Vocal Voices

Poor L, bless her.

She has been desperate to have her ears pierced for about two years now but I told her that she had to wait until she was almost 11. Just as L had done.

I have recently relented and said that she can have them done this half term. So today we popped into the piercing studio (which is inside one of the boutiques) to find out how long they would recommend that she didn't swim for as this would affect when she had them done because of school swimming lessons. They said four weeks so we worked out that if she had them done today she would miss the next school swimming lesson (which is just fun swim so I'm not bothered about her missing that), then it is half term, then they never have a swimming lesson the first week back which means that she would only miss the following lesson. I don't really want her to have them done at the beginning of the summer holidays as swimming is one of their main past times!

So L decided to have it done. She changed her mind when she got into the chair but then changed it back again and had it done. Then cried because it hurt. Then refused to have the other one done. You could tell that she was really torn - she desperately wanted it done but was also frightened of it hurting.

So we left it a while and had a wander round the shops to get all our shopping done. She decided that she was going to have it done and we went back to the shop but she just couldn't bring herself to get it done.

So she is now sporting one lovely gold ear ring.

I have done her a deal that she can keep the one ear ring in until next Saturday. She has to go back on or before next Saturday to have the other one done or we take this one out as I don't want her having just the one done as it looks really silly!

I felt so sorry for her as I knew that she desperately wanted to have it done but am also secretly a little cross with her. It has completely buggered up the swimming thing and she will now end up missing one fun swim and two school swimming lessons if she gets the other one done next week.

Oh dear....this is the thing with piercings, of course its going to hurt, because you are having a hole in a place where previously there was none. I am sure you will have explained all this to L loads before going for it

I think you can get some cream from the chemist (or certainly from your GP) which sort of numbs your skin - for when you have an injection or something - if you put some on L's lobe before the next piercing, this would ensure there was little or no pain involved. At least she'd be even xx

She was expecting it to hurt a little and that it would be over really quickly.

The girl put some numbing gel on too.

I do hope she has the other side done as I know how much she has been looking forward to getting them done - she has been buying ear rings for the last six months ready for when she gets them done and can change them.

But its no big deal if she doesn't - it just seems a shame to go through it all to then take the ear ring out after a week.

Oh bless! I think the key is for the piercer to do it as quickly as possible! When B had hers done the girl in Claire's who did it was so quick that B asked when she was going to start - and it was actually all finished!

I can understand your frustration Debih xxx

As an aside, my mum had hers done aged about 14/15 by a friend who used two pieces of cork, a boiled (therefore sterilised) needle, cotton thread in a loop to stand in for a sleeper and an ice lolly She used salt water to bathe them until they healed, and never had a moment's trouble with them either Mick's mum had hers done by a fellow pupil nurse when she was 16 - they all did each others, much to the annoyance of the Matron - they all got a real telling off

I've just spoken to her (they are staying at my mums tonight) and she is really chirpy and says it doesn't hurt now unless she touches it.

She says she is going to get the other one done next week.

To be honest, even if she doesn't I won't make her take the one out that she has had done. In the grand scheme of things it really doesn't matter if she only has one in. I just won't tell her that yet.

Good thinking

Kaz wrote:Oh bless! I think the key is for the piercer to do it as quickly as possible! When B had hers done the girl in Claire's who did it was so quick that B asked when she was going to start - and it was actually all finished!

I can understand your frustration Debih xxx

As an aside, my mum had hers done aged about 14/15 by a friend who used two pieces of cork, a boiled (therefore sterilised) needle, cotton thread in a loop to stand in for a sleeper and an ice lolly She used salt water to bathe them until they healed, and never had a moment's trouble with them either Mick's mum had hers done by a fellow pupil nurse when she was 16 - they all did each others, much to the annoyance of the Matron - they all got a real telling off

Ah yes - the cork and needle trick. Been there, done that. Quite a few times. Usually in geography class!

Yes - mine were done aged 18 in the town's indoor market - I was sat in a booth in one of the market stalls and my lobes were 'marked up' with permanent marker pen, and then a 'sterile' needle (boiled water!! LOL) was shoved through my lobes into a piece of cork waiting on t'other side - then a gold sleeper was pushed through and I was told to bathe lobes in salted water twice a day and turn the sleeper round, using olive oil to help it through if it was stuck!

That was in 1978.....one ear was perfectly fine but the other one was, and always has been, more of a problem.

I had mine done aged 17, just after I got engaged, so I could wear earrings for my wedding. I had them done very hygienically at a good jewellers but OMG the problems! They blew up like golf balls no matter what we tried, my mum even let me wear her best 22 carat sleepers but they still wept and swelled up!

In the end after several trips to the GP and antibiotics galore I was told to let them heal up or I'd get blood poisoning Now I just have two little marks where the piercings were

I'd love pierced ears but my skin is soooo flipping sensitive, and I'm a very allergicky sort of person

I had mine done the first time at a jewellers when I was around 12 or 13.

I didn't actually want them doing but my nan and her friend did. So they bribed/cajouled/forced me to get mine done first to see how much it hurt.



I never had any problems with them - even the ones that I either did myself or let my friends do.

S had hers done just before she was 11 and has never had problems. Hers were done at the same piercing/tattoo place that I took L to today. The girl there is lovely - even if a little scary looking!!!