Ear piercing at Claire's, Piercing Pagoda (Banter) and Rowan compared

Claire’s, Banter by Piercing Pagoda (formerly Piercing Pagoda) and Rowan are three companies that offer ear piercing outside a traditional piercing studio. This page puts what each says on its own site side by side, as of September 2026. It is not a review of any store, and practice can differ from one location to the next.

The comparison

What they have in common

• All three describe a device. Each uses a hand-pressurized or hand-pressure instrument and says it is not a gun, or describes it as a medical device.
• Banter and Rowan also offer a needle. Each describes a single-use hollow needle.
• None of the three pages mentions APP membership. We did not see it on the pages we read, and we have not checked whether any of their staff are members.
• All three describe their jewelry as hypoallergenic.

Where they differ

Who pierces. Rowan is the only one that says licensed nurses. Banter says its professionals are recertified annually. Claire’s page does not say. None of the pages say how the training compares with the Association of Professional Piercers (APP) checklist, which suggests asking how long a piercer has been piercing, how they learned and what they do to keep their knowledge current.

Price. Claire’s and Banter advertise the piercing as free with an earring purchase. Rowan charges a service fee plus jewelry. The right comparison is the total you pay for the earrings and the piercing together, which how much is ear piercing sets beside studio prices.

Healing. Claire’s and Banter give shorter figures than the Cleveland Clinic’s six to eight weeks for earlobes and up to a year for cartilage. Rowan says up to a year. The American Academy of Dermatology says not to remove a new piercing for six weeks or more. Plan for the longer figures. See earlobe healing time and cartilage piercing healing time.

Aftercare. Rowan sells its own hypochlorous spray and advises rotating a device lobe earring once after spraying. The APP’s advice is sterile saline wound wash and not to twist, spin or rotate the jewelry during healing. We follow the APP.

Guns, devices and needles

The APP says a reputable professional will not use a gun for any piercing, even for earlobes, and that its members may not use reusable ear piercing guns. The pages we read do not say whether that extends to the single-use-cartridge devices these companies describe, so ask what instrument will be used and whether the parts that touch you are single-use and sealed. The Cleveland Clinic says piercing guns are not always sterilised between uses. See piercing gun vs needle and what is an autoclave.

Choosing

If you use any of the three, ask the questions the APP’s checklist points to: what instrument is used, whether the parts that touch you are single-use and opened in front of you, who does the piercing and how they trained, which metal the jewelry is and which standard it meets, and what aftercare you are given. How to choose a piercer has the full list.

A studio is the other option. How much is ear piercing shows what the studio price lists we read charged, and cartilage piercing cost covers helix, conch, tragus and more.

Babies and children

Rowan says it pierces from 2 months old with a device, and Claire’s from about 3 months. The APP’s standard for any piercing of a minor is that a parent or legal guardian must be present to sign a consent form. The Cleveland Clinic quotes a physician who recommends needles for piercing children. Baby ear piercing covers what pediatricians say.

Not medical advice

This page is educational. If a piercing is hot, has spreading redness, thick coloured discharge or red streaks, or you feel unwell, see a doctor the same day.

This article is for education only and is not medical advice. If a piercing is hot, swollen, spreading redness, oozing yellow or green discharge, or you have a fever, see a doctor today.