Piercings of the Cartilage

Cartilage is firm connective tissue found throughout the body. Piercings of the cartilage are commonly referred to as cartilage piercings, which are usually referring to piercings of the ear and nose. These types of piercings are the most common piercings that occur in society today. This article will address the most common ear piercings in the piercing world

Types of Ear Piercings

There are several different cartilage piercings that can be obtained in the cartilage of the ear. This list below will give an idea of what all the piercing options are and what they are called.

Tragus - This piercing is one of the more up-and-coming piercings to gain popularity. It is a piercing located in the cartilage
flap right above the ear canal. The jewelry for this type of piercing are captive bead rings, labret posts with a disc on one end, and barbell piercings.

Anti-tragus - This piercing is the exact opposite of the tragus (hence the name). It is found on the knob of cartilage directly above the earlobe. The same type of jewelry is used as in the tragus piercing (captive bead rings and barbell piercings).

Daith - This is a unique piercing that falls in the innermost fold of the ear that is closest to the ear canal. This piercing is awesome because it looks as if the piercing is coming out of the ear canal. This piercing gained popularity in the early 90’s and is difficult to pierce due to the curved location. Make sure to get an experienced piercer for this one! The common jewelry is a curved barbell, captive bead ring, and the hearts and moon styles.

Inner/Outer Conch - These inner conch piercing takes place in the cup shaped area of the ear. The outer conch piercing takes place in the area between the flat area of the ear and the outer ridge. The most common type of piercing jewelry for these areas are a barbell, captive bead ring, and a flesh plug.

Helix - This piercing is on the outer ridge of the ear cartilage. The jewelry used is a captive bead ring or a stud earing. The "California" version of the helix involves multiple helix piercings every half-inch up the outside rim of the ear. The “Industrial” piercing is two helix piercings connected by a barbell.

Anti-helix - This piercing is in the raised ridge parallel to the helix further inside the ear. This is a unique area for piercing and there are two main types in this area called the “rook” which is the upper ridge of the tragus in the anti-helix area. The “snug” is a piercing through the anti-helix area from one side to the other instead of front to back. Barbells, captive bead rings, stud earrings, and curved barbells are also popular in this area.

These cartilage piercings found in the ear can vary in location and in style, but they are the most popular locations for jewelry on the entire body. Consider which portion of your ear you would like pierced and select the best jewelry for your own individual style.