

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In order to understand the dangers, you have to understand how the gun works. There are three major problems:

1) The earring. Its basically a sharp little piece of metal. Its too short for the ear. When you get a new piercing, the ear needs the ability to drain out the fluids and swell in order to adjust and heal around the earring. The little back on the earring prevents the ear from being able to swell. So basically when your ear swells and tries to drain, the bacteria gets caught up in the back, and could very well create an infection. Infections in the cartilage can be especially dangerous in a new piercing. You might want to go read up on that, there are plently of pictures to show you about it.

2) The force of the gun on the earring into your ear. When you get it pierced with a needle, the needle is hollow, and it actually takes out a VERY very small piece of your ear with it when it goes through. Now, an EARRING goes through your ear with the gun. Meaning, the flesh (or cartilage) inside your ear is just pushed aside to make room for the gun, not ctually removed. The result is that your ear will have a harder time healing. There is often a lot more swelling and infection because the ear is having a hard time dealing with it.
On top of that, the earring, with a gun, is spring loaded. That means that the earring is shoved through your ear with blunt force. If you get it done with a needle, the piercer is able to feel your ear make it smooth.

3) Sanitation. BIG problem here. A parlour will use a one use needle. Nobody else will ever use it again, so it isnt possible that your bodily fluids will be transfered by that method. With a gun, they reuse the same gun every time. Even though they clean it with a little wipe, if blood or other bodily fluid was able to get trapped in a crack of that gun, there is a GOOD possibility that it could get on another persons earring, or otherwise transfered. This means that you shand the chance of getting infectious diseases.

When the cartilage is shattered, JUST that is what happens. Your cartilage is the stiff part of your ear, holding the whole thing up. Imagine a porceline statue covered in fabric. The porciline is like the statue, and the fabric is like the skin on your ear. If you take a hammer and SMACK it into the statue, its going to crumble into many little pieces, leaving a jumble of cracked material in the fabric. The same thing happens with your ear. If you hit it JUST right with that blunt force of the gun, it crumbles. Not just gets infected, but LITERALLY crumbles. Your ear will not stand up anymore. The ridge will collapse. There isnt much you can do once this happens.
Also, your ear can swell up, refered to as "caluiflower ear"....Show more

Guns should be banned! It's not so terrible if it's done in the lobe but they are more risky for infection and damage. A needle just slides through the skin whereas a gun just punches a hole through your ear and can cause bruising. If it's done in the cartilage, it can cause the cartilage to collapse. Here's a good way to look at it: Needle = shooting a sharp nail gun at a wall Gun = sledge hammering it to pieces Edit: Gun is less pain but as a person experienced with piercings, it's the aftercare that you should be more concerned about. Gun/needle are both instant but the healing time is over all more painful due to swelling etc. I think you should choose a needle if you are concerned about the pain of both getting it done and the aftercare. Choose gun if you want to risk more infection but less pain initially....Show more

I had mine done with a gun. Well two guns and two people actually so it was done it about five seconds. The needle would take a little longer. if you only have one person doing it it will also take a little longer, but no matter which way you chose to go it will all probably be over in under a minute and it doesn't hurt it's just that instant shock I guess you could say. Nothing to worry about no matter which way you go you'll be fine....Show more

You should never ever use a piercing gun. Not even for lobes. They can cause extra trauma to the piercing and can shatter cartilage. A needle takes merely a few seconds longer but it's certainly worth it....Show more

okay the gun is really fast but i prefer needle cause u can hold one piece of ice ifront and behind ur earlobe and make it num... then u pierce it with the needle and it doesn't hurt...Show more