One of the reasons that ear scalpeling first started getting done, is that when someone has their lobes pierced as a baby, it can grow up to be sitting quite low on the lobe both because it’s harder to do perfect placement on a tiny lobe and because the ear changes a little as it grows. As well as the issue of placement, there’s also the issue of consent — is it morally acceptable to modify someone else’s body without their permission, be it circumcision, piercing baby ears, or even coming of age tattooing and ritual ceremonies?

Then there’s also the counter-concern that many professionals face of “well, if I don’t do it, they’ll just go to the mall and have it done badly”… Personally I fall on the “don’t do it” side of the fence, but I can definitely understand why someone would come to the other conclusion. For example, Karla “Pinky” Grimes at No Regrets in Champaign, IL pierced the five week old baby on the left, and the little fellow on the right was done by Tarzan at Edu Tattoo Studio in Rio de Janeiro.