Needle vs Piercing Gun (Spoiler Alert: Needle Wins Every Time)

If we put body piercing needles and piercing guns in a head to head battle who would win? 

Well if you read the title of this blog post you might have a good idea. 

That's right, needle wins every time. There are many excellent articles and blogs out there that go into detail so I'll just highlight some of the most important parts.

Cleanliness / Hygiene

• Piercing guns CANNOT be properly sterilized. The reusable guns come into contact with bodily fluids from multiple people a day and a simple wipe down of the parts that can be reached is not adequate to kill bloodborne pathogens. Guns cannot be heat sterilized since they are plastic and melt in a medical grade autoclave. 

Accuracy

• While many people think the gun will be faster, the piercing itself takes about the same amount of time either way. What takes longer with needle piercing done by a professional is all of the prep work leading up to the piercing. Taking time to mark the location of the piercing, properly cleanse the work area, review aftercare, and make sure the client is comfortable is all key in making the piercing experience a success. Many piercing gun operators miss their mark, don't mark properly to begin with, or are thrown off by faulty mechanisms within the piercing gun.

One Size Doesn't Fit All

• Piercing gun jewelry cannot be custom fit to the client's anatomy. Your ears are as unique as your finger prints. Your jewelry should be selected based on your anatomy to ensure proper fit. Even on the same person ear shape may differ from one side to the other requiring two different sizes of initial jewelry. 

Pain / Ease of Healing

• Initial pain varies person to person, but the overall general consensus is that piercing with a needle is lower on the pain scale than with a piercing gun. 
• While some people are lucky enough to heal piercings performed with guns, many will encounter complications and unnecessary pain along the way. Due to poor quality jewelry, improper angles, outdated aftercare suggestions, and injury caused by the initial trauma of the piercing, healing may be delayed or the piercing may never fully heal. 
• This video shows the close up difference in how the a needle pierces the skin and how a gun causes more trauma to the pierced area.

If you ever have questions about the pros and cons of different piercing methods reach out to a professional piercer!

Here is The Association of Professional Piercers full article on issues with piercing guns if you would like more detailed information.