To schedule ear piercing appointments, please call our office same day to check availability.

Ear piercing is a common cosmetic procedure that can be done at almost any age. After Hours Kids in Austin, Texas offers safe, hygienic ear piercing, along with detailed guidelines on after-care to ensure your child’s earlobes do not become infected.

When you arrive, our staff will show you the earrings we have available and review after-care instructions. The staff member will use a sterile pen to mark where the piercing will be on the earlobe. Once parents approve of the ear markings, the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner will come in and use a disinfectant to clean the ear lobe to minimize the possibility of infection. Then, the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner will use a piercing instrument to pierce each ear. We do not use a traditional piercing gun. Instead, we use a small, sterile device from Coren PS that has the earrings preloaded. For older children, the piercing procedure lasts less than five minutes. For infants, it can take several minutes to mark ears, but the piercing is quick.

COREN PS DEVICE 

How old should my child be for ear piercing?

Infants over the age of four months can safely have their ears pierced. After Hours Kids will pierce infants’ ears aged 4 months - 8 months or girls 8 years and older. As a parent, you want to consider your child’s level of maturity and personal responsibility to determine the right age for cosmetic ear piercing. If your daughter is under 8 years of age and is very excited about ear piercing and you think she will handle it well (we pierce one ear at a time), please call our clinic prior to making an appointment.

What happens during ear piercing?

A staff member will allow (older) children to select from 4 types of earrings. Then, the staff member will use a sterile pen to mark where the piercing will be on the earlobe. Once parents approve of the ear markings, the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner will come in and use a disinfectant to clean the ear lobe to minimize the possibility of infection. Then, the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner uses a piercing instrument (Coren PS) to pierce one ear at a time.

What types of metals are used for ear piercing?

Hypoallergenic metals like 24K gold plated and stainless-steel earrings are used for piercings. One metal to avoid is nickel, since it has been shown to have a higher incidence of localized allergic reactions. After Hours Kids uses 24K gold plated stud earrings for infants and young children. Older children have the choice of stainless steel posts, simulated diamonds (with 24K gold plated posts), or 24K gold plated posts (same size as infants OR a larger size approximately 4 mm in diameter).

What after care is needed for ear piercing?

After the piercing, you or your child will need to dab the area around the piercing with rubbing alcohol and a cotton swab three times a day for 6 weeks. You’ll also need to rotate the earrings gently three times a day to prevent embedding of the earring into the earlobe. You may notice that your child’s earlobes are red, painful and swollen for the first 24 hours after the ear piercing - this is normal. Call After Hours Kids or your pediatrician if these symptoms persist or worsen after 24 hours.

While your child may be excited to try out new earring styles as soon as possible, earrings used for the piercing need to stay in for at least 6 weeks so that the piercing is well established.

 Ear Piercing Care Instructions

Can I schedule my ear piercing with a friend?

Please let us know you are planning to do this when scheduling an appointment so we can guarantee back-to-back ear piercing appointments. Generally, we'll mark ears with a marker at the same time but can only pierce one child at a time. Think about which child would like to go first with the ear piercing.

Can I get a second earlobe piercing?

Yes - as long as the piercing is in the earlobe! Please let us know when you make the appointment that you are planning to get a second earlobe piercing.