Piercing

Did you hear that Isabelle got her ears pierced??

She had mentioned here and there that she would like to have her ears pierced. She was afraid of the pain, though. We've watched girls have their ears pierced at Claire's and online. This is the way Isabelle works - she finds out about something then she researches it on YouTube! So just before school started for the year, Isabelle decided she was ready to get her ears pierced. I had read on a friend's Facebook page about needle piercing. So I had to do research on that via the internet and contact that friend about it. What I found out was that the way Claire's pierces ears, using piercing guns, is typically more painful than needle piercing. This is because Claire's uses earrings that are blunt on the ends, making the holes rougher. This also takes longer to heal and the guns they use can never really be fully sterilized because they are made of plastic. Needle piercing, on the other hand, is done with a needle, then the earrings are inserted and the round back is screwed on (the back looks like a little ball, so it won't poke you when you're sleeping). The instruments are all metal, so they can be fully sterilized. The healing time is supposed to be quicker and less painful overall. Plus, instead of cleaning the newly pierced ears with a cleaning solution and turning the earrings periodically, the only cleaning needle-pierced ears need is with mild soap and water every day (no turning required). I felt that needle piercing was overall less risky and a better experience from what my friend indicated on Facebook. I found one of only two licensed piercing places in Columbus to go to, called Piercology. They only do piercing here (they don't even do tattoos, which many tattoo places also pierce). So on the Thursday before school started (August 28), we went to Piercology for the big event!

This place is a little off the beaten path in the Victorian Village part of Columbus. Parker and Seth were along with us. When we arrived, there was a gentleman loading a truck outside and he had several piercings. A little reluctantly, we went into the store. This being a whole new experience for me (being in a place such as this), I felt a little uneasy. The place, though, was nicely decorated and very professional looking. We were greeted immediately and we let them know that Isabelle was there for ear piercing. He pulled out some earrings for Isabelle to choose from and she picked ones that were fairly small in size and look like white diamonds. He then talked to us about the care and maintenance of her ears and earrings. He was very professional and kind and had a few piercings himself. We noticed a few other workers, each of whom also had several piercings. There were also a few gentleman customers who came into the shop while we were in the waiting area. After about a 15 minute wait, it was Isabelle's turn!

We were taken into a private room (another advantage over a place like Claire's) and Isabelle had a seat in the "official chair". Her piercer, Mike, was very sweet. He talked to her about the procedure and told her what to expect. He even explained to her that is was a good thing that she was nervous, because that can increase adrenaline, which decreases the feeling of pain. Once he marked her ears with dots to show where to put the piercings, Isabelle and I took a look to make sure they were even. The next thing we knew, I was holding Isabelle's hand and he was piercing her left ear! She did great! I'm sure it hurt but she barely flinched. The right ear, she said, was a little more painful, but she still did great. Once both earrings were in place, Isabelle checked them out in the mirror and was very happy that she finally had pierced ears! I forgot to mention that she had 2 vaccines / shots at the doctor the same day, for her 11-year checkup. She had figured that if she could handle the shots, she could also handle the ear piercing. She later said that the ear piercing hurt less than one of the shots, but more than the other shot. So I guess that puts the ear piercing pain right in the middle, very similar to a shot. We went home and she kept talking about how her ears were finally pierced. She let both Grandmas know right away. She's been very good about cleaning them every night. They were a little sore for a couple of days, but are healing quite nicely. She is looking forward to being able to take these earrings out and buy some new ones!