Guns vs. Needles. The pros and cons. Just to be sure where to go.

safepiercing:

Guns should never be used on anything, period. There is no pro to a piercing gun.
  • Piercing guns are NEVER sterilized in those little mall kiosks or stores, seriously. Ask to see their sterilization equipment and they’ll most likely show you an alcohol wipe. So an alcohol wipe is all that stands between you and every other person that gun was used on. They’ll give you some excuse that the jewelry cassettes are sterile, but that does not excuse the fact that the rest of the set up is not. The people using the gun have no training or concept of cross contamination.
  • Piercing guns do not “pierce” a hole, they rip the jewelry through your skin. Ever seen a nail go through a piece of wood? Same concept. Use enough force and you can drive a toothpick through your ear, it doesn’t mean you’ve gotten a piercing. 
  • Piercing gun jewelry is not an appropriate design to allow the tissue to swell during piercing, that’s why so many people have problems with embedding during healing.
  • Piercing guns should NEVER be used on cartilage because they shatter internal tissue causing scarring and persistent problems over the life of the piercing. Piercing guns are illegal for use on cartilage in many States, my State of New Hampshire included. This should be a hint that they are not safe for general use.

Piercing needles are designed to create a smooth, clean hole through tissue. They are designed to be fully sterilized, used ONCE, and disposed of. I could go on and on. Piercing guns have no place in a professional body piercing industry, they are the lowest possible form of a paid “piercing” service. 

If I sound emotional or biased it’s because I totally am. :)

Ryan Ouellette, APP outreachimage

Good to know.

(via chanterbury)