i say professional piercer.
after having a friend work as a piercing apprentice and constantly hanging out in his shop, i would never ever get anythinhg pierced in a mall again. i mean, they use a gun!....it just doesnt seem right to me. and it doesnt feel clean enough in a mall to me. but that's definitely my personal opinion. :)
plus, they dont stay updated on proper aftercare...i still see people being given the "cleaning solution" and being told to twist thie piercing. *cringe*
and plus, you'll get better quality (and better looking IMHO) jewelry at a professional than in the mall.

I agree, go to a proper piercer, especially for ear piercings that go through cartilage. Ask a variety of friends for recommendations, and make sure that they have a hygiene certificate. I've had home done piercings, gun piercings and proper piercings and the piercer done ones are much less hassle. Also, I've been able to go back to hte piercer for any queries.

I've gotten both my second holes and my cartilage pierced at the mall..and I turned out fine. lol
I guess you gotta check the credibility of those that are doing it for you.

I think its personal preference if its just the ear then if its more covenant to go to the mall it should be fine. I had all 7 holes in my ear done at the mall, this was before I understood the whole professional piecer thing but my ears didn't fall off. (yet) My brother when he got his earring he went to a professional piecer but I was there getting my navel done so it was easier for him. I do think though that his healed faster than mine and they do have some cooler jewelry. Also you can go a little bigger gage if you wish at the piecer which you can't with the mall. :)

Unless there is a super piercing station at the mall (Not Claire's or Piercing Pagoda-type places), you can try it. The gun is icky to me and you just never know. I also recommend a pro to pierce you. You are less likely to have complications.

Always go to a professional for these things. Those piercing guns are not properly sterilized to prevent HIV and hepatitis in between customers.

Definitely a professional! IMO, they have more training on placement, A&P, aftercare, etc., and will (well, should) be much easier to go to for any type of question that you might have.
When I was looking for my piercer, I asked around some, but also went to the Association of Professional Piercers to see who in town was certified... www.safepiercing.org/ I'm very glad I took both viewpoints into consideration - now, I won't go to anyone else (not even his apprentice, though he's super nice too), and I won't recommend anyone else! :D
Have fun!

sooz...dont you dare go to the mall! stay away from the gun!! go to a pro, the app website will guide you.

youre in the oc right? go to outer limits. www.outerlimitstattoo.com

Pro.

I had a bad experience when I was younger when I went to get second holes in my ears. The damn gun got stuck to the earring and the two bimbos doing it jerked my head and ear around trying to get the gun off. It.was.not.nice. >.<

Hum, that's an old German trick... ice/potato/only it was a needle only, not an ice pick, in my case and my girlfriend, not my grandmother.

But, I would definately check out a professional piercer. My right ear grew over and I went to the mall. No one would touch it... They all said they couldn't "repierce" an ear. They did offer, if I bot a pair of earrings from them, to push the stud through and open up the hole. Hey, I thought, I can do that myself.

So, I bought a pair of earrings from the gift shop at work, sterilized them really well with hand sanitizer and, with the help of a co worker, repierced the offending earlobe. I would absolutely NOT recommend doing this yourself. I was in a masocistic mood that day and it didn't hurt any more than the old potato routine, but I was lucky my ear lobe didn't get infected, rot and fall off.

That was 6 months ago and I haven't had any problems since. Go figure.

I was "trained" as a mall piercer. I would never let them touch me with one of those guns.

I was given a couple foam ears to practice on, a couple quick tips from the other teens and twenty somethings in the shop, given the gun and a willing employee and was "trained" enough to start piercing customers the same day.

You are not trained about sterility, besides wear your gloves (but many people touched unclean items with the gloves during piercing), and wipe the ear with a little alcohol swab. The pens and many items touched customer after customer. The cartridges might be sterile, if they are stored correctly and not preopened by an employee. The guns are rarely if ever wiped down with the alcohol swabs, and are never cleaned past that point.

The other scary thing is how those things work, a mostly dull object shoved through the ear, not pretty. And worse when the earring catches in the cartridge and has to be shoved through or repierced is awful. And trust me it happens more then people think. I know a lot of customers who did not realise that the "piercer" was jamming the earring the rest of the way through their ear thanks to a faulty cartridge.

It might be a pain but I would go to a professional.

I'm also saying pro but wanted to throw out another reason as to why you should stay away from guns...

Guns "punch" a hole through your skin whereas professional piercing needles actually remove that slight bit of skin. This is much much better because when you just punch a hole through your skin it is more difficult to heal properly and takes longer to heal as well. When the skins removed the hole can heal around the ring whereas the punched gun hole the wound is trying to just fuse back together, like a cut or a scratch does.

And of course all of the sterility everyone has mentioned here as well! That right there is enough to go to a professional. I had cartilage piercings done and within 2 weeks they had gotten nasty infectious blister thingies on them. Really disgusting! I perceivered through it and eventually the infection went away and I had my piercings.

I think the established peircing stations in the mall are fine if you ar just looking to do teh lobes. Cartledge is a little more tricky! however I wouldn't let the High school girl do it that may be working in say like Claire's.
Very importatn though.........if you are or ever will consider piercings any other location of your body, you must go to a pro!!
That's just my opionion........smile
Namaste

go to a professional. the people at the mall are rarely ever actually trained to do such a thing. they aren't very sanitary, and the jewelry usually contains nickel. a professional will be much more expensive, but it is sanitary and worth the paying for someone trained to do piercings.

Oh, please, please, please, please, PLEASE go to a professional. For all of the reasons mentioned above. Sterility, the removal of the little bit of skin, the better quality of the jewelry...if you care about yourself, go to a professional. Don't let those little mall piercers touch you! *cringes* If you fear communicable diseases and/or have a fondness for your well-being, go to a pro. They even give you the CORRECT after-care instructions. Love your professional piercer and tattoo artist.