While many body piercing enthusiasts hold the opinion that when it comes to puncturing the skin using the piercing needle method is best, there are also various advantages to using a piercing gun. Her we will take a look at the good and the bad points when it comes to using a piercing gun.

The main advantage of a piercing gun is that it is easy to find somewhere in the local mall who will use one to pierce your ears fairly cheaply. It is increasingly common to find hair salons, drug stores and beauticians who offer body plugs, ear piercing, and sometimes nose piercing as well using a piercer's gun. This is perfect for someone who just wants standard ear or cartilage piercing and feels strange visiting a body piercer or tattoo artist to have this done.

However, the piercing gun is not without it's disadvantages. First of all, and perhaps the most concerning is that the body modification like piercing guns cannot be properly sterilized. They are in regular use throughout the day and come into contact with the body fluids (mainly blood) of various people. Since most shops providing the service only have one gun, it is simple swabbed with an alcohol wipe between uses. This is not sufficient to protect against cross contamination. While some argue that the device itself never touches the skin, it is important to remember that the operator's hands do touch both the skin and the device potentially contaminating both. In addition to this, the piercing gun is essentially forcing a blunt needle through the ear making it difficult to know just how many blood particles disperse into the air.

Staff in these outlets have only basic training on using the device and are not trained in how to manage infection or administer medical treatment if necessary. Piercings performed with a gun can cause tissue damage since a blunt earring is forced through the tissue at speed. In addition, if the earring is forced through at the wrong angle, then it can be highly dangerous.