There comes a time in every earring lover's life when the allure of a cartilage piercing becomes too strong to resist. There's no other way to say it; cartilage piercings are just cool. But did you know there are almost a dozen ways to pierce your cartilage?
Cartilage piercings expand your earscape, allowing for fabulously curated arrays of earrings. The more piercings you have in your ears, the more creative you can get with styling them. That's why today we're going to walk you through cartilage earrings from start to finish. The different types of cartilage piercings, what are the best earrings for cartilage piercing, what is the healing time for cartilage piercing, cartilage piercing after care, and what to expect from the whole process.
Types of Cartilage Piercings
Tragus
The Tragus piercing goes through the small piece of cartilage that sticks out over the entrance to the ear canal. This healing time for this piercing clocks in at 6-12 months. Hypoallergenic earrings are recommended for the duration of this time. One thing to note with this piercing it that it can easily get jostled when you are talking on the phone. You can wear a small hoop or a stud in this piercing.
Anti-Tragus
The Anti-Tragus piercing goes through the curved area of cartilage that rises above the earlobe and exists adjacent to your Tragus. They are almost mirrors of one another, hence the name "Anti-Tragus." Healing time is 6-12 months. You can primarily wear a curved barbell or a hoop in this piercing.
Anti-Helix
The Anti-Helix piercing (sometimes referred to as a "Snug" piercing) goes horizontally through the inner ridge of the ear cartilage. Healing time is 6-12 months. Curved barbells or studs can be worn in this piercing.
Helix
The Helix is one of the most popular of the cartilage piercings. It location in the upper ear cartilage creates a beautiful balance between itself and common lobe piercings. Helix piercings tend to heal a bit faster than other cartilage piercings, usually within 9 months. You can wear almost any type of earring in a Helix piercing, but the most popular are cartilage huggie hoop earrings and studs.
Industrial
The Industrial piercing is located in the upper cartilage of the ear and is unique in that it has one earring that connects two holes. These piercings can take up to 12 months to heal, so it is very important to find medical grade titanium cartilage earrings to wear during healing.
Forward Helix
The Forward Helix goes through the outer cartilage directly above the Tragus, and is a mirror to the regular Helix piercing. This piercing takes 3-9 months to heal and supports hoops, barbells, or labret studs with flat backs.
Daith
The Daith piercing goes through the innermost fold of cartilage in the ear, above the ear canal entrance. Small hoops or curved barbells are recommended for this piercing.
Rook
The Rook piercing goes through the inside edge of the uppermost ear ridge. For this piercing, a small hoop or a curved barbell is ideal.
Conch
The Conch piercing goes through the curved inside of the ear, straight from the front to the back. It is set the farthest back, which offers some depth to an earscape. This piercing takes 3-9 months to heal and we recommend hypoallergenic flat back earrings. Studs can be worn in this piercing.
Flat
The Flat piercing is similar to the Conch in that it is a front-to-back piercing where flat back earrings are recommended. The Flat, however, is located in the cartilage of the upper ear. Healing time is 3-9 months.
Cartilage Piercing After Care
Healing a cartilage piercing takes some patience, but the aftercare is not altogether different from your standard lobe piercing. Here are some basic rules to follow:
1. Don't Touch!
Try to keep your hands off your new piercing. Touching it will only introduce bacteria and slow the healing process, or worse, cause an infection.
2. Keep it Clean
Once a day, wash your piercing with saline or a gentle antibacterial soap. Always wash your hands before touching the earring in any way.
3. Avoid Sleeping on a Piercing
Pressure and snagging on your earring will slow down healing time.
The Takeaway
A new cartilage piercing is a great way to express your sense of style or mix up your earscape. The best results will come from following proper after care and wearing the best earrings for your piercing both in style and quality. What are the best quality earrings? In our opinion, titanium earrings, nickel-free earrings, and sensitive ear earrings are the self-care choice to keep your ears happy and piercing healing quickly. Titanium is the best metal for sensitive ears so cartilage earrings for sensitive ears will be made of titanium, as all the best quality hypoallergenic jewelry is. Enjoy exploring the many ways to wear earrings!
