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Ear piercing is very simple. A tiny hole is made through the
ear tissue, usually in the fleshy lobe at the bottom of the
ear. Permanent jewelry is worn in the holes, allowing the
holes to heal “open”, giving the person “pierced ears.”
Modern techniques are usually either a piercing gun or a
hand technique using a slant-tip needle. The hand technique
is more precise and utilizes a sharper instrument which is
much less traumatic to the tissue. Most modern piercing
studios utilize the new sterile hand techniques, but ask how
the person performing the piercing received their training
and what methods they prefer and why. All tools should be
sterilized and “single-service”, meaning they get used on
only one person and then properly discarded.
The jewelry worn in pierced ears falls into a few
categories. Stud earrings are usually tiny decorative fronts
attached to short posts, held in place with a small earring
back that slips onto the post. Hoop earrings are either the
loops worn through the ears themselves, or any earrings
which utilize such a wire as the foundation for the
earrings. Hook earrings come in many shapes and styles, all
based on the idea of a bent wire that hooks into the hole in
the ear with some sort of dangle supported from the wire.
Tiny hoops with decoration are best for newly pierced ears,
as they are light and allow for ease of movement for healing
and cleaning. Well-established piercing can support heavier
dangles comfortably.
Ears can be pierced just about anywhere from the lower lobes
to the thin rim that runs around the entire shell of the
ear. Newer piercing includes large gauge holes in the conch
of the ear, or rings through the ridges of the conch. By
slowly increasing the gauge of the ear jewelry, soft tissue
piercing can be stretched to form ear loops.
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