if you get them pierced with a needle, the needle takes a tiny core of flesh out, sounds grusome but it's just as painless as the gun and will heal much better/quicker if you decide you don't want them in a month or two.
I took both my ears to 12mm holes, I stretched my left ear from a stud hole I did my self and I had the right ear 'cored' straight out to 10mm
I took them out because of my job maybe 7 years ago and now I still have a 2-3mm hole and it's realy noticeable in my left ear, but my right ear is almost completely gone.