Coconut Grove Piercing Studio Run by Nurses: Rowan, From $35

Every piercing at Rowan in Coconut Grove is done by a licensed nurse, and a single ear piercing costs $35 in service before jewelry. The studio is at 2987 McFarlane Road, Miami FL 33133, across from CocoWalk, and it opens Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 7 pm and Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm. Walk-ins are welcome, though appointments are encouraged. Rowan pierces ears and noses only, which makes it a natural first stop for a child's first lobes and a less obvious one for adult body piercings.

Rowan's about page opens with a note from its founder and chief executive, Louisa. When it was time to pierce her daughter's ears, she researched every option and found that piercing parlors did not feel safe enough while pediatricians' offices did not feel special enough. With a background in finance, she set out to build something in between, a studio where a medical professional does the piercing but the visit still feels like a celebration.

That idea became what the brand calls the Rowan Clinical Piercing Standard. Piercings are done only by licensed nurses, and the company says it has always been backed by a medical advisory board. The studio pages describe the brand as woman-founded and women-led. The Coconut Grove page introduces one of its nurses, Nurse Cindy, who describes her job as making a first piercing safe, joyful and confidence-building for kids and families.

Rowan offers two methods, and the choice depends on age, placement and jewelry. Needle piercing uses a single-use hollow sterilized needle, is available from age 5, and is the one Rowan recommends for placements across the ear from the conch to the helix, including tragus, flat and forward helix. Needle jewelry uses flat backs designed for comfort while healing, and it starts at $68.

The second option is a hand-pressurized device that the nurse guides and positions. Rowan stresses that it is nothing like a piercing gun. The device is fast, helpful for anyone with a fear of needles, and available from two months old for babies with a valid DTaP vaccination. Device jewelry starts at $60. Our take: for a toddler's lobes the device makes sense, but for any cartilage piercing on an older child or adult, choose the needle.

The price list on the studio page is short. Needle piercing is $35 per ear piercing. Device piercing is $35 for a single and $50 for a double, so a pair of lobes on a young child is cheaper by device. A nose piercing is $45. All of those are plus the cost of the piercing jewelry. Changing jewelry is free when you buy the new piece from Rowan, and a post change service costs $25 per change, offered Monday to Friday only.

Rowan's earrings are hypoallergenic, made from titanium, 24k gold over titanium, 14k solid gold, 14k gold over sterling silver and sterling silver, with no nickel, brass or zinc. An aftercare appointment is free and is meant to make sure everything is healing well. If your child reacts to cheap earrings, that metal list is the real reason to choose this studio over a mall counter.

Florida rules shape a visit with kids more than anything else. Following the Florida Department of Health, Rowan requires a notarized consent form for any needle piercing on a minor, meaning anyone 17 or younger. The studio asks you to complete it before the piercing, so find a notary ahead of time rather than discovering the rule at the front desk.

Book rather than walk in if you are bringing a child. Appointments let the nurse plan time for a nervous first-timer, and a weekday morning soon after the 10 am opening is calmer than a Saturday afternoon. Rowan also leans into celebration. Its studio page says every milestone can be celebrated with a piercing and that the team knows how to throw a good party, so friends getting matching lobes fit right in.

The studio sits on McFarlane Road between Santander and New York Roma Pizza, directly across from CocoWalk. Street parking is available, but the simplest option is the CocoWalk parking garage across the street, which has its entrance on Grand Avenue next to Jaguar. There are additional lots off Grand Avenue if the garage is full on a busy weekend.

If you need a broader menu than ears and noses, Rowan is the wrong place. For septum, navel or industrial piercings, Facet Piercing on Calle Ocho in Little Havana is about a 15-minute drive north and works with jewelry from the major American makers.

McFarlane Road runs downhill from the shopping core of Center Grove toward Biscayne Bay, and at its foot is Peacock Park, a wide waterfront lawn with views across the sailboat moorings. It is an easy walk for a child who has just been brave, and a good place to sit in the shade while a new piercing stops stinging.

Further south off Main Highway, The Barnacle Historic State Park preserves the bayfront home of one of the Grove's pioneer families in a patch of tropical hardwood hammock. Keep new piercings out of the bay, pools and the sea for the first weeks, which in Miami takes some discipline.

Rowan Coconut Grove is at 2987 McFarlane Road, Miami FL 33133, across from CocoWalk. Hours are Monday to Saturday 10 am to 7 pm and Sunday 10 am to 6 pm. Walk-ins are welcome and appointments are encouraged. Needle piercing is $35 per ear piercing, device piercing $35 single or $50 double, and a nose piercing $45, all plus jewelry.

Needle jewelry starts at $68 and device jewelry at $60. Minors need a notarized consent form for needle piercings. Ask the Karpo APP for a family-friendly lunch near CocoWalk or the shortest stroll down to Peacock Park after your appointment.