Ear Piercings: A Complete Guide To Every Style

We all know the effect earrings can have on your appearance (hint: enormous). 

But with so many styles and variations out there, deciding on the best piercing for your face type is no mean feat.

And that’s why we’re here to help. Keep scrolling to check out a few best-selling, in-style ear piercings you can get today. 

Tragus Piercing

A fun way to spice up your tragus — the little flap partially covering your ear canal — is to adorn it with a cute stud or a trendy hoop. And since the tragus is a cartilage piercing, the pain level will be around four to five out of 10. 

But keep in mind that the tragus is pretty slow to heal. It typically takes around six to nine months to completely heal. 

This is mainly because only a few people are willing to part with their earbuds during the healing period. Because each time you take your earbuds in and out, they irritate the piercing and make it almost impossible to heal. This is why you should steer clear of a tragus piercing if you’re a ‘picker’ or a ‘fidgeter.’

Here’s a quick summary:

• Tragus: The tiny flap of cartilage on the side of your face covering your ear canal
• Pain Level: 5/10, average pain for cartilage piercings
• Healing Period: 6 to 9 months
• How to Care for Your Tragus Piercing: Wash with salt water or saline solution. Avoid rough movements or touching your piercing and be extra careful when wearing earbuds. 

Lobe Piercing

A lobe piercing — also called an earlobe piercing — goes through the fleshy lower part of your ear. Many people have their first piercing through the lobe. 

Lobe piercings are a particularly good idea if you have a low pain tolerance as the pain level is considerably low — around 2 to 3 out of 10.

While the healing period is pretty quick at around three to eight months, you should still be diligent with the aftercare to prevent infection. You should always follow your piercer’s instructions for proper post-piercing maintenance. And if you’re getting the piercing at home — something NOT recommended — check out this guide on how you can care for your piercing at home. 

Here’s a quick rundown: 

• Lobe: The fleshy lower part of your ear
• Pain Level: 3/10
• Healing Period: 3 to 8 months
• How to Care for Your Lobe Piercing: Clean twice-daily with saline solution. Avoid catching on hair or clothing.

Industrial Piercing

Industrial piercing is definitely the most unique piercing you can get. Since the jewelry installed is pretty large and requires two piercings at once. This isn’t for the faint-hearted. 

Basically, it is a straight barbell that connects one cartilage piercing to another on the upper ear. The thing with industrial piercings is that they’re highly complicated. Because they’re two cartilage piercings instead of one, they’re pretty difficult to heal and get irritated quite easily. So, you need to be extra careful with the post-care and maintenance. 

• Pain Level: 8/10, moderately high
• Healing Period: 6 to 9 months, or longer
• How to Care for Your Industrial Piercing: Wash with a saline solution twice daily. Avoid catching the large bar on hair, clothes etc. Sleeping on it is a big no-no.

Helix Piercing

Helix piercings — piercings that go anywhere on the upper outer cartilage of the ear — are second most common after lobe piercings. You can either opt for a single helix piercing or a double, i.e. two perforations under one another in the same area. 

And because you can experiment with multiple helix piercings on one ear, this ‘trending flat piercing’ is very popular today. 

Also, they look super cute and allow for personalized placements. We highly encourage you to go beyond the little hoop or stud and experiment with unique styles. As to how much it hurts, the helix clocks in at a four out of five on the pain scale. And it takes anywhere from six to nine healths to heal.  But it might take up to a year to stop being fussy. 

• Helix: The raised ridge located on the upper part of your ear
• Pain Level: 5/10, average pain for cartilage piercings
• Healing Period: 6 to 9 months, depending on well your body heals
• How to Care for Your Helix Piercing: Wash with salt water or saline solution twice daily. Avoid catching your helix piercing on loose strands of hair.

Conch Piercing

If you’re looking to make a fashion statement with your piercing, this is it. Depending on what look you’re going for, you can have an inner or an outer conch piercing. 

An outer conch piercing is located closer to the edge of your ear to provide ample space for a hoop on the outside. An inner conch piercing, on the other hand, is a perforation in the middle of your ear for a stud (or a double stud if you’re feeling brave). The pain level isn’t bad — a four out of 10 — and healing can take around three to nine months

• Conch: The inner cup part of your ear
• Pain Level: 4/10, average pain for cartilage piercings
• Healing Period: 3 to 9 months
• How to Care for Your Conch Piercing: Wash with salt water or saline solution. Try not to sleep on your piercing until it’s healed. Avoid catching the piercing on your hair, clothes, or headphones.