Gun and Needle

As most of you should already know, there are two ways of piercing. One is with a piercing gun, and the other is with a piercing needle.
Getting pierced with a gun is commonly found and you can find a shop that pierces using a gun just about anywhere. In Singapore, we have '77th Street' and many other shops which offer piercings with a gun. Think 'Claire's' in America.
On the other hand, needle piercing services are usually done by a professional in a piercing shop.

And then..

And then I'll tell you about the painfully obvious differences between gun and needle piercing right here :)
Gun piercings can only be used to pierce areas like your ear lobes. Although some shops do offer nose and cartilage piercing services using a piercing gun, it is highly recommended not to do so. Why? I'll elaborate in the next part.
Piercing needles on the other hand are very versatile and can be used to pierce any part of your body. It's what professional piercers use to do piercings, so DUH, you can use the needle to make some holes anywhere on your body.

And then....

1) The piercing gun is said to be an unsanitary way of piercing- and it is.
Most piercing guns used in those jewellery shops or clothing outlets are made out of materials, namely plastic, which cannot be autoclaved. This means that the most a person can do to clean it is to wipe it up using some alcohol or sanitizer. Unfortunately, there will still be some bacteria and gunk still left in between the little crevices of the gun, and cross contamination may occur when fluids or whatever get spread from the previous customer to another. Bodily fluids and possibly blood may disperse as little microscopic droplets when the gun is triggered. Cross contamination again, not very good for your open wound huh.
On the other hand, needles used by professionals are one time usage and are clean. This will reduce any chances of infections or getting blood borne pathogens. In addiction, studios are disinfected regularly so you can be assured that you are in safe hands.

2) Piercing guns may damage body tissue.

Piercing guns work using blunt force to drive a piercing stud, which has a sort of sharpened tip, into your body, which is usually your earlobe.
As I have mentioned previously, some shops offer nose and cartilage piercings using a piercing gun. In Singapore, a piercing like that can cost less than $15. Although cheap, it is unrecommended to pierce any form of cartilage on your body using a piercing gun as the sheer blunt force may shatter cartilage. This will create bumps of shattered cartilage, which might be painful to some, creating a not so satisfactory piercing.
My own tragus was pierced with a piercing gun in a 'professional studio' for $11? At that time I thought that it was alright cuz they were the professionals. Now that I removed the piercing, I am unsure if my tragus cartilage has been shattered or not. I can feel a bump on my tragus under the skin.. But I don't know :)
It is a good idea to pierce anything other than your lobes in a studio, even though it's more costly. Then again, it's up to your discretion. Personally, piercing cartilage on my ear is fine with me.

3) People operating piercing guns do not have proper piercing training.

Professionals have to undergo long periods of training, approximately 2 years, before being able to be a certified piercer. They have to attend courses about blood borne pathogens and diseases which can be spread through piercing, as well as basic medical procedures. On the other hand, salespeople using the piercing gun do not have any formal training. Where professionals take utmost care for a piercing, piercing guns are a.. Wham, Bam, Thank you Ma'am sorta thing. So yup.

These are the three reasons why some people are all for banning piercing guns. Because of health reasons, tissue damage and training issues. Some people even go so far to say that even earlobes should be pierced with a needle instead of a gun.
Therefore, think about whether getting that tragus pierced with a gun is such a good idea after all. Oh, and if you're getting pierced with a needle, ensure that it's new.
Till next time!

END of Part IV

Labels: Body Decor, Piercings, Primitive Art, Singapore

♥ 9:35 PM