Minors
Anyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent/legal guardian and must provide identification and proof of age AND relationship to the guardian in the form of a birth certificate or legal adoption records in order to be pierced. If last names differ between IDs and Birth certificates, please bring additional documentation to support a name change. Example: Marriage certificate or court documentation reflecting the name change.
This is according to the laws set by the State of Tennessee.
Acceptable identification and proof of age and relationship includes the following:
■ Any of the forms of acceptable identification listed above from both parent and minor
along with a birth certificate or legal adoption records.
■ A school issued photo ID or yearbook accompanied by a birth certificate is
acceptable identification for minors that do not have a permit.
Children's Earlobe Piercings
We are often asked, “Do you pierce kids’ earlobes?”
Piercing children's’ earlobes is a service we happily offer at Dahlia! We will pierce children ages 9 and older with mom or dad (or legal guardian) present, and with the child's consent.
By state law, we are required to have the child’s birth certificate. With Mom, dad or legal guardian, that is listed on their birth certificate present; with their valid photo ID.
Including but not limited to documentation to support name changes.
We appreciate the opportunity to pierce children’s earlobes because we want them to have access to skilled and knowledgeable body piercers; with the safest body jewelry in a comfortable environment.
How we pierce children's ears
Earlobe piercings, whether performed on children or adults, are always performed using a pair of sterile, single use needles. We never use ear piercing guns. The Association of Professional Piercers states, “While piercing guns may seem to be a quick, easy and convenient way of creating holes, they have major drawbacks in terms of sterility, tissue damage and inappropriate jewelry design”. We believe our clients are entitled to the safest and least traumatic method for receiving piercings.
At Dahlia, we take a more modern approach to jewelry. The style of jewelry we use, for earlobe piercings, is called a flatback labret. This design consists of two pieces. The hollow post; that sits inside the piercing has a flat disk that rests against the back of the earlobe. This style of jewelry has many advantages, one of which being that there is no pointy post that can poke into the wearer’s neck!
Our jewelry is made from either implant grade titanium, solid 14k or 18k (nickel free) gold, or solid platinum. We carry a very large selection of designs. Some without gemstones, some with genuine gemstones, and some with Swarovski Zirconia gems. Our jewelry is guaranteed by the manufacturers against manufacturer defects, we have taken every possible step to greatly reduce the chances of allergic reaction in choosing our jewelry collection. While our aim is to eliminate any reactions, altogether, it is important to point out that all bodies are different and respond differently. Without proper allergy testing, we can only take precautions to avoid them as best as science directs us.
The piercing fee does NOT include the cost of jewelry.
Will it hurt?
This is an excellent question! We believe honesty is the best policy. Getting your ears pierced is not very painful, but we do not want to surprise anyone or tell them that what we do does not come without a small amount of discomfort. We will always tell young clients that ear piercings do hurt, but to a minimal degree. We often compare the process to getting a shot at the doctor. The difference being, instead of medicine, you get new beautiful jewelry!
What if my child wants to back out?
Body autonomy is one of the biggest and most important policies here, at Dahlia Fine Jewelry & Body piercing. Anybody that is receiving a piercing is in total control of their body! If your child decides that today is not the day that they are going to get their ears pierced, we will always respect their decision.
They only need to say the word and we halt everything immediately. We will not pierce anyone that is not ready. Nor will we make any attempts to convince or coerced them into getting it done.
Furthermore our piercers will not pierce someone we feel is not ready. This is an activity that we must have willing participants, not just for you and your child’s safety but for our staff as well. We understand nerves but if the child (or sometimes even adults do this too) is pulling away from the piercer and physically not allowing the process to take place (covering their ears, pulling aways, pulling their shoulder up to their ears) then sometimes we will have to end the appointment and see about doing it another time when the client is more ready.
We are not going anywhere, and we will be here when they are ready. There is never a fee for cancellation; even if that decision is made moments before getting pierced or halfway through the process.
Can I bring my own jewelry?
In short, no. We use specific metal alloys and the jewelry style we believe, and that science has indicated, as being the safest for initial piercings. Once the new piercings have healed (generally in about three months time or more) you may change to a different style. On a related note, we recommend always wearing jewelry in a piercing you want to keep. For the first year or two even healed earlobe piercings can close, so it is best to wear something at all times to ensure the piercing stays healthy and open. Costume or plated metals should only be worn for limited times and under strict supervision.
How much will it cost?
The fee for earlobes is divided into three parts: The piercing fee, the cost of jewelry and the aftercare.
The piercing fee for a set of earlobes costs $50. The jewelry varies quite a bit. Implant grade titanium studs start between $42 and $52 per earring and up. Gold studs start $93 per earring and up.
Aftercare, while it is not mandatory to purchase it from us, we do carry it for convenience, we are very particular as to what you will use to clean the piercing during the healing time. It is $10-12.50.
How do we prevent infection?
Our approach to keeping piercings clean is by keeping them away from dirt and germs, not by disinfecting the piercings. This means we do not, for any reason, touch them or move the jewelry in any way. Long gone are the days of twisting the earrings!
Piercings should be cleaned using only a sterile saline wound wash. Anything strong enough to kill germs is strong enough to damage the new skin cells that are repairing in the wound; to create the piercing tunnel that the jewelry lives in. Refrain from cleaning the piercings with alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, soap, essential oils, or products like Neosporin. As they can irritate the tissue and quite frankly, are just too harsh. The body does best when we simply clear the way for it to do what it does organically and that is heal.
Also, we must keep all healing piercings out of all water; aside from showering. Showering is always important for hygiene. While standing pools of water are loaded with germs that when given the opportunity, can be detrimental to an open wound. This includes oceans, lakes, hot tubs, bath tubs, and swimming pools. It is also important that your child does not go to bed with wet hair so that moisture does not get trapped in and around the healing piercings.
The good news is infections are extremely rare. In general, the small number of complexities that can come with piercings are usually fixable with small adjustments in aftercare. We are also reachable after hours; via our email address, to assist in any situations that may be worrisome. And we strongly encourage our clients to visit us for free follow-up consultation, in the event that an issue needs a hands on approach. If nothing else, we truly enjoy seeing how your piercings are healing and making certain that the jewelry is doing its job and staying beautiful.