How To Pierce Your Own Ear

Piercing your own ear takes a little bit of guts and is a higher risk for infection than going to a professional, but if you learn how to pierce your own ear correctly, it can be done. Once you get past your initial fear, the actual process isn't too bad. You should be aware of your own pain threshold. The higher your pain threshold is, the less the pain will affect you. Before you start, here are some items you will need to pierce your own ears:

• Ice (optional)
• Lighter
• Earring studs (preferably with sharp backing)
• Rubbing alcohol
• Cork

1. Use the lighter to sterilize the earring stud. Open flame will help sanitize the earring.
2. Apply rubbing alcohol. Put rubbing alcohol on the earring itself to further help sanitization. Rub more alcohol around your ear where you will do the piercing.
3. Ice your ear. Icing your ear is an optional step but will help prevent pain by numbing your ear.
4. Use the cork as backer. Placing a cork at the back of your ear will help prevent skin tearing and will have a place for the earring to pierce through. It acts as a stopper rather than having the earring pierce through your skin and into thin air.
5. Pierce the earring all the way through. This step can be tricky but it is best to do as fast as possible. While the step can be done with an earring, preferably with a sharp backing, you can also use a piercing needle.

Once you do these steps, repeat this with your other ear. Another tip when piercing your own ears is to use a pen to mark your ear hole placement before piercing through your skin. This way you can be sure that the location is correct.