Selfsufficientish.com

absinthefairy - did you go to Claire's here in France? Good to hear about the high hygiene standards. We've looked in our nearest CAs and you can chose what sort of stud you have ranging from the basic cheapo up to 14k gold studs (priced accordingly!).

DD (11) wants her ears pierced and I am thinking of letting her have it done at the beginning of the summer holidays this year if only to stop her going on and on and on and on and on about it Summer holidays are nearly 10 weeks long here which should be enough time to let it all heal.

I had mine done when I was 16 - at the jewellers, done with a syringe and had gold sleepers that you could turn and were easy to keep clean. I come from a family of nurses - mum and two sisters - who took it in turns to bathe my earlobes in surgical spirit!

As a piercer, i offer the folliwing advice:

If the place doesn't look like a dentist, run away.
If they will pierce a 13-year-old...run away.

I won't pierce anyone under the age of 16. my insurance won't allow it. There is a type of gun that can be used (on lobes only - if they suggest that they do cartilage...run away). but i can't remember what its called at the moment - i'll ask the guy that trained me.

bear in mind that although the jewellery used in the guns is sterile THERe IS NO WAY TO STERILISE THE GUN ITSELF! This is an extremely important piece of information. Don't go to anywhere without a fully operational sink, an autoclave and a sterile area.

Sorry everyone, but that includes Claire's Accessories - how clean are those shops...really?

Don't use TCP, Surgical Spirit or any other strong chemical to clean them - for the first 3 days use saline solution 3x a day - when you get up in the morning, after a bath or shower and before bed. After 3 days, use savlon wound wash. Use that 3x a day too.

If you want any advice, PM me. I'm a fully trained piercer (i trained for 2 years too, not 4 days-2 weeks like a lot of others...).