No surprise here, but we’re obsessed with tattoos and piercings—well, mostly piercings. The pain of getting them only lasts a second (if you’re working with an experienced and pro piercer), and there are so many ways you can "design" your ears with various earrings, colors, and placements.
But to fully have a pretty curated ear, you’ll have to venture outside your earlobes and onto the cartilage. Cartilage piercings just mean any ear piercing that’s not on your lobes. This area also requires extra care and force when being punctured since cartilage is a sturdier connective tissue.
If you’re ready to take your piercings to the next level but still have a few questions, keep scrolling.
Does it hurt to get a cartilage piercing?
This is a complicated one because it’s a little bit of yes and no. Since cartilage is a flexible, tough tissue, you’ll definitely feel some sort of force when your ear’s pierced with the needle. It might even feel hot and look red right after. But as long as you’re in the hands of a professional body piercer, you don’t have to worry about anything. They know how to work quickly to ensure you feel as little pain as possible. In our experience, the most pain came after the piercing— during the healing stage—when we would accidentally hit it.
How can I take care of my cartilage piercing?
Cartilage piercings take longer to heal; anywhere from four to 12 months. Since all piercings are technically wounds, you might notice some itching, minor bleeding, bruising, and oozing of clear or white-yellow fluid—this is all totally normal and shouldn’t cause panic. To prevent infections, you can:
- Clean your piercing twice a day until it fully heals with a gentle, antiseptic soap.
- Or use a saline soak by dissolving one tablespoon of salt in warm water. Use a cotton bud or ball to gently apply the soak on your piercings to soften any crusted material around the area.
12 Cartilage Ear Piercing Ideas To Try
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Double helix + flat + lobe
Is there anything more gorgeous than a curated piercing inspired by the stars? This combination mixes gold with white accents to highlight each earring’s shape.
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Double helix + daith + flat + tragus
Doing a more minimalist look for your cartilage piercing doesn’t mean it won’t look pretty. We love how this look plays with circles and gold and white hues!
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Forward helix + lobe
Sometimes, less is more. You can never go wrong with lining your helix and lobe with diamond studs!
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Forward helix + helix + daith + lobe
When getting helix and daith piercings, make sure your earrings wrap snugly around them so it looks neat.
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Tragus + daith + conch
Mixing metals will instantly add a layer of texture and color to your piercings!
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Tragus + surface tragus + daith + flat + conch + helix
In case you didn’t know the shape of your earring plays a part in how pretty your piercings go together. When in doubt, opt for triangle-based studs and loops for a simple yet stunning look!
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Anti-helix + lobe
Color-blocking your loops is always a good idea! Your ears can instantly make a statement without having too many cartilage piercings.
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Flat + rook + daith + helix + lobe
One look at this gorgeous gold-pastel ear curation and you’ll want one for yourself!
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Rook + flat + outer conch + tragus + lobe
For our maximalist gals and guys! Look no further than this floral and nature-inspired curation. You can even add an homage to your religion as this one did with the cross earring.
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Flat + conch + lobe
We’re suckers for floral studs and will make any excuse to add them to our cartilage ear curations!
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Helix + tragus + rook + conch
Holographic studs in cartilage ear curations? Yes, please! Add more edge to your look by adding a cute gold snake stud.
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Forward helix + daith + tragus + conch + anti-helix
Put a bit of magic to your cartilage curation with opalescent studs, multicolor loops, royal blue stones, and a pretty chain that connects two of your piercings together!
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READ MORE
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