Piercings are cool – and we’re not just saying that because we’re one of the biggest piercers in the UK! Body piercings make you stand out, allow you to express yourself and can provide many benefits, including boosting body confidence. There are plenty of great reasons to get a piercing.

However, there’s often one big stumbling block that gets in the way of getting whatever piercings you want – PARENTS. Whilst you might be up for getting all kinds of awesome piercings, they might not be too thrilled at the prospect. Unfortunately, many piercers like ourselves require parental consent, meaning your dear old mum and dad are the end bosses you must defeat to get that treasure.

Well kids, don’t worry, because we’ve got your back! We’ve compiled this guide here on how to convince your parents to let you get pierced, allowing you to get that dream piercing you want without there (hopefully) being a big horrible fight.

Word of warning, we can’t promise it’ll work 100. though. Some adults are just stubborn, and won’t change their views no matter how well put together a counter argument is (remember this, it’s a valuable life lesson!).

Do Plenty of Research

Naturally, parents want to protect their kids from things they know little about, and that includes piercings.  There’s a lot of misinformation spread about them online and by word of mouth which negatively impacts their image and causes concerned parents to prejudge piercings – especially when it comes to safety.

To counter this, arm yourself with plenty of research about the piercing you want, and the studio in which you want to be pierced in. Read up on the piercing process, learn beforehand how to avoid complications and make sure you understand what the piercer will be doing. Also, find a clean, safe piercing studio with a great reputation your parents can trust. Use positive customer reviews, like the ones you’ll find on our studio pages, to prove everything will be fine.

If you can prove in a mature manner why getting a piercing can be safe, and explain the whole process, it’ll sound far less scary to a parent that hasn’t got a clue about them.

Show Why They Can Be Attractive

Again, like with safety concerns, there’s also a misconception about piercings that they’re worn by rough, rebellious individuals (cool people basically), and are scary looking. There’s a simple way to change people’s minds though, and that’s to find examples of the piercing being worn by happy looking, beautiful people.

As lame as that sounds, you’d be surprised at how quickly people’s perceptions can change when things are presented in an attractive and friendly form. Show your parents some hot people wearing piercings, and they may understand how pretty a little piercing can be.

Explain Eloquently Why Its Important To You

Just saying, “I want it” is not a good argument for… well, just about anything. If you’re going to convince your parents why you want a piercing, you need to passionately explain the reasons why – even if they’re admittedly shallow reasons.

Explain how a piercing would boost your confidence, help you to stand out and assert your individuality or just be completely honest and say you think it looks good and it would help you be cool. If you’re open and honest, most parents will understand, as they may have felt the same way as a teenager.

Be Willing To Earn It As A Reward

If your parents reward you with treats based on merit, why not ask them if they’ll allow you to get a piercing if you work for it? Promise to work hard at school, set a goal with any clubs or extra curricular activities you do, be well behaved or do some chores.

Sometimes you’ve gotta work hard to get the nice things in life, and by proving to your parents you can be responsible, they’ll be more likely to help you out. Plus, getting a piercing is as good an incentive as there’ll ever be to get off your ass and do something productive, right?

Learn How To Care For Your Piercing

One of the biggest worries a parent will have when their child gets pierced will be over what happens after the initial piercing. Can they be trusted and are they responsible enough to care for the piercing so it doesn’t get infected and bring more trouble (like a trip to the doctors)? Well, here’s where you prove them wrong.

Learn all you can about caring for your piercing, including not just the daily cleaning regime, but also the extra little things to be aware of, such as changing your pillow case regularly or wearing loose fit clothing etc. Prove you understand the risks and know how to care for the piercing before you even get it done and it’ll impress your parents. Plus, the more responsibility you take in dealing with your piercing, and the less they have to worry, the better.

 Hopefully these 5 tips will help warm your parents up to the idea of letting you get pierced. However, there are still a few more things to be aware of – things you shouldn’t do.

 

DON’T Let Anger Get The Better Of You If They Initially Say No

If your parents aren’t being “co-operative”, make sure not to lose your cool when arguing with them. Throwing a tantrum, shouting, screaming, and whining won’t help your case – in fact it’ll probably make your parents even less likely to help you out. You can be disappointed sure, but act in an adult manner and accept defeat (for the time being at least). Ask again once everyone has cooled off from the last debate.

If you act calmly and rationally, it’ll prove you’re responsible and mature enough for a piercing, and kinda shame your parents in the process if they’re the ones being childish and argumentative!

DON’T Be A Dick

This is pretty simple to follow – if you want your parents to help you out, don’t be a dick to them. Keep your nose clean, try your hardest at school and don’t do anything to intentionally antagonise them. Think about it from their point of view – would you help out someone who was irritating and causing you nothing but trouble? Probably not, so if you want to get that piercing, be a good girl or boy… for at least until the piercing is done anyway

DON’T Take Your First Piercing & Your Parent’s Generosity For Granted

Say your parents finally do cave in and let you get that dream piercing you wanted. Well, if you wish there to be piercing no.2. make sure you don’t take for granted the piercing you have, or your parents generosity. Care for your piercing properly, show gratitude to your parents and don’t waste the opportunity to prove how responsible you can be and show why they had nothing to worry about.

The biggest mistake you could make is to squander the opportunity you’ve been given by your parents, and not taking the right care for the situation could lead to you not being allowed to get another piercing or cause your parents to force you to REMOVE the piercing you just got done. Not cool.


With the right attitude and approach (plus a little bit of shameless manipulation), it’s not impossible to change the mind of a stubborn parent. Follow our guide on how to convince your parents to let you get pierced and perhaps you’ll be able to get that perfect piercing after all.

Good luck!