At Root Down, we believe that the appropriate age for children to have their earlobes pierced is around seven years old.
Young girls and older women who come to us for additional earlobe piercings often face the same issue – each ear has been pierced differently: too high, too low, too far from the face, or too close to it. The reason is almost always the same: the piercing was done at a very young age, by someone without sufficient qualifications, using a piercing gun, or a combination of all these factors. In such cases, we either have to re-pierce the ear or, if the new piercing would be too close to the original hole and could heal poorly, we must place it elsewhere, even though a different position would look much better.
Ears Grow
No baby is born with adult-sized ears. Like every other part of the body, a baby’s ears are very small, and naturally, the earlobes are tiny as well. They continue to grow throughout life. The centre of the earlobe, where an earring ideally belongs, often shifts over time—sometimes by fractions of a millimetre, sometimes by several millimetres. Piercing such small earlobes is therefore a gamble with how the piercing will look in the future.
Every Ear Is Different
Just as everyone has a unique fingerprint, everyone has unique ears. There are countless variations in ear shape. Earlobes may be small or large, attached or detached, protruding or close-fitting, and in some cases so small that they are barely visible. By around the age of seven, the earlobe is usually developed enough for an experienced professional piercer to estimate how the ear will continue to grow and determine the best placement for the piercing.
“People Won’t Be Able to Tell My Daughter from a Boy!”
We are not going to enter a gender debate here, but we believe that if parents wish to emphasise their child’s femininity, clothing and colours are a far better option than risking poorly placed ear piercings that may remain that way for life.
“But Grandma and Grandpa Bought Earrings for the Baby.”
Earrings are a very common gift for newborn girls from grandparents. However, such jewellery is usually completely unsuitable for a fresh piercing. The clasp often allows dirt and healing discharge to accumulate, creating an environment where bacteria can multiply and cause infection.
Every new piercing, regardless of its location or the age of the client, requires high-quality jewellery in terms of both material and design. Professional studios use only certified titanium jewellery, which eliminates the risk of allergic reactions. At Root Down, we use either classic titanium Ball Closure Rings, Segment Rings, or Labret Studs for children. Earlobe piercings typically heal in about four weeks, after which almost any jewellery can be worn, although we strongly encourage parents to avoid low-quality materials, costume jewellery, or jewellery with sharp edges.
“Should I Have My Daughter’s Ears Pierced with a Needle or a Piercing Gun?”
No reputable professional studio uses piercing guns. They are unhygienic and entirely unsuitable because the skin is not pierced but rather forced apart by a blunt piece of jewellery, which compresses the wound and makes proper cleaning difficult. The jewellery clasps often trap dirt, may be unnecessarily bulky, and can create pressure points. The sharp back of the jewellery is frequently exposed and may irritate the skin behind the ear. All of this is completely unnecessary.
At Root Down, we use only sterile single-use Braun needles for all piercings. Their use minimises tissue trauma and allows us to fit jewellery specifically designed for each piercing. Proper jewellery enables proper cleaning, which is essential for fast and successful healing.
“Babies Won’t Remember the Pain Anyway, but My Seven-Year-Old Daughter Is Afraid of Piercings!”
Who really knows what goes through the mind of a baby whose head is being held still while a nurse, doctor, or someone else approaches with a needle—or even worse, a piercing gun? Isn’t that unnecessary trauma?
To achieve perfectly symmetrical earlobe piercings, the child must sit calmly and upright during the measuring process. Only then can the piercing be accurately aligned both from the front and, using measuring rings, from the back. This ensures precise placement and prevents asymmetry.
Piercer Punky adds: “I’ll admit that I didn’t get into body piercing to work with small children. But after years in the industry, I realised how many unnecessary mistakes are made when children’s ears are pierced, and I decided to do my part to help ensure that fewer women end up with poorly placed ear piercings in the future. That’s why I agreed to pierce children’s earlobes, provided they are old enough. My appearance can sometimes be a little intimidating to children, but it also earns their respect. They listen, sit still, and cooperate. Of the dozens of children whose earlobes I’ve pierced, some have shed a few tears and a very small number became so upset that we agreed with their parents to try again another day. However, the overwhelming majority handled their first piercing brilliantly and left feeling happy and proud of themselves.”
“My parents had my ears pierced when I was a baby, but I don’t wear earrings because I don’t like them, and I have small scars from the old piercings.”
Of course, every parent has the right to make decisions for their child according to their own judgement and beliefs. However, ear piercing is quite different from choosing a hairstyle or clothing. Parents who bring their children to us at school age often say something similar: “My daughter has decided herself that she would like to have earrings.” Isn’t that a more appropriate approach?
We therefore consider piercing babies’ earlobes to be an unnecessary tradition that we hope will eventually disappear.
“My Daughter Is Old Enough and Would Like Her First Earrings. What Would You Recommend?”
Talk through the procedure with your daughter beforehand so that she feels prepared, and especially so that she understands that if she can sit still for a short while and chat with you, her first earrings will be done very quickly. A properly performed piercing requires complete calm, which is why we normally do not allow companions in the piercing room at Root Down. However, we fully understand that young children need parental support, so you can assure your daughter that you will be with her throughout the procedure. Before the piercing itself, the skin is disinfected painlessly and carefully measured, which together takes only a few minutes. The piercing and jewellery insertion then take just a matter of seconds. The discomfort is generally minimal, and your daughter can happily hop out of the chair shortly afterwards. We recommend booking appointments between the morning and early afternoon, when children are usually neither tired nor irritable. However, we never recommend forcing a child into the procedure. Even if they change their mind at the last moment and decide they do not want the piercing for any reason, we can discuss it together and try to reassure them, but it is never appropriate to pressure a child into going through with it. And if the piercing does not happen that day, we certainly won’t be upset about it here at Root Down.
