Piercing Guns Vs. Needles

You may think a piercing gun is fast and painless, but do you really want blunt jewellery tearing through your flesh?

A young lady came to me after having her nostril pierced with a gun and being unhappy with the positioning and the size of the jewellery; she asked for the original piercing to be removed and for her other nostril to be pierced with a needle.

The gun piercing was positioned much higher than she had wanted, but she wasn't given a choice. The jewellery used was the kind you would find in an earlobe piercing; 'sharp' end, but with the butterfly back missing. The jewellery was too long and the 'sharp' end was digging in on the inside of her nose.

Left: gun piercing; Right: needle piercing

The 'sharp' end of the jewellery we pulled from the gun piercing wasn't very sharp at all; sharp enough to hurt as it poked the inside of the nose, but not sharp enough to break the skin without using a lot of force! The jewellery we removed would not be able to pierce the skin; this jewellery is rammed through the flesh at high speed using a piercing gun, creating a tear in the flesh and leaving jagged edges for bacteria to hide in.

“The jewellery was too long and the 'sharp' end was digging in on the inside of her nose.”

The needle used to create the new piercing creates a neat incision, piercing the flesh with a sharp tip and hollow inner resulting in smooth edges for more efficient healing.

Guns should not be used for any type of piercing; not even earlobes. Guns cannot be fully sterilised and are used over and over and over again, passing on all those bloodborne pathogens as it goes! The speed the jewellery passes through the skin can cause a loss of accuracy and leave an uneven piercing.

"Guns should not be used for any type of piercing; not even earlobes."

Jewellery used in piercing guns is ‘one size fits all’ and the butterfly is pressed tight against the flesh which doesn’t allow for swelling; this can cause rejection or infection. The type of jewellery used is low-grade materials, that are not safe for an open wound, and usually have a poor finish. The butterfly backs are also a lovely hiding ground for dirt and bacteria.

Needles, on the other hand, are sterile and single use; all tools are also cleaned and sterilised between uses. Using a needle, accuracy is maintained by taking time to line up the needle with the mark and piercing at a steady pace. Once a neat incision has been created the correct type and length of jewellery is inserted; room for swelling is also accounted for. Jewellery is implant grade titanium; the least likely kind of metal to react with the body.

How do I recognise a piercing gun?

Piercing guns can come in disguise; they don't all have a typical 'gun' shape! They key to recognising a piercing gun is the absence of a needle. If a piercing is being performed with an instrument that pushes jewellery through your skin, without a needle first creating a hole, that's a type of gun.

"Piercing guns can come in disguise; they don't all have a typical 'gun' shape!"

The above images (taken from Google Images) are all types of guns, even though it's only the first that has that typical 'gun' shape. Each of the above uses force to push blunt jewellery through the skin; each of the above tears a whole in the flesh.

Do your research; ask those questions!

Before any piercing, look up the studio; look at their work, check if they use needles or guns, you can even pop in to take a look around! Any reputable piercer will be fine with this; they will be happy to show you the licence and their piercing room, and even go through the full procedure with you if you'd like. Never be afraid to ask questions.