EPM – International Association of Ear Piercing Market Specialists
International Association of Ear Piercing Market Specialists (EPM)
Definitions & Points of View
1. What is ear piercing?
Ear piercing is the piercing of the earlobe or upper flat ear cartilage with sterile piercing earrings that are inserted into modern, hand-pressed ear piercing instruments in sterile disposable cartridges.
2. What is the difference to body piercing?
Body piercing involves piercing other parts of the body with a sterile disposable hollow needle and then inserting the jewellery by hand. In contrast to ear piercing, body piercing is carried out on highly sensitive areas of the body, such as the tongue, nipples and genitals. As there are higher health risks than with ear piercing and the healing process often takes longer and is more complex, body piercing requires a higher level of professional qualification.
3. Who offers ear piercing services?
Ear piercing with ear piercing systems is offered – depending on the country – by jewellers, beauty salons, pharmacies, doctors, piercing studios, hairdressers or midwives, for example.
In addition to body piercing, piercing studios also offer ear piercing. Many studios tend to use ear piercing systems for ear piercings in the earlobe, while they usually pierce the ear cartilage with a hollow needle.
4. What methods exist for ear piercing? Which is better?
There are two different methods:
- Ear piercing with a modern, hand-pressed ear piercing instrument
- Ear piercing with a hollow needle
In principle, both methods are well suited to piercing ears. With both methods, the ear piercing process and the jewellery used are sterile. Consumers choose according to their personal preferences. For example, ear piercing with gentle, hand-pressed ear piercing instruments is more often favoured by parents for their children and is also popular with people who are afraid of needles. Piercing with a hollow needle is more commonly used in the ear cartilage.
5. How are ears pierced?
For simple ear piercing with a modern ear piercing instrument, a sterile disposable cartridge with a sterile piercing earring is inserted into the device. A modern piercing system is pressed by hand. The ear is gently pierced by the sharp piercing earring. The earring automatically positions itself on the earring clasp at the back. The ear piercing specialist does not come into contact with the sterile piercing earring, and the consumer’s ear only comes into contact with the sterile piercing earring, not with the instrument itself. The instrument therefore does not need to be sterilised, only sanitised. Piercing the ear and inserting the ear jewellery is done simultaneously in one process.
When piercing with a sterile hollow needle, however, the earrings are inserted manually afterwards.
6. How have ear piercing instruments evolved over the decades?
Ear piercing technology has advanced considerably over the decades and is now much more hygienic and safer than in its early beginnings. From ear piercing in earlier times with simple household tools such as sewing needles, to mechanical ear piercing ‘guns’ of the 1970s and 1980s, which were ‘shot’ with spring pressure, to improved systems with sterile disposable cartridges from the 1990s onwards, to modern, almost silent, hand-operated piercing systems with high hygiene standards, there has been significant progress. This development has helped to reduce the risk of infection, make application more comfortable and improve healing. Consumers now have the opportunity to have their ears pierced in a safe and hygienic way.
8. Considerations in relation to legal regulation: Ear piercing vs. body piercing
The EPM supports the introduction of laws and regulations that must be observed by organisations offering ear piercing services to the public. The risks to the public from ear piercing using modern piercing systems with sterile disposable cartridges are extremely low compared to piercing other parts of the body. Therefore, it is not objectively justified towards consumers and the ear piercing industry to apply the same legal requirements to this type of ear piercing as to body piercing services, which are significantly more risky and require greater expertise and care.
The following points should be considered with regard to appropriate regulation:
a) Safety & hygiene
Ear piercing instruments have been continuously improved by manufacturers over the decades in order to offer consumers hygienic ear piercing. The ear piercing process with modern devices is therefore safe, sterile and hygienic – as described above. Users are trained by the manufacturers on the topic of hygiene specifically for ear piercing practice and in handling the systems. They are also supported in the creation of individual hygiene plans.
b) Market relevance & practicability
Due to the popularity of ear jewellery and the correspondingly high demand for ear piercing services, it is important to provide consumers with easy and affordable access to this service. Traditional establishments, such as jewellery shops that offer ear piercing alongside their main business, are unable or would refuse to comply with the strict and costly requirements for body piercing establishments, such as time-consuming and costly certificates of expertise (per user) of up to 40 hours, special sterilisation equipment, separate rooms or similar, just to perform simple ear piercings. These requirements would constitute an encroachment on their freedom to practise their profession.
c) Consequences of overregulation
Any legal regulation that does not explicitly separate ear piercing from body piercing or imposes overly stringent requirements on establishments whose piercing activities are limited solely to ear piercing risks traditional establishments that offer affordable and safe ear piercing ceasing to provide this service to the public. The number of providers would be drastically reduced, which would significantly increase the price of the service for consumers. Traditional establishments in particular, such as jewellery shops, would have to withdraw from this market. As a result, a large proportion of the population would return to piercing their ears at home using unhygienic methods, which would pose an even greater risk to the public.
9. EPM recommendation (summary)
Ear piercing has been specifically separated from body piercing in legislation in many countries around the world, provided that practitioners use modern and hygienic ear piercing systems. These countries have recognised that over-regulation of the ear piercing industry means that traditional ear piercing facilities are no longer able to meet the unnecessarily stringent requirements required and necessary for body piercing facilities. This would force them to cease providing ear piercing services to the public. The result would be significantly higher prices for consumers. A large number of consumers would then switch back to piercing their own ears at home using unhygienic methods.
For better consumer protection, the EPM therefore recommends that ear piercing (= piercing of the earlobe and the upper flat ear cartilage area) be regulated separately from body piercing (= piercing of areas of the body other than the earlobe or upper flat ear cartilage area), provided that
- only hygienic and safe ear piercing systems with sterile disposable cartridges are used,
- the ear piercing specialist is trained by the manufacturer on the subject of hygiene specifically for ear piercing practice and in handling the systems,
- the ear piercing specialist ensures that the consumer receives aftercare instructions, which should be provided by the manufacturer.
These points would ensure adequate consumer protection without pushing ear piercing back into private households, where unhygienic ear piercing conditions pose the greatest risk to consumers.
We are happy to share our extensive expertise on ear piercing and its impact on consumers with interested parties and help shape legislation for adequate consumer protection.