The Student Room Group

Having trouble getting starter studs out!

Hi, I've had my ear lobes pierced about 8/9 weeks now, so they should be more than ready to take out but I am having real difficulty getting the safety back off.

I would prefer to just take the backs off first (I have a set of spare smaller backs) and then change the whole earring in a week or two (I had problems with changing my earrings when I was 10, and I had to let them close up - I would rather not go through that again. I had no problem taking them off that time - it was putting new ones in!).

So, today, I had a hot shower (the piercer at Claire's said this should make it easier to take out/put new studs in. Then, I washed my hands and gripped one earring from the back with one hand (my nails between the stud and the ear) and used my other hand to hold the front.

I tried to pull one for just over an hour or so (with quite a lot of force in the end) but it wouldn't come out. I tried to twist the back to loosen it a bit, I tried pulling it out at slightly different angles.

But they still won't come out!!! :confused: All that I achieved was making my ear sore! I don't know what to do! I don't really want to get someone else to help me as I don't want it to hurt and not have any control over it!

Any tips on how to loosen them so the stud back will come over and off the safety groove? HELP please!!! Rep shall be awarded to the winning solution/s. :yep:

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It surely shouldn't be so hard to remove an earring back. If worst comes to worst just go back to Claire's and they shouldchange you're earrings free of charge.
Get that cooling spray people use on sore muscles, abuse it until you ear goes numb, then pull like there's no tomorrow.

My parents had to physically hold my sister down when she was younger to get her studs out, she screamed like nothing I've heard since but the spray seemed to help.
Reply 3
killerjane
It surely shouldn't be so hard to remove an earring back. If worst comes to worst just go back to Claire's and they shouldchange you're earrings free of charge.


When I went back to them worried about a possible infection - they told me there's noting they can do as they're not insured to even so much look at my ears...

Apparently, they used to do a 6 week check up (I think I went to one the first time round...) but they no longer allowed to do so!
*R*a*c*h*
When I went back to them worried about a possible infection - they told me there's noting they can do as they're not insured to even so much look at my ears...

Apparently, they used to do a 6 week check up (I think I went to one the first time round...) but they no longer allowed to do so!


This is why Claire's are ****.

Go to a proper piercer and they *should* help you get the back off. They're not obliged to seen as you didn't get them done there, but most would.
Reply 5
Can you get someone else to take it out? Maybe you've got a hair twisted in it or are just trying from the wrong angle. Esp. if they're butterfly backings, I can never get them out!
Yor're prob just not used to it ask someone like a friend to have a look
Reply 7
i had this problem last time i had my ears pierced. nothing i did would loosen them so i went back to the shop i got them pierced in (blue banana) and they took the backs off for me. if you have a blue banana near you go and ask them, they sometimes carge like £2 to do an earring change but at least you'll have them out.
if you dont want to do that, go to any professional piercer and they can break the backs off, it doesnt hurt at all, or..you can get someone to help you do it. all you need is a thin pair of pliers and use them to bend the loops on the back out (make them more straight). this will make the gap bigger and allow you to take the back off easily.
hope this helps :smile:
sounds unpleasant! If you really can't manage on your own the best thing to do would be to ask for some assistance, at least to see if they are on straight/attached correctly etc. Then you'll know more about how is best to go about removing them.

the only thing I can suggest other than that is to try and lube it up?

can you rotate the butterfly backs at all? any way you could get oil into the system may help
Go to a proper piercers where they're not total ****, and they'll help you out.

Don't keep pulling til your ears are sore, and do NOT use any sprays - you won't feel it if you do some proper damage to your ears.
I had that issue. I had to get my dad to do it for me, took him ages as well! If you can't get someone else to help you then go back to Claires and ask, they may not be obliged to but i'm sure the girls that work there will take pity!
Those piercing studs can be really hard to take out. Unfortunately, you wont be able to just change the back, as the studs you have in now are probably thicker than normal studs and so normal butterfly backs won't fit on them. The way to do it is to pull the stud from the front and the butterfly from the back until they come out. It usually ends up hurting your fingers!

As it sounds like you are having difficulty and you are worried about replacing the studs, I'd suggest finding a proper body piercer (not Claires, somewhere that pierces properly with a needle) and asking them to do an earing change for you. You should be able to buy new studs there or take in a new pair. They'll probably charge you up to £5 but they'll take the old ones out and put new ones in and then you won't have to worry. Normal butterfly backs are much easier to take off but those piercing ones can be really tough.
Mine wouldn't come out even with my parents trying, I had to go to the doctor :p:
Reply 13
A little update...

So I went round to my neighbour who has her ears pierced and she'd try to get them out, unsuccessfully although she recomended using oil/vaseline/going to Blue Banana.

So on the weekend, I'm going to try loosen them up with a bit of oil... and try get them out myself.

If that doesn't work - I shall go ask at Blue Banana...

but my neighbour said I could come back to her if I still have a problem.

Rep will come to the person/s with the most effective answer once the problem is solved!
Pliers. I can't see any other way. Those studs are absolutely vile, so I wouldn't be surprised if you end up having to get wire cutters and cut them out of your ears.

Unfortunately, this is exactly the sort of thing that happens when people are pierced by sub-standard shops. They mess up your ears using potentially dangerous piercing guns, then give you sub-standard jewellery that is faulty. Only to say that they're not insured to sort out the mess that they've created.

In future, have your piercings done by PROFESSIONALS who refuse to work with guns, but pierce in a sterile environment, with sterile needles. Learn from this!
Reply 15
Not all piercers that use guns are bad you know - mine were done with a gun and I have never had a problem with them. My aunt, cousin and sister were all done at the same place and they have never had a problem either.

Saying that, though, I can appreciate that it might be difficult to tell a good piercer who uses a gun from a bad one. Claire's Accessories was just never going to be a good bet though :wink:

I agree that going to see another independent piercer who might be able to help out and advise you is probably the best option.
Angelil
Not all piercers that use guns are bad you know - mine were done with a gun and I have never had a problem with them. My aunt, cousin and sister were all done at the same place and they have never had a problem either.

Saying that, though, I can appreciate that it might be difficult to tell a good piercer who uses a gun from a bad one. Claire's Accessories was just never going to be a good bet though :wink:

I agree that going to see another independent piercer who might be able to help out and advise you is probably the best option.
I usually agree with you on most things, but this time I can't disagree more.

Any piercer who uses guns, obviously isn't a decent body piercer. A decent body piercer should refuse to work with guns, and make it a policy for their studio to only carry out needle piercings.

The piercing studio I work for do not work with guns nor condone the use of them. I wouldn't trust any piercer who is happy to use a gun. It's just not the thing to do in the industry, it's highly frowned upon - abhorred, actually.
Reply 17
^^I know all that but can't see why when I've never known anyone to have a problem following a piercing with a gun.
Angelil
^^I know all that but can't see why when I've never known anyone to have a problem following a piercing with a gun.
So the OP isn't having a gun related problem then? :confused:
Reply 19
I wouldn't know, I'm no expert. I'd be more likely to think it was a problem related to having had her ears pierced at Claire's Accessories, where the girls who do it probably aren't trained properly, rather than being a gun problem per se. But then again, I'm no expert on the subject.

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