Ear Piercing

Ear Piercing is making holes in the vinyl of an American Girl Doll near the ears to allow the doll to wear earrings.

Through American Girl
As of 2008, any Just Like You doll can get her ears pierced--if ordered off the website, this must be done at purchase. Otherwise the doll must be taken to an American Girl Store and pierced for a fee of 10 dollars. The holes are drilled with a dremel and are permanent.

The resulting holes are sized for American Girl earrings and so are bigger than standard human earring posts.

Self-Piercing
Some collectors prefer to pierce ears themselves. In this way, they are not limited to American Girl earrings only; before ear piercing was offered this was the only way to have pierced ears. This is generally done with a large needle or pushpin, or the earring psot directly. The vinyl can be warmed up with a heat source such as a blow dryer to prevent cracking; the needle or pushpin is then gently pushed into the vinyl to make a hole. The hole, while permanent, is much more discreet than the piercing holes made by American Girl and allow any regular human earring to be placed into the piercing.