I gun pierce. I know why I gun pierce, and I've read the literature on why it's bad and realize that a lot of it is massively outdated or otherwise currently untrue
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I've heard a lot about why gun piercing is bad, but no one can ever provide any reasons to my why they say it's bad. Do you have any links about the sides of the issue handy? If I'm gonna flame, I like it to be an informed flame ;)
The part that I get a kick out of is in the about.com article where the author goes on about how unsterile it is for the 'gun piercer' to touch the person then the gun. With needle piercings, the latex gloves are not sterile surgical gloves, and I've seen them touch the person, then the equipment, which could be the same cross contamination. *shrugs*
The only question I have is what do you guys use to clean the guns with? (more interested in hearing it from someone who actually does it rather than what people have heard) And if you don't mind, what else is misrepresented that I'm missing? If you don't feel like typing it all out, I'll just keep an eye on this thread.
I'm basically neutral on this issue, but find it interesting to hear both sides of the issue. I figure that's the only way for me to make an informed decision should I decide I want to pick a side.
We clean the guns with an alcohol swab. Nope, that does not sterilize it. But the gun never touches your skin, and after I touch the gun, I do not touch your skin unless I switch gloves. The gun may be contaminated, but it does not touch you, nor the stud. It touches a sterile, disposable cartridge holding a sterile stud
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I don't really have a problem with it, but perhaps you can explain it to me anyway? I'd thought the reasons for not gun piercing was that the guns couldn't be autoclaved, thereby lowering the cleanliness of the general procedure and that there was a very small chance of things (specifically HepB or C) being able to survive and transfer into another piercing. Though I've nothing to back up this part, I'd heard that the piercing of a needle was better than the blunt force of the jewelry being pushed in via the gun. Granted, the last time I researched this was around 7 years ago and it was over a nose piercing, which generally isn't done by guns anyway.
Oh, gods... one of the Claire's stores got caught by a DM gun piercing noses. The whole store was canned so fast their heads spun. *shudder*
Correct, the guns cannot be autoclaved. But the guns do not touch skin, nor the stud going into the ear, and my gloves do not touch skin after touching the gun. (The gun DOES touch a cartridge that the stud is loaded into, then the cartridge\stud is sterilized, packaged, and waits to be loaded, which happens all of thirty seconds or less before it goes in to the ear. I could be wrong, but I don't think germs transfer across surfaces that quickly.
Supposedly? Gun piercing studs are blunt. I don't know what the hell they're talking about there. I accidentally pierced my own ear with a piercing stud, trying to reopen a healed over piercing hole. I barely felt it. And that third hole healed just fine. It's a bit close to the second one, but healthy.
Interesting... no, we don't use sterile gloves. Nor have any of the needle piercers I've observed\been to. Or the tattoo artists. They use similar looking boxes of non sterile medical examining gloves (this is what the box says. Whee for a weird memory!).
It also tells me that touching my skin where it was cleaned with iodine, then touching the needle, renders the needle unsterile. Actually, scratch that, the gloves made it that way anyhow.
I don't know of studies on the subject. Most of what I have found has been via BMEzine. They didn't have any linked... which doesn't mean they don't exist, but BMEzine seems to like having all piercing-related information available via its site.
Thanks for having intelligent conversations about this!
What about the quality of the jewerly? I mean, how good can the studs be when they are $14.99 for the set? Don't lots of people get irritations from them?
We recommend 14kt jewelry grade gold, which has had all the nickel removed, or titanium studs. Those run $26-$42 for the set. No, most people do not get irritations from the studs, but rather from the earrings they buy later. We offer refunds if you have an allergic or otherwise bad reaction, and I have not had a set returned, nor heard of any returned.
TECHNICALLY, yes, we have stainless steel. I refuse to use it. We are permanently out of it, and not getting any in stock again, ever. Those boxes in the back room? Yeah... I can't see them. Selectively blind.
Yep. It is free with the purchase of the starter jewelry- which, within the limits of what I will put in someone's ears (no stainless, lalala) runs $26-$42.
Any karat gold is an alloy. 24 is the purest karat, and has the most gold content of any commonly used gold alloy. This 14kt alloy simply does not contain nickel. What metals ARE in it, I'm not completely sure of, but I would assume copper and quite possibly silver. It isn't plated, it's as pure as a 14kt alloy can be- and has had nickel, the most likely trigger for a metal allergy, removed form the alloy. I realize titanium is naturally mostly nickel free, and I have no problem using that either. My sister actually has an INSANE metal allergy, the sort where she has to cover the button of her jeans with tape, cannot wear any jewelry that isn't plastic... except titanium and the 14kt piercing earrings.
Gun piercing gets a lot of slack because of places like Claire's. My friends went to a high quality professional piercer and had the gun, and their piercings have healed wonderfully and they have no problem. Hell, I went to a Claire's when I was young and naive, and it healed well. But when those holes closed (of my own accord) and I decided to go for a much more expensive needle piercing? Two months later my dad was pulling out my piercings with a pair of pliers. And no, it isn't because I'm crappy at aftercare - like I said, I already had my ears pierced and they healed well, and I have two tattoos that healed well.
If I ever try getting pierced again, I'm going for the gun.
o.0 my gun piercings from a "professional" place healed like crap the one from a studio with sealed, autoclaved, operating room soap, and that prescribed witch hazel/ seasalt as after care healed like a charm. It was great. ^^ I think needle piercings get a lot of slack because some of the people who do them dont pay attention to safety regs
Agreed- some of the people who do them are REALLY bad at it, and don't care. I heard of a woman who knowingly used NONSTERILE, blunt, practice studs on someone and pocketed the payment. Those studs say not to use on living things in HUGE lettering on them.
I came over here from customers_suck. I get so tired of here OMFG your ears are gun pierced!??? OH NOES111 LOLzz I cant stand alot of the holier than everyone else pretentious body bod community.This whole OH NOES da gun is bad shit...has just been really kicked up. My one set of holes was gun pierced when I was 7.....BY MY DOCTOR...from HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL. people shut the fuck up when they hear that one! Actually my gun pierced holes have healed perfect with not even a problem. My holes done by a so called "professional piercer" was told he was one of the best in chicago...the best shop in chicago. Those holes have given me nothing but problems!
I will remember that. My ISP is being bitchy and not allowing me to view certain sites (including my own LJ, thank goodness for e-mail alerts) and refuses to let me look at that site or your profile. However. If you're ever out in DeKalb, The Magic Door is where I get pierced. Cheap and they do a great job. In South Elgin is Quad Cities Tattoo, and in Aurora is Eternal Flame. I know the piercer there, and can't stand him personally, but can't find anything wrong with him professionally.
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http://www.bmeworld.com/heidi/guns.html
http://tattoo.about.com/cs/psafety/a/piercing_guns.htm
Read, then bring up your concerns, and I'll show you the places where the information is either in error or misrepresented.
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The only question I have is what do you guys use to clean the guns with? (more interested in hearing it from someone who actually does it rather than what people have heard) And if you don't mind, what else is misrepresented that I'm missing? If you don't feel like typing it all out, I'll just keep an eye on this thread.
I'm basically neutral on this issue, but find it interesting to hear both sides of the issue. I figure that's the only way for me to make an informed decision should I decide I want to pick a side.
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I'd thought the reasons for not gun piercing was that the guns couldn't be autoclaved, thereby lowering the cleanliness of the general procedure and that there was a very small chance of things (specifically HepB or C) being able to survive and transfer into another piercing. Though I've nothing to back up this part, I'd heard that the piercing of a needle was better than the blunt force of the jewelry being pushed in via the gun.
Granted, the last time I researched this was around 7 years ago and it was over a nose piercing, which generally isn't done by guns anyway.
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Correct, the guns cannot be autoclaved. But the guns do not touch skin, nor the stud going into the ear, and my gloves do not touch skin after touching the gun. (The gun DOES touch a cartridge that the stud is loaded into, then the cartridge\stud is sterilized, packaged, and waits to be loaded, which happens all of thirty seconds or less before it goes in to the ear. I could be wrong, but I don't think germs transfer across surfaces that quickly.
Supposedly? Gun piercing studs are blunt. I don't know what the hell they're talking about there. I accidentally pierced my own ear with a piercing stud, trying to reopen a healed over piercing hole. I barely felt it. And that third hole healed just fine. It's a bit close to the second one, but healthy.
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It also tells me that touching my skin where it was cleaned with iodine, then touching the needle, renders the needle unsterile. Actually, scratch that, the gloves made it that way anyhow.
I don't know of studies on the subject. Most of what I have found has been via BMEzine. They didn't have any linked... which doesn't mean they don't exist, but BMEzine seems to like having all piercing-related information available via its site.
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What about the quality of the jewerly? I mean, how good can the studs be when they are $14.99 for the set? Don't lots of people get irritations from them?
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Where are you getting the prices from?
We recommend 14kt jewelry grade gold, which has had all the nickel removed, or titanium studs. Those run $26-$42 for the set. No, most people do not get irritations from the studs, but rather from the earrings they buy later. We offer refunds if you have an allergic or otherwise bad reaction, and I have not had a set returned, nor heard of any returned.
TECHNICALLY, yes, we have stainless steel. I refuse to use it. We are permanently out of it, and not getting any in stock again, ever. Those boxes in the back room? Yeah... I can't see them. Selectively blind.
Still, those are $20 for a pair.
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I thought that anything less than 24K gold had nickel in it. What does the 12K have then, if not nickel?
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Any karat gold is an alloy. 24 is the purest karat, and has the most gold content of any commonly used gold alloy. This 14kt alloy simply does not contain nickel. What metals ARE in it, I'm not completely sure of, but I would assume copper and quite possibly silver. It isn't plated, it's as pure as a 14kt alloy can be- and has had nickel, the most likely trigger for a metal allergy, removed form the alloy. I realize titanium is naturally mostly nickel free, and I have no problem using that either. My sister actually has an INSANE metal allergy, the sort where she has to cover the button of her jeans with tape, cannot wear any jewelry that isn't plastic... except titanium and the 14kt piercing earrings.
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If I ever try getting pierced again, I'm going for the gun.
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the one from a studio with sealed, autoclaved, operating room soap, and that prescribed witch hazel/ seasalt as after care healed like a charm. It was great. ^^
I think needle piercings get a lot of slack because some of the people who do them dont pay attention to safety regs
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I get so tired of here OMFG your ears are gun pierced!??? OH NOES111 LOLzz
I cant stand alot of the holier than everyone else pretentious body bod community.This whole OH NOES da gun is bad shit...has just been really kicked up.
My one set of holes was gun pierced when I was 7.....BY MY DOCTOR...from HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL. people shut the fuck up when they hear that one!
Actually my gun pierced holes have healed perfect with not even a problem.
My holes done by a so called "professional piercer" was told he was one of the best in chicago...the best shop in chicago. Those holes have given me nothing but problems!
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tell people NOT to go there!
They are nothing but pretentious RUDE only out for the money assholes!
I have had mates go there and they think the same!
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