Ear piercing

Ear piercing with hand-held devices

Services that break the skin, such as tattooing, piercing, and micro pigmentation, are well-recognized risk factors for blood-borne infections, for example, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. Infection control precautions must be followed to protect personal service workers and clients.

* The following is in addition to general operational requirements for personal services settings.

Ear piercing equipment

Ear piercing instruments must not be used on any other part of the body except the earlobes (fleshy part only), as the instruments can damage tissue and create a risk of infection. If a needle or dermal punch method is used for piercing the earlobe, the requirements of body piercing (Ministry of Health) must be met.

Jewellery

Jewellery must be supplied pre-packaged and sterile. Under no circumstances can the jewellery be sampled or returned. Previously opened packages of jewellery can no longer be considered sterile. Any jewellery stored in opened or damaged packages cannot be used to pierce the ear lobe. Do not spray sterile earrings with disinfectant prior to piercing.

Infection prevention and control requirements

Steps to piercing the ear lobe

1. Obtain client information for record keeping purposes.
2. Practice hand hygiene before and after each client:
   • Use hand sanitizer (60–90% alcohol) if your hands are not visibly dirty.
   • Clean your hands with soap and water if your hands are visibly dirty.
3. Check the client’s skin to ensure that it is free from any cuts, wounds, rash or visible infections. Do not provide service if there are visible skin conditions and advise the client to seek medical attention. Never offer to treat any skin conditions.
4. The ear piercer must wear single-use disposable gloves on both hands during the procedure. Gloves must be changed between clients and breaks in service (for leaving the station) for the same client.
5. Clean the front and back of the earlobe with an approved skin antiseptic.
6. Mark the earlobe with an aseptic technique to prevent contamination of the marking pen.
7. Load the ear piercing instrument without touching either the sterile jewellery or the stud-holding sterile devices on the instrument.
8. Pierce the earlobe with the sterile jewellery.
9. Discard all disposable parts (cartridges or adaptors and leftover jewellery in opened packages).
10. Remove gloves and practise hand hygiene.
11. Provide verbal and written after-care instructions to the client that include how to care for the piercing.
12. Clean and disinfect the ear piercing gun:
    • Ear piercing instruments with sterile, single-use disposable parts must be cleaned with soap and water, and then disinfected with an intermediate- to high-level disinfectant for the appropriate contact time (for example, using 70% isopropyl alcohol for 10 minutes), after each client.
    • Ear piercing instruments without sterile, single use disposable adapters or cartridges (for example, fixed stud adapter and clasp retainer), must be thoroughly cleaned then sterilized after each client. If the old ear-piercing equipment cannot be sterilized, it must not be used.
13. Store the ear piercing equipment in a clean, enclosed, non-absorbent container to prevent contamination when not in use. Only touch the device when hands are washed and single-use disposable gloves are worn.

Record keeping

The following records must be kept on site for a minimum of 1 year and on file for 5 years:

• accidental blood exposures
• all jewellery and parts of ear piercing instruments purchased as pre-packaged and sterile
• every client who has received an ear piercing (the record must include the date of the procedure, the client’s full name, complete mailing address, telephone number, the full name of the person who performed the piercing, and details about the procedure)

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This item was last modified on July 4, 2024