Getting pierced in the School holidays? Here’s our no nonsense guide to prep your kids (and yourself) for their first piercing.
We’ve had loads of kids come through our doors for their very first ear piercings and after a while you start to see the patterns. Which kids might cry and which kids stoic nature will put the adults to shame. And surprisingly, the biggest predictor in how a kid handles getting pierced… is the parent’s…
So we thought we’d put together a no nonsense guide on how to create the best pricing experience for your kids and how to get them pierced here at Outliers Ink.
Here’s 5 no nonsense tips on how to prep your child for their first piercing.
1- A Clean, Safe Piercing Environment.
The most important thing to do is find a clean, reputable, licensed studio. Check the Google reviews, previous clients will tell you everything including if the place is clean. And any licensed studio has to have their licenses on show.
2- Piercing with a Gun or Needle?
This could have gone into the last point. any reputable piercer will not use a gun. It causes more damage to the soft tissue, they are unhygienic as the guns cannot be sterilised and they often malfunction, I’ll leave you to google what that looks like.
3- Piercing Aftercare Advice for your Childs ear piercing.
The council requires us to provide aftercare information so that you know how to safely look after your new piercings. If a piercer is not providing you with this, it leaves you wondering, what else are they not doing that they are supposed to? Here at Outliers Ink we don’t just go through the aftercare with you. We go through it with your kids and you get a copy sent to you, so that you don’t have to try and remember everything. You also have the option to purchase our recommended aftercare solution in store.
4- The Jewellery Material for your child’s ear piercing. It matters.
There’s a reason we pierce with sterile titanium. For 99% of us, your body doesn’t recognise it as a foreign object. This means you won’t have any reaction or irritation from the jewellery. And it being sterile is of the utmost importance. It means it’s free from any germs, contaminants, blood borne pathogens and a whole host of things that you do not want to insert into a fresh wound. Which is essentially what a piercing is. So if you wouldn’t slap a dirty plaster on your kids knee, ensure that the studio is using sterilised jewellery and equipment. You should see these items be taken out of pouches.
5- Making your kids ear piercing experience a positive one.
This is probably the most important thing you can do to give your kid a smooth, positive, piercing experience with no tears. If you want your kid to come in feeling confident and excited to have their new piercing, you need to come in feeling confident and calm. We see it over and over. The parents that come in looking chilled out, who tell their kids calmly that yes it will hurt a bit but it will be quick and it’s nothing they can’t handle, their kids sit through it like champs. But the parents who come in nervous, overly reassuring the kids, making it seem like something really big and scary is going to happen, their kids understandably freak out. They pick up on your fears and they make my job twice as hard. Ever tried hitting a moving target? So, if you’re feeling nervous, fake it till you make it or send them with aunty or uncle and trust that you are in the safest hands in Birmingham.
Children’s ear piercing at Outliers Ink.
Now, when getting your kids ears pierced at Outliers Ink in Birmingham, we have a couple of rules that keep things safe and everyone happy.
Age limit for children ear piercing.
Children must be at least 5 years old for an ear piercing at Outliers Ink. At this age they can confidently say if they want it or not. They can follow some basic aftercare advice and they are less likely to fiddle with the piercings while they heal. (Although we still have some adults that struggle with this…)
Accompanying your child for their piercing.
One parent or guardian can attend the piercing appointment and for under 16’s they can accompany them in the piercing bay. We know that everyone wants to watch the event but unfortunately we don’t have the space for every kids’ parents, siblings, grandparents and neighbours to join them. But there are some nice cafes and pubs in Bearwood that the rest of the family can relax in while waiting and we can get a lovely photo or video to show off how brave they were. Which brings us to our next point.
Getting a photo of your kids first ear piercing.
In this day and age of social media, everyone wants to film everything. But the majority of people don’t want to be filmed all day at work and we feel the same. For us to do our jobs effectively we can’t be worrying about a camera in our face, your child’s safety is of the upmost importance to us. We also have a no filming, photo or video call policy in the studio to ensure we can protect the rights of all staff and clients. Not everyone gives permission for their image to be used or shared and this blanket rule protects everyone. However we are more than happy to take some photos for you, with a lovely backdrop so you can cherish the memory forever. Let a member of staff know that you would like some photos of the big day.
Jewellery Selection for your child’s first ear piercing.
As you will need to keep your children ear piercing jewellery in for a considerable amount of time before you can safely change it, we offer a number of jewellery upgrades. So if you prefer gold toned jewellery or a sparkly gem rather than the standard titanium studs let us know. You can take a look at the options when in store and be pierced with one of those instead.
Booking your Childs Ear Piercing or Walking In
We offer both walk-in and bookings for piercings. Our walk in hours are down below. If you want to secure a time slot you can book in. Drop us a WhatsApp or email, letting us know what piercings you want, your preferred time and date (within our piercing hours) and we can send you a deposit link to secure the slot.
Piercing Walk-In Hours
- Tuesdays 12.30-6pm
- Wednesday-Saturday 12.30-6.30pm
