Ear piercing is the most common form of body piercing. A hole is pierced through the fatty tissue of the earlobe and an earring is inserted. Ear piercing is normally performed using a specially designed gun. Piercing with a gun should only be carried out on the earlobes, and not on any other part of the ear, or rest of the body

Some piercing guns are completely disposable, whilst others have disposable cartridges to help ensure the piercing is clean and sterile. If you do not want your ears to be pierced with a piercing gun, you can visit a professional piercer, who can pierce your ears using a sterilised hollow needle.

However you choose to have your ears pierced, make sure the place where you are having your piercing done is a clean, no smoking zone. The person carrying out the piercing should wash their hands beforehand and wear surgical gloves during the process. The surgical gloves should be thrown away straight after use. If you are unsure about the person carrying out the piercing, or the premises they are practising from, then go elsewhere.