# boys and pierced ears



## mommaof3boz (Feb 15, 2006)

I am of the opinion it is fine for boys to pierce their ears. As long as they are old enough to take care of them properly, which is exactly what I would tell a girl, if I had one. As I figure its not permanent, as long as they aren't gauging, its safe and inexpensive. I also feel its their body and their choice. My 13 yr old wants his left ear pierced and I am fine with it. How do you guys feel about it? Do any of your sons have pierced ears?


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## nd_deadhead (Sep 22, 2005)

My sons are 13, and if either of them wanted a pierced ear, I wouldn't argue.

I would not allow piercings anywhere else.


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## ArielMomma (Jul 28, 2007)

My son was 10 when he got both ears pierced.

A long time ago he came home and asked if he could get them pierced. I said if he still wanted to when he was older then I would allow it, but 10 was just too young. The next day he went over to a friends house and came home with two pierced ears.

When he was 16 he asked for a tongue ring. I immediately said yes after a short reflection about what happened at age 10. He is 17 now. He loves his tongue and earrings. He has his nipple pierced, but I don't think I'm supposed to know about that one.


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## ThreeBeans (Dec 2, 2006)

My opinion is the same as yours


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## DreamsInDigital (Sep 18, 2003)

I let my 8 year old get his ear pierced. It was his choice and he thought about it for 6 months before we actually went and got it done. He's had it about 6 months now and he's taken really good care of it. I was actually quite proud of how responsible he was about it.


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## Kerlowyn (Mar 15, 2002)

My son is 14, will be 15 in June. For his 11,12 and 13th birthdays, I took him for ear piercings, so he now has 3 on one ear.

He also has black/blue dyed hair. I always tell him when I'm doing his hair we will have such good "Remember When?" stories to tell!


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## mommaof3boz (Feb 15, 2006)

kristina-I looked at your 14 yr olds pic and he reminds me a lot of my son, who wants the piercing. Also I wanted to say your sons pic with the husky is to cute...your husky looks like he's wearing reading glassed, by the markings on his/her nose lol.


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## momz3 (May 1, 2006)

I want to get my sons ears pierced...but he is too young, now (5)...if he wants to when he is a pre teen-teen, I'll let him if there he is a good boy in school and around the house


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## mtiger (Sep 10, 2006)

My boy got his done about a year ago, at 15. His Dad still doesn't know. I'm not cool about other piercings until he's supporting himself, and he's okay with that.


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## kblackstone444 (Jun 17, 2007)

My son is 12. If he wanted his ear pierced, I would have no problem with it. His Dad, however...







:

Honestly, if he wanted any other piercings, I'm not sure I'd be so cool with it. I know, I know, his body, his choice, but one of my brothers had alot of piercings, alot of "impulse piercings" on random parts of his body. Not he just has his ears pierced... and various piercing scars over many parts of his body.

My son has the most beautiful color hair, but if he wanted to dye it, I'd be all for it. Right now he's growing his hair long. How long, I don't know, but if he wants to grow it all the way down to his butt, I'm all for it. A couple years ago he wanted a buzz cut. I *HATED* it, but I let him get it anyways.


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## terrordactyl (Jul 19, 2006)

i dont see how its any different than girls getting theres done


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## MCatLvrMom2A&X (Nov 18, 2004)

Wouldnt be ok with it.


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## Arduinna (May 30, 2002)

I don't have any boys but the rules are the same for boys and girls if I had them.


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## laoxinat (Sep 17, 2007)

Well, my ds _pierced his own tongue_ when he was 13. I didn't know whether to smack him (figuratively, of course) or kiss him for having the cojones. He never had any others as a teen but he now has pretty big gauged (sp?) rings in both ears. And he is a professional piercer







And oh, heck yeah, he has pierced both dd and me







He is awesome. Give him your blessing and pretend you really have a choice


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## UnschoolnMa (Jun 14, 2004)

My Ds (going on 17) got his ear pierced when he was about 3 or 4 years old I think. He stopped wearing an earring in it when he was about 9 or so I think. All his decision.









My Dd (14) has her nose, ears, and naval pierced.

We discuss safety and care of the thing and then get on with it.


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## Jessy1019 (Aug 6, 2006)

My son is two, so no piercings yet.

I would let both my kids (boy and girl) get whatever piercings they wanted, as long as we could find a reputable place to do them.


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## my2suns (Jan 3, 2003)

My son is 8 and has his ear pierced. He started asking when he was 7 and we told him to think about it and if he still wanted to...fine. So, one night he said he wanted to , so I took him. He is responsible for it and has always done a great job keeping it clean. He takes it out every week for his soccer games (No jewlery rule) and puts it back in on the way home. Side note: A few weeks ago he heard his first narrow minded thing from a soccer team- mate about it. You know "my Dad said only boys who are gay get their ear pierced".


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## Marcee (Jan 23, 2007)

Up until last night I would have said no. But DS (12) came and asked if he gets straight A's till the end of the school year would I let him pierce his ears. I told him I would have to think about it.... I am still thinking...


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## the_lissa (Oct 30, 2004)

why not boys?


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## UnschoolnMa (Jun 14, 2004)

Yeah I don't know why it would be odd for a boy to get pierced either? Strange lol


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## Marcee (Jan 23, 2007)

My younger brother has his ears done. My older brother had his ear pierced years ago, but now does not where it. I honestly dont care for pierced male ears but I have no problem with my brothers having done it.... But I am just not sure if I want Briar to do it. Like I said still thinking on it...


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## Marcee (Jan 23, 2007)

Part of it is I dont want him to do it just cause his friend "D" has it done.


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## nolonger (Jan 18, 2006)

Gender doesn't matter. A lobe piercing is a lobe piercing and if the child is old enough to care for it properly and has wanted the same piercing long enough, my only concerns are healthwise, i.e., no piercing guns at the mall or cheap jewelry that's going to irritate and cause infections.

That said, my dd confessed that she and her best friend used this against me to get ds1 to talk me into letting him have his done when he was five because THEY thought it would be cute. He wasn't old enough and had problems, so ds2 is kind of stuck with waiting until he's 7 unless he is exceptionally mature.

Thirteen? Yea, take him to a piercing shop or else do it yourself with a needle instead of a gun and get him the "for sensitive ears" studs at first or a high quality CBR. He'll be fine.

As for the gay thing, when I was growing up (1970s) a stud in the left ear meant you were straight and in the right ear meant you were gay, but our piercer assures us that this is passe and our boys should just pierce whichever ear they want or both and don't need to be repierced if they rethink their sexuality.


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## mommaof3boz (Feb 15, 2006)

Quick question...why not with a gun if the earring is a sterilized, surgical one? The gun itself doesn't go thru the lobe. Is someplace like Claires a no no? Its been 30 yrs since I had my ears done so I'm a little behind of this kind of stuff lol.


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## PoppyMama (Jul 1, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mommaof3boz* 
Quick question...why not with a gun if the earring is a sterilized, surgical one? The gun itself doesn't go thru the lobe. Is someplace like Claires a no no? Its been 30 yrs since I had my ears done so I'm a little behind of this kind of stuff lol.

Piercing guns= bad bad bad

they use something much duller than a needle to pierce the tissue which causes a lot more trauma and longer healing times and more infection. people are generally told to twist the posts which creates more problems and the guns are not autoclaved and can be contaminated by spray. the people behind the gun generally have no real clue what they are doing either. go to a professional piercer and check their clean technique.


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## BedHead (Mar 8, 2007)

I have no problem with boys piercing their ears. Mine have never wanted to though.


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## laoxinat (Sep 17, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *PoppyMama* 
Piercing guns= bad bad bad

they use something much duller than a needle to pierce the tissue which causes a lot more trauma and longer healing times and more infection. people are generally told to twist the posts which creates more problems and the guns are not autoclaved and can be contaminated by spray. the people behind the gun generally have no real clue what they are doing either. go to a professional piercer and check their clean technique.

Yes. My DS is a piercer and confirms this adamantly.....


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## Lizafava (Nov 28, 2004)

The piercing guns are so awful. The people using them have no meaningful training in infection control (think hepatitis, MRS etc.) They seriously damage tissue. The jewelry is cheap, dangerous and can contain nickel (I developed a bad nickel allergy after my ears were pierced when I was 5). Not to mention the piercing care information you get from those places is awful.

If you can't find a professional piercer to do your kids, do it yourself. Much safer. Some folks can get a Dr. to do it, but I think I'd rather do it myself.

The Association of Professional Piercers has an excellent FAQ about stud guns. You have to scroll down a bit to read it.


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## my2suns (Jan 3, 2003)

I totally agree that is does not matter which ear. I told him that when we were at the shop. The piecer said "you know it's up to you, but down here you may get some crap from kids so maybe we should just do your left one first, then if you want the other one, we could do it later." The soccer coach said something to him, after the kid did, just about having it done at all. Like, "I didn't know you had your ear pierced, did you just get it?" Which he had not. I was thinking how many of your high school guys (he coaches the HS team too) have theirs pierced...why make a deal out of it at all? Where we live has not really caught up with the decade we are in...can you tell??


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## mommy68 (Mar 13, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MCatLvrMom2A&X* 
Wouldnt be ok with it.

I wouldn't be okay with it either.

Once my boys are over 18 they can do whatever they want. I think piercings can be okay for girls as long as they are old enough to care for them. Tattoos I wouldn't agree with for any of my children. They would have to be over 18 to get that as well. My DH and I grew up in homes that felt this way and so we carry this on with our children. They can do whatever they want to their bodies as long as they are old enough to care for it.

My oldest child is 13 now and had a boy in class that had a piercing in 2nd grade and all the kids made fun of that child constantly. It just wasn't "normal" for the area of town we were in and the type of people that kid was around. His parents should have made him wait a while. I felt sorry for the kid.


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## nancy926 (Mar 10, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mommy68* 
Once my boys are over 18 they can do whatever they want. ... They can do whatever they want to their bodies as long as they are old enough to care for it.

You are saying two things here, though. Is it 18, or is it "old enough to care for it"? Even at 13, I was plenty old enough to follow the instructions after having my ears pierced.

I don't have any boys, but if either of my girls wants her ears pierced, I'll ask her to do some research on how it's done and what the risks are, and use some of her own money to pay for it. I'll probably also wait several months to make sure it's something she really wants and not just a spur-of-the-moment thing. Then, okay with me.


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## UUMom (Nov 14, 2002)

Of my 4 children, only the 19 year old has pierced ears (3 holes). The girls were never interested, & 14 yr old ds is not yet interested. I signed for my oldest to get his first ear piercing since he wanted it (he was 16) . I don't have any opinion at all about it. I really don't care.


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## PancakeGoddess (Oct 8, 2004)

My 13yo wants ears and eyebrow. My concern about eyebrow (and to a lesser degree about boys with earrings) is not that *I* give a hoot... but the reality is that people do get profiled and make assumptions. I'm not sure my kid truly gets that but ultimately I'm sure we'd ok the ears, and eventually the rest but not as soon.


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## UUMom (Nov 14, 2002)

o


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## UUMom (Nov 14, 2002)

It's regional, maybe? We've had no negative anything ebcause of the piercings... We live in a town with a University, so maybe that's why? A lot of the kids at the high school have them, and several boys at younger ds' school as well. A couple of the hs boys also have earrings... In fact, one of the mothers used to have a tongue ring...and several have belly button rings.

I didn't even think about it when my ds asked. It didn't register as anything that i needed to be concerned about.


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## laoxinat (Sep 17, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *PancakeGoddess* 
My 13yo wants ears and eyebrow. My concern about eyebrow (and to a lesser degree about boys with earrings) is not that *I* give a hoot... but the reality is that people do get profiled and make assumptions. I'm not sure my kid truly gets that but ultimately I'm sure we'd ok the ears, and eventually the rest but not as soon.

Also, any facial piercing would have to come out in order for him to participate in a sport, and this increases risk of closing up, infection, etc.


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## my2suns (Jan 3, 2003)

UUMom...wanna know something frightening...it is a college town too!!! YIKES!!! Granted a small college, but there is still a progressive group of people that are around. Our circle of friends that are profs at the college and the artist around town have no problem with it. Some of the other adults in town, the ones that grew up here and never moved away, are the ones that seem to.

We've talked with him about how people judge you by how you look, not who you are. It is something as a family we strive to be aware of and put a stop to it if it starts to happen within our dynamic. He had a green mohawk a couple of years ago and said "Man, like people have never seen someone with hair that is different. And WHY do they always want to touch it!??"


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## UUMom (Nov 14, 2002)

Maybe we have been so not mainstream for so long I no longer notice disaproval. It could be people are judging us...but if a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears...and all.


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## mikaela (Oct 3, 2007)

I'm with you -- it's his body and they're just earlobes









After a couple months of asking, we (his dad, his dad's girlfriend, me and my boyfriend) took my son to have both his ears pierced for his eighth birthday, in April '05. Within a year, he got sick of taking them out and putting them back in for sports, that he just started leaving them out


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## bhawkins (Jun 5, 2005)

My DS got his ears pierced for his 11th birthday. He did a good job keeping them clean, but he was way too anxious to change them out. he did so too soon and one of them had a really hard time healing properly. Then last summer, about a year later, he took them both out by his own choice.

All that being said, I'd let him (or any of my other kids) get them done again.


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## Organicavocado (Mar 15, 2006)

Do some research (or better yet, have him do it) on properly caring for piercings (look for something advocating leaving it the heck alone, and toss out anything mentioning twisting the jewelry or using alcohol... both advocated by these gun piercing shops, I will let you do your research and figure out why these are bad), and google "piercing guns". You'll want them done at a professional shop as a gun is not sterilizable and creates a tear instead of a healable "tube". You might have trouble even finding a reputable shop that will pierce a minor (even with consent) so that might hinder the process anyway.

Don't assume that lobe piercings aren't permanent, either. All of my gun-pierced holes have massive scarring... even my lobes. I wouldn't assume that stretching the holes (small) would be permanent either. It depends on your body.


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## DavinaT (Jun 28, 2005)

No problem for me. If it's ok for girls then it's ok for boys. Anything else is just sexist - it IS that simple. Only 3 conditions.
They are old enough to care for it themselves.
They remove it for contact sport.
They get it done in clean sterile environment (no I wouldn't do it for them myself) and I would go with them.

Tongue piercing - NO adamantly NO.
Reason? One accident and they could smash the crowns of 1 or 2 teeth. Result: excruciating pain and months of truamatic, painful and expensive surgery. Yes, it does happen.
bellybutton or other body piercing - they won't do it here before 16 anyway as full growth hasn't been done before that and the skin can stretch and split but at 16 they're not children any more anyway.
Long hair - again, if a girl can have it a guy can too. BUT it should be clean and well looked after.
Remember, piercings aren't like tatoos, they're not permanent and can be removed.


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## mamato3cherubs (Nov 30, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Organicavocado* 
Do some research (or better yet, have him do it) on properly caring for piercings (look for something advocating leaving it the heck alone, and toss out anything mentioning twisting the jewelry or using alcohol... both advocated by these gun piercing shops, I will let you do your research and figure out why these are bad), and google "piercing guns". You'll want them done at a professional shop as a gun is not sterilizable and creates a tear instead of a healable "tube". You might have trouble even finding a reputable shop that will pierce a minor (even with consent) so that might hinder the process anyway.































Just have to say I would be just fine with it. My 12 yo has no interest and gave me quite a hard time when i got my navel pierced, lol, but i think my younger 2 might have a different idea on this when the time comes.
as for other piercings im pretty much fine with that too, although i want them to be grown enough to really make a good decision before getting into some of the extensive facial piercings, but i have a feeling they would be older before having and interest in that anyways


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## Piercedboy (Mar 18, 2006)

I can answer just about any questions about piercings.







I have some of the more unusual ones. (Ask me about my pierced forearms!) Lobes are pretty easy to heal up if you decide you don't want them anymore. I had mine up to 00 the first time they were pierced, and they completely closed when i took them out. Now I have them at an inch, and they will close up most of the way, but never completely again. I have no problems with kids getting their lobes pierced.

I would be concerned about an eyebrow piercing on kids however. The skin there is exceptionally thin, and even if it is treated very well there is a good chance it will reject and if not removed quickly will scar. And with the way kids are sometimes, it would be very easy to rip out.


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## akaisha (Apr 14, 2008)

i have 8 piercings (7 ears (including cartilage) and navel) and have always healed beautifully, my 19 year old brother has one (eyebrow) and has had it since he was 16. he used to have two in the eyebrow, but he took one out when it didn't heal right, and he had his nipple done for about a year and took it out when he didn't like it anymore. both the second eyebrow and the nipple healed up fine.

tips:

-make sure the piercing is done at a studio by a professional piercer, don't do any of that hair salon or jewelry store stuff. piercing guns aren't safe - they can't be autoclaved and therefore are never sterile, they also do some serious tissue damage. needles are better. the actual needle used to pierce is always brand new (they're one time use) and the instruments used to drive the needle are surgical grade steel and can be sterilized in an autoclave.
-tour the studio before the piercing is done. they should be more than willing to do this, if they're not, leave. get them to show you the autoclave and the unopened needles and gloves. if you want you can ask to see the piercer's portfolio.
-natural astringents like tea tree oil, lemon juice, and sea salt (all diluted in water) are good for cleaning and promote healing.
-don't use anything alcohol based on an unhealed piercing.
-if you have to use a soap surgical soap is best. in absence of that spectro gel is good. you can get it at any drugstore, it's actually a non-soap based cleaning gel.
-do not touch it, the second you hear someone mention spinning it, run away. if it must be touched wash hands first. make sure to rinse it in the shower after washing hair because shampoo can get all up in there.
-remember that piercings can take 6 months to a year to fully heal. lobes don't tend to take this long though.

in my province you can get pierced at any age with a parent present (they even ask for ID to make sure they're actually your parents), and the age of consent for piercings without a parent present is 16. when my brother went to get his eyebrow at 16 i told him "ask if they pierce minors alone and if they say yes then leave even though you're old enough" reason: if they're willing to pierce a minor without express parental permission i don't trust them to use proper cleaning and other practices, because their ethics are obviously dubious at best.


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## snazzy_mom (Apr 8, 2006)

my oldest ds (10) has had his done 2x, at his request. The first time, his teacher took it out and told him it was infected yet, by the time he got home that afternoon, it was fine, no redness or irritation. I think she just didn't like it and advised her not to touch my sons ear again.

He wanted it redone for his bday so we took him to get it done again.

I think as long as the child is responsible enough to care for it, then why not? I wouldn't agree to any other piercings until he's older but that's just me. I don't like eyebrow piercings, they just aren't attractive and they can either grow out or get pulled out too easily.


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## Stinkerbell (Aug 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Organicavocado* 
Do some research (or better yet, have him do it) on properly caring for piercings (look for something advocating leaving it the heck alone, and toss out anything mentioning twisting the jewelry or using alcohol... both advocated by these gun piercing shops, I will let you do your research and figure out why these are bad), and google "piercing guns". You'll want them done at a professional shop as a gun is not sterilizable and creates a tear instead of a healable "tube". You might have trouble even finding a reputable shop that will pierce a minor (even with consent) so that might hinder the process anyway.

Don't assume that lobe piercings aren't permanent, either. All of my gun-pierced holes have massive scarring... even my lobes. I wouldn't assume that stretching the holes (small) would be permanent either. It depends on your body.

word to all of this!!


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## rightkindofme (Apr 14, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *akaisha* 
tips:

-make sure the piercing is done at a studio by a professional piercer, don't do any of that hair salon or jewelry store stuff. piercing guns aren't safe - they can't be autoclaved and therefore are never sterile, they also do some serious tissue damage. needles are better. the actual needle used to pierce is always brand new (they're one time use) and the instruments used to drive the needle are surgical grade steel and can be sterilized in an autoclave.
-tour the studio before the piercing is done. they should be more than willing to do this, if they're not, leave. get them to show you the autoclave and the unopened needles and gloves. if you want you can ask to see the piercer's portfolio.
-natural astringents like tea tree oil, lemon juice, and sea salt (all diluted in water) are good for cleaning and promote healing.
-don't use anything alcohol based on an unhealed piercing.
-if you have to use a soap surgical soap is best. in absence of that spectro gel is good. you can get it at any drugstore, it's actually a non-soap based cleaning gel.
-do not touch it, the second you hear someone mention spinning it, run away. if it must be touched wash hands first. make sure to rinse it in the shower after washing hair because shampoo can get all up in there.
-remember that piercings can take 6 months to a year to fully heal. lobes don't tend to take this long though.

in my province you can get pierced at any age with a parent present (they even ask for ID to make sure they're actually your parents), and the age of consent for piercings without a parent present is 16. when my brother went to get his eyebrow at 16 i told him "ask if they pierce minors alone and if they say yes then leave even though you're old enough" reason: if they're willing to pierce a minor without express parental permission i don't trust them to use proper cleaning and other practices, because their ethics are obviously dubious at best.

All really good points.









I am willing to let boys do what girls can do and vice versa. I consider lobe piercings to be non-permanent and not a big deal. I'm going to discourage permanent body mods until a kid is 18. I don't think that tats or stretching is a good idea for a minor. You have no idea what kind of adult you will be yet and getting pigeonholed that young is terrible.


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## gina72 (Feb 20, 2008)

I'm only against him getting only "one" ear pierced. If he is going to do it, he should get both









I have known young boys with their ears pierced, and I think it looks great, particularly with small hoops.


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## bigeyes (Apr 5, 2007)

my kids got them done at the same time. I think he was 8 and she was 7.
I don't see why the rules should be any different for boys than girls.


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