Piercing Pagoda is my saving grace when it comes to ear piercings. I got pierced at this location yesterday afternoon and it was the most sanitary, quick, and painless piercing I've ever had. If you're trying to decide between Piercing Pagoda and Claire's, definitely read this review.
I've finally learned to never get your ears pierced at Claire's. In my 20 years of life, I've been pierced at Claire's a whopping 7 times. 5 of the 7 caused me extreme pain (either because the piercing experience wasn't done correctly/gently or because within a few hours/days the pain became worse due to a lack of sterilization). And 4 out of those 7 piercings got infected and I was able to save only 1 of the 4 in the end.
Piercing Pagoda, however, is absolutely fabulous. The employees are kind, relatable, and professional. Their equipment is always sterilized, and although they still use guns, they are actual high quality piercing guns and not the cheap little tiny ones anyone can buy at Sally's. The piercing process is quick and literally painless. I was shocked when the piercing process didn't hurt at all, and I only experienced minor aches and awkward twitches for the remainder of the day and through the night. I was even able to sleep on that ear (by accident/habit) without any discomfort. This is a massive improvement from when I got my cartilage pierced at Claire's. Within an HOUR of getting my cartilage pierced at Claire's, my ear was in extreme pain, throbbing, and gave me a severe headache. Over time, the piercing quickly became so unbearably painful that it had a heartbeat of it's own, it turned bright red/purple, and my family and I literally spent a good 5 minutes trying to find a way to get it out of my ear (it was latched onto my ear and was unnaturally difficult to get off. Something definitely wasn't right about that process at all). That happened when I was 13 years old. The fact that I can still clearly remember that pain is unsettling in itself.
When I got my 2nd and 3rd holes done on my earlobes at Claire's last year, I figured that they would've vastly improved since the last time I had been there (cause, you know, 6 years is a long time). I was wrong. The lady pierced the piercings wayyyy too close together to the point where the backs would rub against each other, irritating the piercing. On top of that, the piercings are completely uneven, and my 3rd hole in my left ear is half on my lobe and half on my cartilage. I also remember one of the guns getting stuck momentarily during the piercing process...and although it didn't really phase me at the time, I later noticed that it tore the piercing hole a little bit, which later caused a lot of problems (the earring was so small and the piercing hole had been torn just big enough that at one point while I was sleeping, the earring actually got lodged INSIDE of my ear and I had to push it out. It was painful, to say the least, and fortunately this was the only infected piercing that I was able to save). Their cheap quality of jewelry also doesn't do the piercing and healing process any justice, either.
So long story short, skip Claire's and head over to Piercing Pagoda instead. It might be a little bit more expensive...but it's so worth it. read more
