Children’s Ear Piercing

(Ages 4-10)

At Rubi’s, we make piercing fun for EVERYONE! Our piercer, Madison, specializes in working with kids as young as four years old. She’ll help make your little one’s “ears pierced” day one to remember forever!

Piercing Needle VS. Piercing Gun

There are many benefits to having piercings performed by a professional piercer. The most important aspect to us is the sterility of equipment, where each item is single-use. Reusable piercing guns that are loaded with an earring cartridge can expose your child to a multitude of different infections. Operators of piercing guns are usually retail associates who are not properly trained to work with bloodborne pathogens or universal precautions to prevent cross-contamination between customers. Most establishments don’t even have a hand-washing station to use before piercing! Yuck!

The piercing needles we use also allow for more precise placement to ensure the piercing is placed in the correct spot and at the correct angle. Piercing guns are a lot less precise and often result in lopsided or crooked piercings. They can also malfunction and get jammed or stuck on your child’s ear, which is virtually impossible when using a needle.

For more information, head to the Association of Professional Piercers blog post to read more about the downsides of piercing guns!

Qualifications and Certifications

Madison has been a licensed piercer and active member of the Association of Professional Piercers since 2016. She completed a 2000-hour piercing apprenticeship in Bridgewater MA in 2016. She attends yearly, in-person training at the Association of Professional Piercers conference to stay current on the best piercing practices. Madison has taken many courses on executing the perfect earlobe piercings, as well as a “Piercing Young Minors” class in 2018, Two-Part “Piercing Kids” class in 2023 and a class on “Effective Communication for Children's Earlobe Piercings” in 2024.

The Process

When you and your child arrive at Rubi’s, Madison will guide you step-by-step through the earlobe piercing process. Your child will choose a set of earrings that they will wear for around 4-6 months while the piercings heal. All of our earrings are ethically made and manufactured in the USA or Canada, and made from ASTM F136 implant-grade Titanium or 14k-18k gold! Our titanium earrings are a threadless, flat-back style manufactured by Neometal Jewelry.

We use single-use piercing needles and sterilize all supplies before each piercing- right in front of you! We use a Statim 2000 autoclave for sterilization that is monitored bi-weekly by a lab and approved by the Watertown Public Health Department for proper sterilization of body jewelry.

We provide a sterile saline cleaning solution and do a fun activity with your child to practice cleaning their new earrings!

Consent!

At Rubi’s, we practice consent with all of our clients- whether they’re 4 years old or 105! Your child will need to enthusiastically consent to their piercings on the day of the appointment. Piercing is such an exciting form of self-expression, and we don’t want anyone to remember their ear-piercing day as a traumatic, sad event.

If your little human decides to withdraw consent after the first piercing, we will not go against their wishes. They’re in charge on ear piercing day and our client’s wishes come first! If you’re not comfortable with your child possibly leaving with one earring, please research other options!

What to Bring

Please read over our ID requirements before booking an appointment. Unfortunately, we can’t make exceptions and risk our business license if you forget to bring your child’s birth certificate to the appointment.

Your child can bring a favorite toy or stuffed animal to the appointment! We also have lots of fidget toys for your child to keep occupied, but we please ask that your child is unplugged from any devices during the piercing.

A juice box or snack is always a good idea post-piercing to make sure no-one gets lightheaded (including guests!)

FAQs

  • We recommend waiting to submerge the piercings in bodies of water for at least 6 weeks post-piercing, when the piercings have passed the inflammatory stage of healing. The infection risk from swimming significantly decreases after this point.

  • No, a brand-new set of earrings needs to be purchased from our studio at the time of the appointment. This is a health department regulation, as well as a requirement to maintain our membership status with the Association of Professional Piercers.

  • Earlobe piercings take between 3-4 months to heal, depending on the individual. We do not recommend removing or changing the jewelry until the piercings are fully healed.

  • Yes! All of our jewelry is made from ASTM F136 implant-grade Titanium or 14k solid gold, which are free from nickel, lead, and other common irritants used in most commercially produced earrings.

  • Our service fee for earlobe piercings is $60. Our jewelry ranges from $70 to $400 per pair of earrings. On average, most parents spend between $130-$150 total.