Plenty of situations ask for identification which includes a picture and a birth date. The only information I would never give out would be my social security number. I often refuse to give a phone number or email. I am not reading what exactly your concern is. Years ago I was with my daughters who got their ears pierced. $10 which included surgical grade metal studs. No ID was asked of any of us. Times change. There are laws about age and tattoos but was unaware of the piercing one. Waaay back in the day I worked at a department store and endured listening to a mom having her babies ears pierced. Perhaps it's State by State.

Thanks, Arcy.

I did not care to give out my DOB and photo (Driver’s lic copy) w my name and address.

I give DOB for medical, insurance, Gubmint. But seems like too much persnal info for mall vendor. I have no idea what their security is like for their online database. The store is an inflexible corporation. They do not really need my dob. Its just an ear jab by a salesperson, not a tissue transplant or heart surgery.

PS I cringe about infants and children getting body piercings or tatts. Maybe the baby doesnt want keloids.

I've showed my license for proof of age even though I am way over 18. It was store policy for everyone. I never had to give a copy though and wouldn't.

One time I was going to a ball and my one second hole was closed up from lack of use. I put ice on my ear to numb it and my DIL happened to be there and I had her stick a needle thru it. I put in the earring and went to the ball. I now 24/7 wear small hoops in my second holes to keep them open.

I’m 53 and still have to show my ID for non-alcoholic beer. Never thought twice about it. Well, not the safety aspect that is.

How closed is the hole? I haven’t worn an earring in many decades but once in a while I’ll throw one through just for kicks. The back is inevitably closed, so I just take a piercing stud and force it through. Numb it with ice for a bit if you want to avoid the minor pain, but unless it’s really closed I wouldn’t overthink it.

A couple of my grocery stores ask for my ID to buy alcohol, even when a) I'm clearly legal and b) they know me. But sometimes inspectors are lurking, I guess.

My ears closed up when I stopped wearing earrings for a bit because the baby was grabbing them. He's 23 now, I guess I could get them re-pierced now. Some doctors used to do it in the office, but I'm sure with insurance controlling so much they won't do it now.

Your date of birth isn't private information. We share our birthdates with millions of people. Same with names. And finding out someone's birthdate is easy. Message me your real name and state where you live and I'll reply with your birthdate. 😁

Go to a tattoo artist, not a mall shop.

I have no qualms about showing someone my drivers license to establish my age, but I would not let them keep a copy of it - certainly not a place where there are going to be multiple minimum wage employees with minimum experience having access to it........if a place has an established security protocol with employees who are trained to handle secure data, then I could do that.

They wanted a copy of my drivers license or passport or some such document to be sure that I was definitely over the age of 18.

I'm sure different states have different requirements, and some provide exemptions, but some require that a record be kept on file that the health department may inspect for each individual for whatever period of time is established by department rule.

Thanks for you many good responses. ”Showing” my ID such as a driver’s lic it’s quite different from allowing somebody to make a photocopy of it. Or allowing somebody to actually enter the information in a database at a mall store.

I will try to respond to some of your questions later. But I really don’t think this is a public health kind of thing. Maybe.

I tried to get a wire through a couple of weeks ago and almost did it but there were some tissue in the way. Maybe it’s guard over, but sometimes in the past I’ve had trouble getting the earring wire in because I think I’ve been starting above where the hole actually is—is it isn’t always that apparent from the front of my ear. But a couple of weeks ago when I tried I almost got it through but it was some tissue that I just couldn’t get through and I even tried that technique of using a lot of lubricant bacitracin or Vaseline.

The person at the store tried to tell me that I had a “keloid” at the back of my ear but, for me it doesn’t look or feel like a keloid. A photo shows a few flakes of dry skin and a bit of scar tissue which would be normal for someone having an piercing hole through their earlobe for 40, maybe 50 years.

I may be able to get the DH to poke a hole for me. He does a good job removing deer ticks, so he could have potential.

I thought of going to a tattoo place but not sure about the tatt culture. Is it hygienic? Yes I know a lot of lovely ladies have beautiful tattoos. I still don’t know why we don’t see newscasters and politicians with multiple piercings and cats but I imagine that coming.

I ordered some super numbing lidocaine stuff That is supposed to be twice as potent as what is usually available. I remember the ice cubes my roommate had me put on my ears and those were as painful as a hot poker. Who knows where the lidocaine 10% is made but it’s probably from some country that enslaves part of its population. I watched a lot of videos of people using these little loaded Ear piercing guns. But the cheap piercing earrings included in the ”nail gun” like device are regular so so surgical stainless with nickel. It is not possible to substitute ones own small silver or gold stud earring into the device. The directions say to keep the surgical SS earrings in the new piercing for ~ 20 days.

I’m really not sure I could get the post all the wire in through the hole in my ear if I made it with even an 18 gauge needle. Maybe I could use a needle and thread or some of that new dental floss and then I could keep the floss running through my ear and zigzagging it every couple hours. No risk of infection there, right? :-)

Here is the back of my earlobe; you can probably guess my birth date and SS# from the photo.

the whitish dot to the left is a bit of dead or dry skin.

I don’t have any piercing studs. I have thin earlobes, so most posts are too long and if I lie on my side, poke me in the head/neck. Maybe I’ll try to find a stud and sharpen the end to a point. The big online store sells all sorts of sharp stabby tools for piercing.

There is so much information online. I found a person that was texting me with a very common first name, phone number (from texting) and a possible city of reaidence in less than 5 minutes. For the record, I do not look for SSN’s.

FWIW, reputable tattoo/piercing shops are sanitary. If you know anyone with tats or body piercings done in your area, ask for their recommendation. Or go in and talk with the owners. They will be happy to answer questions. And as small business owners, they have much more to lose than a huge chain. They are well trained - after all, they pierce much more than just ears, so hygienic practices are critical.

I agree that most tattoo parlours are very hygienic and will be happy to demonstrate to you how they clean their facilities and equipment.