17 Different Kinds of Ear Piercings that Aren’t Boring!

Unique Ear Piercings

Wow, did you know there were so many different kinds of ear piercings? And 17 doesn’t even count the differences when stretching certain piercings and the placement can still vary! It just goes to show how underrated ear piercings are.

But don’t take my word for it. Keep reading to learn all about ear piercings you never knew existed.

The Lobe Piercings

Let’s start with the “basic” or not-so-basic ear piercings.

Standard Lobe – this is the lobe piercing many of us get as children. It can vary in placement, and you can get multiples all over the lobe including the...

Upper Lobe – this piercing goes into cartilage territory, which I think dictates its own entry.

Transverse Lobe – this is a bar piercing that sits through the entire lobe horizontally. It commonly looks like two small balls sitting either side of the lobe.

Cartilage Ear Piercing Jewelry

Lower Cartilage Piercings

Moving upwards next we have the lower cartilage piercings.

Tragus & Anti-Tragus – the tragus is the fold of cartilage that juts out covering the ear canal right next to the face. The anti-tragus is the fold opposite it on the inside of the ear, right above the lobe that needs to be pierced with a bar. Often the ant-tragus is too small to pierce.

Upper Cartilage Piercings

Next let’s jump to the upper cartilage, which is where our elf ears would be if we had them. These piercings are so popular; you’ll probably know a few!

Industrial – this piercing joins two points on the upper edge of the cartilage so that you can see the bar and the closure balls peeking out from behind the ear. Sometimes this piercing joins three points of the cartilage.

Helix & Forward Helix – a helix is any piercing along the rim cartilage of the ear – minus the lobes, of course. If located on the rim closest to the face, it’s called a forward helix.

Inner Cartilage Piercings

Ear Piercing NamesThe inner part of the cartilage of the ear contains a surprising amount of tiny piercing spots. They can be more complicated to find!

Vertical Industrial – it’s only fair to start with the easiest. Just as the industrial joins two pierced points on the upper edge of the cartilage, the vertical sits inside the ear. It runs through the cartilage so that you can’t see the balls hiding on the back of the ear, but you will have an awesome bar across the ear canal.

Conch & Outer Conch – the conch piercing is placed on the large part of the ear inside the folds that makes up the entire back of the ear. Meanwhile, the outer conch 

Rook – the rook is the thick fold on the top inside rim of the ear canal.

Snug – if you move down that same thick fold towards the mid section that placement is called the snug.

Daith – this piercing sits on the fold almost inside of the ear canal, right behind the tragus flap.

Ragnar – this is a rare version of the snug piercing, although rather than piercing through the fold, it starts on the inner side of the fold and ends the outside cartilage of the ear. It’s so much harder to pierce through all of that cartilage!

Did I miss any of your favourite ear piercings? Let me know in the comments!