Hey Rowan supplied the earrings for my girls to get their ears pierced for free in exchange for an honest review. There are no affiliate links present in the post.
My girls have been asking to get their ears pierced for years. YEARS! But I’ve been hesitant since the last time we did it.
When Harper was 5 and Everly was 4, they got them pierced for the first time at a kid’s jewelry chain at the mall. The girls who did the piercings were very sweet, super young, and didn’t give us a whole lot of good information not to mention it was really hard to find nickel-free high-quality earrings there. They told me to remove the earrings nightly and clean everything for 2 weeks which I later learned wasn’t correct. Harper’s earrings ended up getting infected and so we took them out, then Everly asked for hers to come out too. Over the past year they’ve been asking for earrings again. Like, almost daily.
I’ve done so much research over this time and landed nowhere. I actually just bought a piercing device myself last Christmas to do all of theirs then had trouble finding earrings to use with it and just decided to wait. I didn’t want to go back to the chain store where so many parents reported a bad experience in my research which included asking our neighborhood Facebook page that lit up in the comments when it came to this topic. Most said don’t do the chain, a few others said they had a weird experience in a tattoo shop that doesn’t believe in a device of any kind, so they just sort of shove the earrings through. I also called several tattoo shops and they weren’t super friendly and some refused to work with kids. One place told me they would only pierce for kids 7 and older because they were able to “talk with them and understand directions of what was going to happen.” 7? Clearly they didn’t have kids of their own.
Luckily I saw Hey Rowan advertised on Instagram. This genius idea puts a Rowan studio right inside of your local Target. Rowan offers only hypoallergenic and nickel-free earrings made from Sterling Silver and Gold Vermeil which is has a base metal of Sterling Silver that is then dipped in a thick layer of 14k Gold. Each is designed for safety and fewer allergic reactions with the cutest designs that work for kids and adults alike.
The best part for me is how Rowan piercings are performed by actual nurses using a gentle hand-pressured, single-use cartridge and not a traditional piercing gun. This was the biggest selling point to it all and it was the part I was beyond impressed with in the end.
I set up an appointment HERE where you select a Target near you that offers piercings. Piercings are free with a purchase of Rowan earrings (you can checkout their lookbook for earrings HERE.) Our local Target had some Saturday appointments which I made when it was just a few weeks out from Everly’s 8th birthday who has been asking to have her ears pierced consistently for over a year including the morning of our surprise appointment.
We showed up at Target and I told them all about the surprise which they were so thrilled about.
We met our nurses, Courtney and Morgan, who were friendly and had all of our information ready to go. They had worked in pediatric nursing which really helped with it came time for questions about how the piercing would feel. They were very kind to each of my girls, explaining that there would be a pinch and what would happen every step of the way. Nothing felt rushed. They also following hospital-level safety protocol. They took all of our temperatures, gave us all A squirt of hand sanitizer, put on gloves and got started with Everly. They found the center of her ears dotting them with a Sharpie that they gave to us after (1 marker per child) asking what I thought of the placement. When we all agreed, they changed out their gloves again getting their devices ready to go with the earrings the girls had chosen. The surfaces were changed out each time with clean coverings, their hands were gloved and changed out again during each piercing, and everything was completely sanitized. The care they both took in this process even letting the girls know not to touch the sanitized things including their freshly pierced ears, was really impressive. Then the moment came. Everly was the least nervous. Courtney and Morgan each had an ear so both were done at once. They told her they would count and pierce after 3, and just like that, Everly had pierced ears that she had longed for for so long. She chose the Yellow Gold Puffed Heart earrings.
Lola was next. She was very nervous since this was her first time having them pierced, but she did ask to go second and was so excited and climbed onto the chair before Harper even had a chance. During the process where they cleaned her ears and got the devices, you could see the excitement fade which turned to nervousness which dissolved into tears once the earrings were in. I think it was just a release since the hardest parts were technically over and after a few hugs she was fine. She chose the Aqua CZ earrings which are a perfect little fit for her tiny ear lobes.
Harper though, going last, took all of the emotions in from Lola and everyone else and was now feeling hesitant. She said that she did want hers pierced, but Lola’s reaction made her wonder if it actually hurt worse than Everly had let on. She agreed to sit in the chair and just talk it over and I told her that she didn’t have to do it if she didn’t want to. Here’s where the nurse’s temperament comes into play. Courtney and Morgan had worked in pediatric nursing, so they were used to helping kids though tough situations where they were unsure. They began asking Harper questions about herself and school which turned everything around. I actually didn’t get any photos of Harper’s prep because we were chatting away. They eased her comfortably into the process and soon Harper had pierced ears too. Hers with 3 mm Emerald Gold CZ, which is her birthstone.
When we got home, I emailed Hey Rowan’s PR team over the weekend letting them know how happy we all were and how this is the best way imaginable to have a child’s (or anyone’s) ears pierced. With the hygiene standards in place, along with a nurse’s experience in talking patients through tough situations, I can’t imagine going to the mall or a tattoo shop especially with kids.
This is the part of my job that I love, when I get to share with you something I love that you maybe haven’t heard about that I really just believe in. If you’re thinking of getting your child’s ears pierced, click HERE to see if a Target near you is offering Hey Rowan.
See more HERE on my Instagram including a Reel and details in highlights.