Guide to Ear Piercings: Definitions & Diagrams
82When I was six months old my mother took me up the mall to get my ears pierced. What began as two small gold studs in each lobe grew into a second hole at age 12, a cartilage piercing as a teenager, and a forward helix hoop when I began college. I had no idea there were so many options when it came to getting your ears pierced. But the human body can pretty much be pierced virtually anywhere that there is skin, and the ears are no exception to this rule.
EARLOBES
A standard ear piecing, and undeniably the most common, is a single hole in the center of each earlobe. It is a simple procedure usually done with a piercing gun by workers at jewelry and accessory stores up the mall. Some people later opt to get a second or third hole above the first. Professional piercers argue that no piercing should be done with a gun, simple earlobes included, stating that a sterilized needle is safer. They also believe that post earrings (studs with a backing) are not conducive to healing as they trap the lobe too tightly and prevent air from getting in. Earlobe piercings generally take just 4-6 weeks to completely heal.
GAUGING
A common modification that is being done to pierced earlobes currently is called stretching or gauging. Most ears are pierced with a 20- or 18-gauge needle thus using a 20- or 18-gauge earring. However, due to the elasticity of skin, earlobes can be gradually stretched over time to eventually hold a 6-gauge, 4-gauge, even a 00! Gauging is done by gradually upgrading the size of the jewelry little by little, coaxing the hole to fit bigger and bigger earrings until you have achieved the desired size.
CARTILAGE
A standard cartilage piercing is the second most common ear piercing seen today. Cartilage forms the transparent tissue of the upper part of the ear and is the only area other than lobes that can be legally pierced by a piercing gun. However, cartilage takes longer to hear than an earlobe piercing (at least 8-12 weeks) and because there is a limited blood supply to that area some individuals never heal properly.
INDUSTRIAL
An industrial, or scaffold, piercing is made up of two holes that are connected bya single piece of jewelry (usually a long barbell). An industrial piercing is commonly seen pierced through the cartilage on the upper ear, one hole close to the head and the other further down on the outer rim. Two or more industrials on one ear is sometimes referred to as an ear cage. Healing time takes anywhere from 3 months to 1 year.
TRAGUS
The tragus is a fairly popular piercing involving the thick oval of cartilage that juts out directly in front of the ear canal. The thickness of the tragus varies depending on the individual, requiring jewelry anywhere from 6mm in length and up. Heals initially within 8-16 weeks, heals completely within one year.
ANTI-TRAGUS
As the name implied, the anti-tragus is opposite the tragus on the outer ear just above the ear lobe. This is not a very common place to see an earring as the anti-tragus on most people is usually too small to pierce. If the anti-tragus is in fact large enough to fit a barbell through, micro-jewelry will most likely have to be used. Healing time 8-16 weeks, completely healed within one year.
CONCH
The conch is the large expanse of cartilage that forms the back of the ear. A conch piercing is located in the big area of cartilage just above the earlobes and the anti-tragus on the inner ear. A ring or a barbell can be worn on this type of piercing, however if selecting a ring make sure it is large enough to encircle the outer ear. Healing time is 8-16 weeks.
ROOK
A rook is the thick fold of cartilage located on the anti-helix (upper inside of the ear) just above the tragus. Because the piece of cartilage through which the rook piercing is placed is so thick, piercing this spot can be quite painful. Healing time can be anywhere from two months to 1 year.
SNUG
The snug is located halfway down the outer rim on the inner cartilage of the ear, just above the anti-tragus. The snug is a fairly small, shallow area where the cartilage is not very thick, making for an easier piercing than the rook. Initial healing time is 8-16 weeks, complete healing within 12 months.
DAITH
The daith (usually pronounced day-th, but properly pronounced doth, rhyming with moth) is located between the rook and the ear canal and is similar to the snug in terms of depth and healing time, which is also 8-16 weeks initially and up to one year to be healed completely.
HELIX
A helix is any piercing that goes through the cartilage on the rim of the ear. If located on the section of rim closest to the head, it is sometimes called a forward helix or ear head piercing. Heals fully within 2-12 months.
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Holy shit, did you see the picture next to the description of "Helix" piercings?
I hope she has the same number on the other side... otherwise she must have a very muscular neck on one side
STRETCHING your ears.. not gauging. The gauge is the measurement of the jewelry worn in the stretched hole. Saying that you gauged your ears is like saying you inched your ears..
get it?
love this page!
i want to know whats the name of the surface piercing right in front of the tragus piercing.
Its funny that you would classify the rook as being thicker then the snug, when most certified sites claim that the snug is thicker, and the second most painful after the anti-tragus.
OMG the rook just makes me CRINGE. i have my tragus done, but wow... the rook seems like it would be so painful!
The rook IS painful ! I have my nose done, five lobe piercings, and one helix piercing (one I took out too), and the rook was the only one that truly hurt. I'm not discouraging you from getting it done--it's beautiful. I'm just letting you know the price of beauty.
Anyway, I really want a snug, daith, or anti-tragus. Or all of the above. Who knows. . .
Can anyone tell me if it's possible to get the Rook piercing snagged onto something and it gets ripped out? Since the Cartilage is thick..
your rook is really strong. i have had mine for almost a year, and have never had a problem with it. i also have 5 lobe piercings (total) and my tragus. i'm thinking about getting a helix this weekend, but i kind of want to go for something a little more daring
is it best when peircing your cartilage to go to someone that specializes in peircings or can you go to one of those places in the mall? Or does it matter? I want to get it done but I want to have it done right.
maria dont go to a mall place for your cartilage they use piercing guns which can shatter your cartilage and put you up for serious infection or cause the piercing to never heal properly...go to a professional piercer or a place specializing in body art they use piercing needles which are much more sanitary, hurt less, and cause the piercing to heal faster
is piercing ear lobe an acupuncture practice??
I wouldn't advise anyone to use a piercing gun for a cartilage piercing! It may be legal to do but isn't wise. Think about it....were does the cartilige and skin go??? it stays in the ear duhhh! Which only causes problems in the long run and may cause a keloid to appear on the back of your ear due to the trama it causes...just don't do it! I have my helix peirced and I had it done by a professional and have had no problems at all with. I also have my nose done...which dummy me didn't go to someone who knew what they were doing and they peirced it through my septum...needless to say it was very painfull. The dumbass couldn't get the jewelry in so he pierced it again in the same hole using a bigger needle...one word F**K! The begining of the month I got my tragus pierced which wasn't bad at all....it felt like I had an earache for the longest time though...I'm thinking on getting my ear head done and wanted a rook as well. But looking at the comments I'm debating that one! All I can say is everbody's pain tolerance is different....and it couldn't be any worse than having your tragus pierced twice in one day :0(
Speaking of ear head you don't have one of these illustrated on your page...very cool piercing and very cute too. Down-side to this is that there's a risk the piercer could stick you in the head...so I'm debating this on also.
Whoops! Didn't realized when I posted comment but earhead is one word.....I have a website for you to go to called piercology.com you can look at many more types of ear piercings among other kinds such as navel, nose, nipple..etc ...there's also a feature that you can look at the piercings taking place if that helps ease your mind about getting certain ones.
is is possible to get an industrial piercing with a piercing gun?
If it is I most certainly do not recommend it. I got my 8 lobe piercings (4 on each ear) done with a piercing gun and they were a pain compared to the cartilage one I just got done by a professional (sterilized needle and all). I think an industrial done with a piercing gun would be hell...
I don't know a lot about piercings so this seems like a good page to get the right answers.. First of all, I have had my cartilage done twice at the mall...both times I took it out within months because it never healed. Also, how bad does getting your tragus pierced hurt?
i have had my upper ear pierced since november 30th. and it is still red swollen, and huts at times, no painful hurt just discomfort i should say, the ring in which was used was too small, left a indention in the lobe of my ear, i took it out and put in a sterling silver double ball one, my question is: how long for this to heal, and is it natural for there to be whitish looking stuff around the back of hole area? i went to a professional in pigeon forge TN while on vacation. thanks for all your help........concerned in georgia..........
i have my rook,tragus and nose as well as the usual earrings 9 in all with more in the future, i have yet to have one be at all painful TG! i'm not good with pain at all, but i am a slow healer it took my reg. cart. piercings over a year to heal and it only healed because i put hoops in them, reg. earing seemed to mess with the piercing itself. all i can say is with any piercing your body is gonna fight it and you have to deal with tenderness, swelling, and even that annoying drainage but if you want to get one make sure your ready to take care of it until its healed COMPLETLY taking it out can make things alot worse,especially if its infected. but thats what i've figured out hope it helps!!
Hello all! I have 10 piercings in each ear (from lobe all the way up to basically straight up from the first hole in the lobe [if that makes sense]). I got all of mine done at Claire's and Icings stores with the piercing gun. I've never really had trouble with any of the pierciings that I've gotton from those places. They've healed within a couple of months with very little discharge or pain, but, then again, I have a fairly decent tolerance for pain, so...yeah. I REALLY want to complete, at least, one ear so that I can actually put the barbell in for the industrial piercing. I would love to have my nose pierced, but I'm not allowed to, so I'll have to put that one on hold, I guess. I've thought about doing the rook, conch, and tragus; but, after reading some of the things about the tragus, I'm not so sure about that...LOL! The conch, I figure, wouldn't be any worse than just doing the helix, which is no big deal, so...yeah. That's where I'm at. It's fun having all the piercings because people get a kick out of them.
The rook really isn't that bad, it hurt far less than my industrial did and I love the way it looks. And I really doubt you could get snagged on anything or tear it because its not really on the outside of the ear. I did bump it in the shower the other morning, though, and that really hurt. And never get anything but your lobes done with a gun. always go for a professional tattoo and piercing place.
I just got my rook pierced and it was not painful at ALL. I have a very low pain tolerance as well...
As far as all the tragus piercings I went last week to get mine done with my cousin, and it didn't hurt me at all, but my cousin that hers hurt more than her nose and tattoos put together, so I guess it's all a matter of your pain tolerance, because I have quite a high tolerance!
I have to agree with Adele-Marie i got my rook done and it didn't hurt at all. I could barely feel it when they pierced it. and it wasn't even sore afterwards. My cartilage hurt way more and was sore for months.
I think it depends on the person, because I got my rook pierced last night and it hurt so much more than my tragus or my cartlidge, and it bled while my others didn't really bleed, so it differs from person to person, but I would get it done again, I LOVE it!!
i want to get my tragus done or my rook done, how painful is each of these and is there a big risk of infection and lastly, how long is the healing time? and which one would you prefer the tragus or rook? pleaseeeee helpppppppp!!
Amanda I would suggest tragus first, because it's not very painful and it heals quicker. Anytime you get a hole in your body that isn't supposed to be there of course there is a risk of infection, but if you keep the piercing cleaned you shouldn't have any problem. My tragus wasn't sore after about a day, but I got my rook pierced almost two weeks ago and it is still sore to the touch, but you should get both, they're both really cute piercings!
Its a nice coindence that Tracy mentioned piercology.com, because the actual shop Piercology is absolutely amazing! They were the first accredited piercing shop in the state of Ohio, and the only shop I would trust with putting holes in my anatomy. If anyone lives around Columbus Ohio, (we usually drive an hour to get there) I would highly recommend it. A tad pricey, but the quality is superior. I just went yesterday for more cartilage piercings, I'm running out of room...about time to start on the helix!
what places should i go to git my ears pierced i have my cartlige pierced and the lobe but i want a nother and dont know ware to git it
I had my rook done a couple of months ago and it's healed fine. It was my most painful piercing so far, the others being all lobe and helix piercings, but it honestly wasn't too bad. It stopped aching after a couple of minutes. As for it getting caught on things, the only thing I have found is that sometimes my hair gets caught in it and I have to gently untangle it. One thing that I didn't think of before I got it, though, was that it was painful to hold a phone up to that ear for a couple of weeks, and even now it can be a little bit annoying when I'm on the phone. So that's something to consider when deciding which side you want your rook piercing on.
I'm planning to do my tragus next, and I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with tragus piercings and headphones. Does it cause much of an issue or is the piercing mostly out of the way of the headphones?
I would just like to reiterate what people have said about gun piercings. Guns are BAD. Go to a proper piercing shop. Getting it done properly may be a bit more expencive, but well worth it.
i only have one piercing in total, well because i'm a youth and i'm planning on getting the conch done and i was wondering if it hurts or not i also have a low tolerance of pain so my problem will probably be having a low tolerance so if any one can help that would be great
I got my rook done over a week ago, and well, it hurt alot, but mainly because, as my ears are small, it took a while to pierce! Afterward it hardly hurt at all, but after 24 hours it had swollen up at least twice the size and it is very painfull. I cant sleep on it and i could hardly touch it, but its not infected. It has only just started to stop swelling, but now it dosn't hurt at all :D And its lush :)
Hermaj I got my tragus done and I use earbuds quite regularly and it doesn't affect it at all!
Hermaj, I have a tragus piercing as well and it's fine with earphones, ear buds included!
I got my tragus pierced yesterday and couldn't believe how little pain there was. It's not really sore or anything right now, but kind of difficult to clean - especially on the back side because the placement is awkward; I understand why people have problems with these piercings getting infected.
I want to get my forward helix done next (and soon!) - definitely feeling the piercing itch!
lame, do better research.
can cartiliage peircings cause facial paralyzation? im thirteen and im going to get one before spring break ends do they hurt a lot?
I had my Tragus and (Anti) Helix done yesturday the Tragus was fine didnt really hurt much the Helix on the other hand was quite painful I really want to go for a surface piercing next and i am thinking of the one infont of the Tragus
i just got my cartiliage piercing done about 4 hours ago at piercing pagota. it was painless and i still dont feel any pain. the girl that did it was super nice and i love my piercing. Thanx so much for your help.
To get used to more painful procedures,pierce your earlobes over and over.It can be fun,but sterilize.
To get used to more painful procedures,pierce your earlobes over and over.It can be fun,but sterilize.
you're not supposed to use guns to pierce your ears, its totally unprofessional and unsanitary. it doesnt take out the cartilage, which most likely causes you to have to get things repierced. the first time they pierced my nose they used a gun and i had to get it repierced. the needle does hurt a bit worse, but who cares (:
Does the Conch piercing heal once you ave decided to take it out for good? because it cartilage and cartilage supposedly doesn't heal well i wondered.
It may be legal to pierce a helix [it's not just called "cartilage" because the majority of your ear is cartilage] with a gun, but that does NOT mean it should happen. No body part should be pierced with a gun, especially any type of cartilage piercing. Not only can guns not be sterilized, but they prolong healing time and cause unnecessary trauma to the piercing. It's also worth mentioning that people at non-professional places like Claire's give TERRIBLE aftercare instructions. Do you expect a 15-year-old who watched a 10-minute video about pushing a button on a piercing gun to tell people about sea salt soaks or to be able to answer questions about problems with the piercing later on? They tell people to twist the jewelry [which is always a horrible idea] and give them some crappy solution... People end up with gross-looking, possibly infected piercings and they can't figure out why.
Also, the "gauging" section was kind of ridiculous. I cringe every time I hear that term--it's called STRETCHING. "Gauge" is nothing more than a unit of measurement. It's not a verb, an adjective, or a type of jewelry. Example: You would say "I'm going to stretch my lobes to a 2 gauge" not "I'm going to gauge my ears to a 2." Also, the jewelry in stretched lobes can be plugs, tunnels, spirals, pinchers, etc., not "gauges."
That's my rant... I hope people who get piercings will try to educate themselves at some point and stay away from sites like this.
I have had both my Rook and Snug done. My rook barely hurt at all, which really surprised me. My snug didn't hurt as bad as I thought it was going to but my piercer warned me about the pain before hand. Bottom line: the snug is wayyy worse than the rook.
If you do get your rook, make sure that they don't pierce it too close to your head. It is so hard to get jewlry in mine and most people don't even notice it because it is kinda hard to see.
Getting your rook pierced does not hurt whatsoever. I do all of my own piercings, and it didn't hurt. My tragus hurt the worst. All my other piercings, like my smiley, frowny, bellybutton, nose and septum were all pain free also.
I got my rook pierced a week ago and the process was not at all painful. All I felt was pressure, however, the day after it was painful to the touch but nothing to bad. For me my second lobe piercing was 100 times worse than my rook.
I have a daith piercing and let me tell you, it HURT. I wanted something not as common as most ear piercings so I was thinking either anti-helix or daith, so I got daith instead. It was for my birthday about 4 or 5 months ago. It was SO sore afterwards it was hardly bareable. Even though it is a very difficult piercing to have, I still love it with all my heart, and by far the best piercing I have ever gotten.
does the cartilege hurt when u get it piersed at all becuase i really want it done !
^^^^^^ for brittany! its not 100% painless, but there isnt enough pan to worry about, its like a pinprick, it goes through, and your done.
i want a snug, or a tragusXDD
I'm thinking of getting my rook done but i've heard that they grow out eventually, or in most cases they grow out. Has this happened to anyone?
I have a rook piercing... the piercing was fine... but there was a right struggle getting the jewellery in and for two weeks I couldn't even stand the wind to waft past my lug!.. even my hair was too much weight on it... but its fine now (2 years on!) dependant on the jewellery I wear... it only seems to tolerate a titanium curved eyebrow bar. Oh and I have to sleep on a horseshoe shaped foam for a pillow or there's trouble.
As for Helix piercings..... (which I was told was an upper Pena?) I have had two and BOTH grew out within 3 months even tho pierced further away from the initial site...?
I know first hand about mall piercings. They SUCK. I had two cartilage piercings done there and they took FOREVER to heal, and are always getting infected even though I clean them. Definitely go to a specialist :|
:-)
I have had my snug done for about a month and a bit and anyone who says it is a hassle isn't lying :| but hopefull it gets easier after a year-
and mine swells pretty easily if it gets bumped so i suggest not getting it changed to a smaller barbell until it has healed well :)
Helloo, i have 3 cartilage piercings and i did them myself and they didnt hurt one bit, and i had my tragus done about 3months ago and that didnt hurt at all i just got an ear ache after, and i did both my lobes.. im thinking about getting either the rook or anti-tragus, im thinking rook but im worried about the pain so was wondering if anyone can help me out on that one and wondering if there more painful than the ones ive had? and can you get the rook done with a hoop? and also what about sleeping on them, how are they? x thanks :D x
At the time my rook piercing didn't hurt at all. I'd been worrying about it all night before and watched videos on youtube of people getting it done. When I actually had it done though it wasn't painful. Sure, it hurt more than the cartilage but they don't hurt at all anyway. However, 5 months on, it can still be quite sore and produce lymph, but I don't care because I love it so much!
amazing i have my ears done,2 peirsings i love earings i got them done 3 years ago byebye!!!!
i love the tragus piercing. would love to get one.
i have a a few piercings rook,conch,tragus,2 cartiliage piercings,nose and 2 in each lobe i want to know does the pain of an industrial compare to any of these is the pain less or worse??
I have 9 piercings total all of which i do myself...with either safety pins, syring needles or sewing needles. i have a nose stud, a conch, a cartilage and 7 lobe piercings. It is free to do it yourself after all...
I have the rook, tragus, and anti-tragus piercings. None of them hurt at all. Id say that the anti-tragus hurt the most getting it done(and its actually the least problem-matic), but they truly didnt hurt. Actually, my tragus is giving me the most problems, and u would think the rook would. lmao.
Also, I suggest getting straight barbells, or curved barbells when getting something like ur rook, anti-tragus or ur tragus pierced 'cause sleeping on a closed captive hoop ring in those spots doesnt feel to great. lol.
does the tragus hurt at all?
I have my ear loobs both done once, i have my rook and tragus done last week, and the rook wasn't painfull at all, the tragus was very painfull. The guy who periced it only put the needle half way through and then stopped and then had to keep shoveing it through slowly after and it hurt like mad. The rook is healing very quickly and is almost un-noticeable when i hit it in the shower or anything but the tragus still hurts alot more then likely because of the way they did it. I'm not trying to make you not want to get you're tragus done just letting you know how mine went. I also want to get my anti tragus and my conch in my other ear.
okay people who say that thee rook and tragus peircings dont hurt dont know what they are talking about. they are right the actuall getting it peirced doesnt hurt. the healing process does expecially the week after. i got my rook peirced a week ago im having to take ibprophen becuase that whole ear is throbbing. i cant even smile. the tragus wasnt that bad but ive had it for six months and i can finially touch it without it hurting
im thinking about getting a rook. i just got an industrial done about 2 weeks ago and i want to get the rook in the same ear. would i have to wait for it to heal more or does it not matter? and does the rook hurt more than the industrial or about the same?
Teeny: I would personally wait until the industrial was healed. They are pierced into the same bit of cartilige and therefore if you have a problem with either piercing it will effect both. I waited 3 months after getting my scaffold done before I got my Daith done and i noticed that the swelling for the daith affected my almost healed scaffold. From my expierence piercings on the inner cartalidge hurt more than the scaffold just becuase of their placement and the fact they are somewhat trickier to put the jewellery in.
i want the tragus or may be the dith wat one should i get and how painful are they
i just got a rook, and thought it was pretty painful. the actual piercing part wasn't terrible because it takes a couple seconds. but getting the jewelry in was a slow and painful process. i love how it looks though!
I have my rook done and it didn't cause me any pain what so ever. It healed rather fast and most of the time I forget I even have it. I also had my tragus done and my industrial. The industrial hurt pretty bad and the healing rate was rediculously slow.
The daith looks mega- painful!!!
I have my rook done, and i love it!! It did hurt when it was being done, but the healing process has been a lot better than my cartilage piercing. I would definitely recommend it!
I have my rook, industrial, cartilage, naval, tongue, and three lobe holes on each ear. None of them hurt at all. The worst about the rook was the crunch that you heard, other than that it didnt hurt. I'm going to get my helix this weekend and tragus after that.
a helix and a cartridge are the same!!! NEVER get your ears pierced with a gun! It can damage them severely. Always go to a professional. And it takes 2-12 months for your cartridge to heal... the same as a helix because they are the SAME!
I've had my tragus & industrial done. neither hurt very bad, espeically compared to other body piercings. my industrial was done first and a few months afterwards it started to get blood blisters at each end of the bar. then, i have really long and curly hair so my hair wrapped around it and they had to take it out, they said they never saw blood blisters that bad. i'll tell you what, that hurt a heck of a lot worse than the piercing itself. the same day i got the tragus done and it really didn't hurt. the industrial is worse but it's bearable. i'm thinking of getting either the rook, snug, or daith. any incite on which one to get???
i just recommend not getting the snug. it looks good but i got mine over 5 months ago and is still not healed. it hurt a lot too. if you do get just don't get it too high up i think that is part of my problem.
I've had my lobes done and had my helix done a couple of months ago. Now I don't know whether to get a second pair of lobe ones first or a conch piercing. I'm not that fussed about the pain, just wondering what would look better.
Just an FYI, the proper term is stretching your lobes, not GAUGING them.
a gauge size refers to the size of the jewelry, for instance you can have a 14G (gauge) ring. However you lobes would be stretched to a 14G.
My piercer, and current teacher, flipped out on me when I mistakenly called it gauging.
i have worked at claires in the mall for over a year ... i live in nebraska where it is actually illegal to pierce cartilage with a gun, however, even if it was legal i would still encourage people to go to a tattoo shop to get it done ... the sterility of the guns isnt as big an issue to me, because we sterilize them both before and after each piercing, but the fact that we use the earring to pierce the ear as opposed to a hollow needle would pose major healing problems
I got my rook done today, it hurt less than the industrial but more than the tragus. overall, it wasn't bad. i've never had an ear piercing that hurt terribly. i'm thinking the snug will be next.
I got my rook done today, it hurt less than the industrial but more than the tragus. overall, it wasn't bad. i've never had an ear piercing that hurt terribly. i'm thinking the snug will be next.
I've read that the snug can swell easily, but how bad does it hurt to get it pierced? And after everything is it actually worth it?
I just got my rook done last week and the actual piercing part wasn't that bad, just a couple of crunches. It is very painful right now though and more swollen than the day I got it done. I had my lobes done at the same time and I was wondering if it's normal for a few dark purple spots to appear around but not on the piercing... It's worrying me.
livelonger says:
2 years ago
Great explanation of all the ear piercing variants