Your Ultimate Ear Piercing Cheatsheet Guide
Looking to get another piercing but don’t know where to start? We’ve got you covered. Here’s your ultimate cheatsheet guide to ear piercings — everything you need to know to get your ear party started.
✨ Cartilage piercings tend to have a higher pain level than lobe piercings.
✨ Pain levels are subjective and dependent on individual pain tolerance.
✨ Healing times can vary greatly from person to person.
TRAGUS PIERCING
The tragus is the little flap of cartilage on the side of your face that covers your ear canal.
🤕 Pain Level: 6/10, average pain for cartilage piercings
✨ Healing Time: 3 - 6 months; 1 year to fully heal
Want to learn more? Read our full Guide to Tragus Piercings.
Rook Piercing
The rook is the “perforation of the anti-helix” aka the cartilage ridge between your outer and inner ear above your tragus.
🤕 Pain Level: 6/10, sharp pain should ache for 30 minutes
✨ Healing Time: 6 - 18 months
Want to learn more? Read our full Guide to Rook Piercings.
Conch Piercing
The conch is the inner part of your ear, and there are two main regions of this middle cartilage: the inner and outer conch.
🤕 Pain Level: 6/10, average pain for cartilage piercings
✨ Healing Time: 6 - 12 months
Want to learn more? Read our full Guide to Conch Piercings.
Helix Piercing
A helix piercing is any piercing in the upper cartilage of the ear.
🤕 Pain Level: 5/10, Less pain than other cartilage piercings because of lack of nerve endings
✨ Healing Time: Within 6 months
Want to learn more? Read our full Guide to Helix Piercings.
Daith Piercing
A daith piercing is on the smallest fold of cartilage in your ear right where the outer ridge of your ear meets your inner ear above the ear canal.
🤕 Pain Level: 6/10, can take up to 10 seconds to pierce because of precision
✨ Healing Time: 4 - 12 months
Want to learn more? Read our full Guide to Daith Piercings.
Forward Helix Piercing
The forward helix is the small outer rim of cartilage at the top front of the ear.
🤕 Pain Level: 6/10, average pain for cartilage piercings
✨ Healing Time: 3 - 6 months
Want to learn more? Read our full Guide to Forward Helix Piercings.
Auricle Piercing
The auricle is the small space on your ear between your helix (outer fold) and earlobe.
🤕 Pain Level: 3/10, because of thinness of auricle cartilage in comparison to others
✨ Healing Time: 3 - 9 months
Our full Guide to Auricle Piercings is coming soon!
Anti-Tragus Piercing
The anti-tragus is the relatively small vertical lip of cartilage above the earlobe and across from the tragus.
🤕 Pain Level: 6/10, average pain for cartilage piercings
✨ Healing Time: 2 - 4 months; 1 year to fully heal
Our full Guide to Anti-Tragus Piercings is coming soon!
Snug Piercing
📷 via Wikipedia
The snug piercing is a horizontal piercing through the inner ridge of the ear cartilage.
🤕 Pain Level: 8/10, inner ear cartilage is thick
✨ Healing Time: Up to 9 months
Our full Guide to Snug Piercings is coming soon!
Orbital Piercing
📷 via @kcyc
Orbital piercings consist of two holes connected with one single ring – hence the name.
🤕 Pain Level: 6/10, standard pain but consists of two different piercings rather than just one
✨ Healing Time: Up to 1 year to fully heal
Our full Guide to Orbital Piercings is coming soon!
Industrial Piercing
This piercing requires two cartilage piercings on opposite sides of the top of your ear, which you connect with the barbell.
🤕 Pain Level: 5/10, lower because goes through rim cartilage but consists of 2 separate piercings
✨ Healing Time: Up to 6 months
Our full Guide to Industrial Piercings is coming soon!
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