What Is the Most Popular Ear Piercing?

Ear piercing may be done with a sterilized needle or a piercing gun. There are 15 locations on the ear that you can pierce. Piercing through the cartilage is the most popular type of ear piercing currently.

Ear piercing is a popular practice all over the world. Techniques for ear piercing range from the traditional needle heated over a flame and sterilized to using a modern-day ear-piercing gun.

Piercing the ear has cultural significance in many cultures. In the West, it is done as a beautification technique for the face. If it is done wrong or at an inappropriate site on the ear, it can cause pain, infection and even deformity of the ear.

For a long time, the most popular or rather common ear piercing has been the ear lobe. It is devoid of any major blood vessels or nerves, there is no cartilage here and it is easy to pierce.

There are 15 safe places where ear piercing can be done. These places are located

• On the ear lobe
• Upward along the outer cartilage
• Inward along the part of the ear attached to your head
• Several places in the center

Piercing the ear through the cartilage seems to be the current fashion of ear piercing. However, it carries the risk of a potentially disfiguring infection. Since the cartilage does not have a blood supply, wound healing might be delayed.

To avoid the complications of piercing the ear, ask these questions

• Is the person who does the piercing a certified professional?
  • Do not attempt to pierce the ear by yourself or ask an untrained relative or friend to do it. Visit a reputable professional studio with trained and certified ear-piercing professionals.
• Does the piercer use good hygiene practices?
  • Check whether the piercer washes their hands and wears a fresh pair of disposable gloves before piercing your ears.
• Does the piercer use proper equipment?
  • Choose a studio that uses a piercing needle over a piercing gun for ear piercing. Piercing guns are hard to sterilize and can damage your ear tissue. Look for the piercing needle. It should be fresh, sterile and disposable.
• Does the piercer use the proper jewelry?
  • Jewelry made from brass or nickel can cause allergies. Look for earrings made from surgical stainless steel, titanium, niobium or 14- or 18-karat gold.

The healing time for an ear-piercing wound depends on the location of the piercing, the aftercare, your health status and your nutrition.

A piercing that is done on the earlobe usually takes anywhere between six to eight  weeks to heal completely. If done on the cartilage part, it can take about four months to a year.

Ear piercing is a relatively risk-free procedure. However, remember a wound is always a potential source of infection. You should take care of it while it heals. Here is what you should do

• Clean the pierced area twice a day either with soap and warm water, rubbing alcohol or any cleanser recommended by your piercer.
• Avoid touching your pierced ear. The germs in your hand can get into the wound and cause infection.
• Avoid swimming in pools or water parks.
• Do not remove the jewelry at night. Keep it in place.

It is normal for the skin around the piercing to swell, turn red and be painful to touch for a few days. You may also notice a little bleeding. If the swelling, redness and bleeding last longer than two to three days, contact your doctor.