By Elizabeth Kronlage ’18 and Sammie Spillman ’16

A common trend among teenage girls is having multiple piercings in various places such as their ears, nose and navel. Some girls choose to get their piercings done professionally while others prefer to do it themselves or have a friend do it for them. There are different ways to self-pierce. Some who pierce themselves choose to use a needle while others use an earring. The benefits of self-piercing are that there is no cost, and it does not require parental consent. Since it is easy for piercings to get infected, not many parents approve of the self-piercing method even though, in some cases, self-piercings have proven as effective as getting piercings done professionally.

Quotes From Girls Who Have Done It

“I got my first holes professionally, and it didn’t hurt as much since they used a gun and it wasn’t on my cartilage. For my other piercings, my friends numbed my ear with ice and stuck the earring itself in.” ~ Amanda Berkley ‘17

“I made sure my earrings and ear were clean with rubbing alcohol, and then I just popped those suckers in. I had wanted to get my cartilage and seconds for a while, but because of my religion my mom wouldn’t let me so, being stubborn, I did it myself.” ~ Haleigh Chester ‘16

“My mom used to care about some of my piercings, but she ultimately got over it. When she first found out about my bellybutton piercing she called me “unsanitary and trashy,” but now she doesn’t care about them.” ~ Carley Tedesco ‘16