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All about Ear Piercing
Among all cultures of the world, perhaps ear piercing is one of the most widely accepted forms of body modification. Now, with modern techniques, it has become very easy to pierce the cartilage and ear lobes and expect successful healing. Ear piercing has been common in the primitive cultures of the South Pacific and Africa and now in the modern societies of the West too.
Specific tools: When an ear piercing is done, the piercer uses specific tools to carry out this procedure. He uses a gun or needle to make a tiny hole through the ear tissue, usually in the fleshy lobe at the base of the ear. Once this is done, the hole is filled with permanent jewellery, allowing the holes to heal “open.” Today, an ear piercing is done with a piercing gun or a hand-held slant-tip needle.
The latter is more precise and uses a sharper instrument that makes the procedure less traumatic to the tissue. Before going in for a piercing, ask if the piercer has formal training and which methods he uses and why. Bear in mind that your piercer should use only sterilized and “single-service” tools. This means he uses disposable tools.
You can have any part of your ear pierced beginning from the lower lobes to the thin rim that runs around the entire frame of the ear. These days, piercings are also done in the conch of the ear, or through the ridges of the ear’s conch.
Requisites for your piercer:
- His premises should be registered with the local council and the register be available for public viewing.
- His premises should be clean with a hand basin with hot and cold running water.
- Hand cleaning soap should be available at the basin, with paper towels on the side.
- The design of the premises should be in accordance with the requirements of the local council.
- Fittings in the piercing area should be cleaned between piercings.
- The room should be brightly lit.
Personal hygiene:
- Your ear piercer should wash his hands before and after a piercing.
- He should wear a clean gown or apron during the procedure.
- If he has a cut on his hands or fingers, he should not leave it open but bandage it.
- During a piercing, ensure that he wears single use gloves.
Equipment:
- Your piercer should use either an ear piercing gun or a needle and preferably a gun for the ear lobe.
- His reusable ear piercing gun should be kept away from your ear.
- He should use sterilised equipment and jewellery.
- Pre-sterilised packaged jewellery should be kept unopened until the time of piercing.
After care:
- Disposable gloves should be thrown away after use.
- The piercer should clean the ear piercing gun after the procedure.
- After piercing, the cartridges used to hold the jewellery in place should be disposed.
Choosing jewellery: When choosing jewellery, you could go in for stud, hook or hoop earrings. Today’s ear piercing instruments can pierce using 20- or 18-gauge earrings of surgical steel, 24 kt. gold plated steel, 14 kt. gold, or titanium
Choose your ear piercer with great care and look after yourself after the piercing, on his instructions.