The Ultimate Guide to Maxi Piercing: From the Pain, Allergies to the Risks Involved

What’s better, a piercing gun or needle?

“Needles are sterile, single-use, and hurt a lot less, whereas a gun is essentially a blunt object punching through your ear at high impact—it’ll always feel more sore,” says UK-based Penny Burrows at Maria Tash, Harrods, who’s pierced Kate Moss and Idris Elba.

 

Is there anything that can help make the piercing process less painful?

“If you’re on your period, you may be more sensitive to pain,” says Penny. But, adds Clem Kirchmeier, GM, Metal Morphosis, a popular tattoo and piercing parlour in London, “Painkillers shouldn’t be used beforehand as most are blood-thinning.” Rhianna Jones, piercer at The Circle, London, suggests “eating one to two hours before”. You could also channel your inner zen, as The Circle’s piercers use yoga breathing during the procedure.

Why do I get metal allergies?

“Allergies to certain metals often lie within the nickel content. We don’t know how or why certain people are more sensitive than others,” says Penny. “At Maria Tash, we only pierce with completely nickel-free gold. Some other studios pierce with titanium, which also has a low nickel content. Never get pierced with silver because it oxidises and increases the risk of infection and allergic reactions.” Rhianna says, “We only recommend piercing with implant-grade titanium, which is used in surgical procedures like knee and hip replacements. Anything of a lower grade isn’t suitable to live in the body.” Dr Emma Wedgeworth, a renowned dermatologist in the UK, agrees that surgical-grade titanium is the safest metal to pierce with: “Certain types of stainless steel are made to contain the nickel within the metal, so it isn’t released into the body. Despite this, personally, I’d avoid it for a fresh piercing.” She adds, “If you’ve ever reacted to jewellery, watches, or belt buckles, it’s also important to get this assessed before piercing.”

 

What should I do if my piercing gets infected?

“Don’t take it out immediately. You might trap the infection in your ear if it heals up,” says Penny. To help avoid this, Clem advises, “Use the right aftercare products, like a pre-made sterile saline solution, don’t touch it, use fresh towels and pillow cases regularly, and don’t swim in public pools for a while.” If you’re concerned about an infection, or there doesn’t seem to be any improvement within a couple of days, see your GP.         

Golden rules of OTT ears

1. Do your research. Go to your piercer the same way you would your hairdresser—armed with research and ideas for how you’d like to look. “I use Instagram and Pinterest as my sources of inspiration,” says multi-pierced influencer Monikh (@Monikh).

2. Rome wasn’t built in a day. You can never have too many piercings (within reason), but, “We recommend having no more than three done per session,” says Penny at Maria Tash. So if you’re aiming for six, speak to your piercer about staggering them.

3. Go maximal (not minimal). “Large layered earrings is the next big trend,” says Monikh. ”Think gold, layered, shells, and dangly, alongside tiny studs.”

4. Get crafty. “I have tiny, good-quality gold hoops, and I often hang little charms or pendants from flea markets from them," says Cosmo US's Fashion Director, Amy Bannerman. Unrelated fact: save tarnished, silver earrings by placing them in a bowl with ketchup for five minutes, then using a toothbrush to gently rub off any discolouration.

5. If you don’t want to go the whole way, fake it till you make it with cuffs and huggers, which are essentially pretend hoops. “They stay put even when sleeping or showering and look so realistic. Instant pain-free style!” says Amy.
6. Layer, layer and layer again. “You can sometimes fit a tiny stud into the same hole as a hoop so it ends up looking like one earring,” Amy explains. Nifty, eh?

 

3 places TO GET PIERCED

• Body Canvas Studio, New Delhi and Mumbai. Specialises in (almost) painless piercings. Vikas Malani, Owner and Chief Piercer, is also a great conversationalist, aka distraction.

• Devilz Tattooz, New Delhi. Offers an especially large range of piercings.

• Kraayonz Tattoo Studios, Mumbai, Bengaluru. Known for their aftercare: from baby concerns to big-ish queries.