Types of Ear Piercings: Best Ear Piercing Chart and Guide

There are many types of accessories you can use to complete your style. While necklaces, earrings and rings can be counted as some of these accessory types, piercings are among the jewelry options that have started to be used quite widely today. While piercings can be applied to areas such as the nose, eyebrows, navel, tongue and lips, the most preferred area in this area is the ear.

Piercing is an accessory that looks very stylish and attracts attention. Piercings, which are mostly preferred in the ear, can be worn in different ways. The presence of a lot of cartilage in the ear makes this area very suitable for piercing. Titanium, which can adapt quickly to the body, is widely used in these jewelry.

However, you don’t have to have a hole in your ear for cartilage accessories, it is possible to create a different style by examining the cartilage earring models, which also have compression versions.

Although ear piercings, which are actually a kind of earrings, look very stylish, special care is required after ear piercing for this purpose. If the necessary care is not taken, a wound may occur in the puncture site. For this reason, you need to take care of the piercing without interruption. This care, which may differ depending on where you have your ear pierced, takes only a few minutes during the day and prevents negative situations that you may encounter later.

Ear Piercings Names

Since the ear has a very cartilaginous structure, it is also suitable for piercing. Different names such as helix, tragus, conch, rook, snug are given to the piercing attached to each part of the ear. Today, with the widespread use of ear piercing, product options have also increased. You can easily find piercing models suitable for the area you have pierced and your style.

Ear piercings can also be seen as an accessory that will never go out of style. You can create a minimal and stylish look with a few piercings. Recently, many people prefer to have more than one piercing. It looks very nice when wearing matching piercings. You can decide which part of the ear you want to pierce according to your own style, the pain that the piercing may cause and the healing process.

The most common type of ear piercing is the lobe, also known as the earlobe. More than one hole can be made in this area. The fact that it is one of the most easily healed areas has a great effect on its frequent preference. It takes about 4 – 5 weeks to fully heal. After this period, you can start using earrings in the style you want.

Another area that is most preferred after the earlobe in ear piercing types is the thin cartilage located towards the upper part of the ear. Piercings in this area are called “helix”. Compared to the earlobe, the healing process is longer. The cartilage earring looks very nice. It is widely used by both men and women. Recovery takes an average of 6-8 weeks.

Piercings made to the cartilage in the area of ​​the ear canal are called “tragus”. Since the cartilage structure in this area is somewhat thick, it may take several months for complete recovery. The piercing that is attached to the cartilage opposite this area is called “anti-tragus”. The posterior part of the tragus piercing types extends to the ear canal. If the back of the piercing is straight, it will be more comfortable to use.

After making two holes in the lobe, the ring piercings that are passed through these two holes are called “orbitals”. The area located above and inside the tragus region is called the rook. Since the cartilage in this region consists of 2 layers, it is different from other regions in terms of pain and healing process.

In the inner cartilage, the area near the outer edge of the ear is called “snug”. It is a very different and original type of piercing. Since it is a thick cartilage structure, the healing process may be a little long. Small piercings are generally preferred in this region. Piercings applied to the thick cartilage structure in the inner part of the ear are called “conch”. It is one of the most painful types of piercings.

One of the different and remarkable models is the industrial piercing, also known as bridge earrings. 2 holes are made in the helix part and a long piercing is passed between these 2 holes. It requires careful care and it may not be possible to sleep on it, especially at first. In addition, a feeling of pressure in the ear may occur in the first few days.

Piercing Models Suitable for Ear Areas

Since the cartilage thickness and shape of each region is different in ear piercings, the earring and piercing models that should be preferred vary accordingly. For example, piercing in the tragus area may sound short for the rook area. For this reason, it is very important to choose the appropriate piercing for the area.

Piercing models are generally flat, semicircular, spiral and ring-shaped. Ring piercings are suitable for use in almost any area. Just make sure that its diameter is large enough. The helix area is not too thick and small diameter ring piercings can be used. However, since the conch area is thick, a larger piercing is required.

Straight piercings are most commonly used in the tragus area. Some piercings have ball details on both parts, and some have a ball only on the part that is visible from the outside, and the back is flat. Piercings with a flat back are more useful in terms of not disturbing the back of your ear. It will be better if the back is straight, especially since the tragus extends to the ear canal. Straight piercings can be used in lobes and helix.

Half-ring piercings are suitable for curved cartilage areas. It is both comfortable to use and stylish in areas such as snug, rook, helix. Likewise, helical piercings are more preferred in curved cartilage structures. Straight piercings are not suitable for curved areas. For this reason, ring or spiral piercings should be used.

The length of the piercing varies according to the thickness of the cartilage. Industrial piercings are much longer than other types. Since two holes are made from the upper cartilage part of the ear, these should be long enough to pass through these two holes. Short piercings disrupt the structure of the ear and cause scarring to become inevitable. There should be enough space between the piercing and the ear to get air.

Piercing models have many color and model options. You can find piercings in silver, gold, black or different neon colors. You can create a unity by choosing your piercings in colors that are compatible with each other. You can choose between more minimal or flashy models according to your own style.

Things to Consider Before Ear Piercing

• The place where you got it pierced is as important as the piercing care. It should be ensured that the drilling process is done in a sterile environment and by people who know the job. Since it is considered a surgical procedure, you will be more likely to get an infection in non-sterile environments. Therefore, you should carefully choose the place where the operation is performed.
• After researching and finding the place to be pierced, you should decide on the area you want to pierce. You can have it done in an area where you will not have difficulty while using it. Piercing may react when caught on your clothes, hair or hands. Therefore, you should make a choice considering these conditions.

• If you take care of your ear after getting a piercing, you will be less likely to encounter situations such as catching germs or wounding. If there is a wound around the piercing even though you have done all the maintenance and it does not go away, your body may not have accepted the piercing. In this case, you can consult a specialist to remove the piercing or replace it with a piercing made of another material.
• There are a few steps you need to follow in piercing care. First of all, steel, titanium or nickel should be chosen to eliminate situations such as allergies to the piercing. After the area is determined during the piercing process, the area is anesthetized with a cooling spray so that you do not feel the needle. Afterwards, piercings are attached with the necessary equipment.

Piercing Healing Process and Care

The degree of pain and healing process of piercings varies from region to region. The healing process of a piercing in soft skin like a lobe and a thick cartilage like a rook will not be the same. It is useful to choose the area you want to have pierced according to these criteria. The whole pain and healing process also varies from person to person. While some bodies do not accept piercings, wounds heal very quickly in some people. The healing process in piercings ranges from 1 month to 1 year on average.

Apart from that, you should make sure that your hands are clean when you need to touch the piercing. Since it is an open wound, it is quite suitable for catching germs. When the piercings get infected, a swelling occurs around them. You should see a specialist when this swelling starts to grow. In addition, the piercing should not be changed for the first 3-4 weeks after piercing. This time corresponds to the average wound healing process. If you want to change the piercing before the wound is fully healed, it may become infected or a wound.

Some areas require more care as they are both too sensitive and take longer to heal. In addition, since the parts that take a long time to heal remain as open wounds, the possibility of catching germs will increase. Piercing and normal earrings differ in thickness. Earrings are thinner, if you wear normal earrings to the piercing area, the hole will get smaller after a while and you may have problems with piercing.

Regardless of the region, piercing and maintaining a piercing is a process that requires a lot of patience. In this process, you can use the piercing for as long as you want without any problems if you do the maintenance of your piercing without interrupting and as recommended. Especially in the first process, you need to constantly remember your piercing. The most common cause of wound formations occurs when you find it empty and hit your hand. In order to prevent such situations, you should be careful not to bump into them and not to touch them with your hands.

In addition to the antibiotic cream used in piercing care, you should regularly clean the area with antibacterial soap or piercing cleaning gels. Afterwards, the area should never be left wet and should be gently dried with a napkin. Although the care of each area varies, piercing care is generally done in this way.