I got my ears pierced at Claire’s and it left me permanently disfigured – I have to hide under my hair
A WOMAN who claims to have worked at Claire’s Accessories has revealed how she ended up with a disfigured ear.
Avril Wright, from Ireland, took to TikTok to share the story which took place whilst she was allegedly working at the high street retailer.
According to the blonde beauty, 26, she had essentially become ”a test model” at Claire’s Accessories for an employee ”to learn how to do a cartilage piercing”.
Opening up about the alleged incident, Avril told people that the person totally ”messed up the first time”, which meant she had to have another attempt.
However, as if that wasn’t ”bad enough”, the Irish stunner revealed that they also used a piercing that wasn’t suitable for her age.
”They pierced me with a baby earring,” she said in the clip.
”They were like ‘Oh, this is the best earring, it’s a diamond’.
”But it was for a literal six-month old.”
This, as she went on to demonstrate the damage, meant that her ear ”didn’t have enough place to swell”.
Although Avril did swap out the teeny stud eventually, it was already too late and the young blonde has had a huge lump ever since then.
”It just kept growing,” she said, showing the keloid that had formed at the top of her ear.
Firm and rubbery, ear keloids are fibrous nodules that form on the ear after minor trauma, most commonly after ear piercing.
These can occur in earlobes as well as in the skin and cartilage higher on the ear, as it was in Avril’s case.
Ear keloids vary in colour, ranging from flesh-coloured to pink and dark brown – and the lumps can also be itchy or painful.
Luckily for the young woman, the keloid hasn’t affected her confidence – and even those closest to her weren’t aware of the lump until the clip on social media.
”Being honest, I’ve gotten used to it none my friends noticed until I posted this video and it’s not stopped me from getting pretty earring in other parts of my ear. so many people get them.”
Avril added that she hasn’t seen a doctor, explaining that the nodule doesn’t hurt and even her mum, who is a nurse, wasn’t too worried about the massive lump.
Offering a helping hand to fellow beauty buffs, the former employee also shared tips on how to prevent a nasty infection when getting a piercing.
”Make sure you’ve the right earring in it to ensure it heals properly, also nothing better than salt water for a piercing,” she told a concerned viewer.
The video, posted on Avril’s TikTok page, has racked up close to a staggering 480k views and hundreds of comments in less than a week.
Ear-piercing babies and toddlers
CAROL Cooper, Sun Doctor, reveals the medical implications of ear-piercing babies and toddlers:
- Ear-piercing in babies and toddlers is controversial. On the one hand, it could be seen as a form of child abuse. But it’s also widely done in many countries and cultures, and is a lot less of an assault than other procedures some girls have to endure.
- There are certainly medical hazards.
Infection is one, which is why many paediatricians recommend waiting until at least the first tetanus jab at two months of age. But there are also many other potential infections which routine vaccines don’t prevent. Getting ears pierced somewhere that just looks clean is no guarantee. - Tearing the earlobe is a risk if the earring gets caught on clothing or bedding, or the baby just pulls on it.
- The earrings can also fall out, and they’re small enough to be a choking hazard to a baby or young child.
Sometimes keloid scarring results, with an unsightly lumpy scar. - That’s why it’s better to wait till your child is old enough to want pierced ears, as well as to look after them herself.
One person instructed the stunner, writing: ”I had a keloid- dissolvable aspirin mix into a paste then put on the keloid – keep doing this for a few weeks mine is completely gone.
”Takes time but works!”
Another said: ”Unfortunately if your body has the ability to form keloid scarring it doesn’t matter how the piercing was done, any trauma to the skin can result in a keloid.
”Ask to be referred for treatment.”
A third penned: ”Oh god those cardboard style ears that they make you use to practice on gives me nightmares!”
The Sun have contacted Claire’s Accessories for comment.