Okay, now I know that just about everyone has gone to a hair salon or something and seen someone getting their earlobes pierced with a piercing gun. "Hey, that looks easier than the needle" you say, and the tear open your wallet and slam $15 on the counter and say "Hey, gimmie an earring." It looks safe, right? I mean what could possibly go wrong in a 2-second procedure? Couldn't something so fast hurt less than the need, which can take a minute or so, depending on which body part is pierced? And I'll bet you were told that these people were trained for piercings...

Well, you're wrong. The piercing gun has a bad reputation in the world of proffesional piercers. I'll start with the obvious: The training the gun-piercers receive. Let's look at the facts: They get a maximum 2 weeks training, and I'm 100% sure that they do not get trained on the possible risks of piercings. They certainly aren't told that the gun should be banned. Their "training" consists of watching like-minded people, and then practicing on teddy bears. WELL THAT'S FUCKING GREAT TRAINING, RIGHT?

Now, on to the more technical details. The piercing gun cannot be cleaned in an autoclave. (An autoclave is tool used to steam-clean piercing materials and medical materials.) The heat would melt the plastic of the piercing gun. The most "sanitary" way of cleaning a piercing gun is wiping it down with alcohol. That doesn't do the job correctly.

The needle creates a clean cut. The piercing gun uses blunt-force, and the actual jewelry is what's being inserted. This creates a jagged hole, and in cartilage piercings, it will cause "Cauliflowering" (spelling?) which is a means of the ear deforming over time. It almost takes the shape of cauliflower. Not only that, but it shatters the cartilage.

And furthermore, no one wants HIV or Hepatitis... But cross contamintation can cause such things. Anything that has contact with blood should not be used on more than one person, at least without being cleaned properly first (autoclaved). Needles are immediately thrown away (into a sharps container).

So, I stress very much to you, that if you do decide to get a piercing, do NOT use a piercing gun. Instead, go to a proffesional piercer. It will make a huge difference. Trust me.