Ear Piercings

Lobe

The most common of all piercings is the Ear Lobe and the most common of tools used to pierce is the ear piercing gun. This shoots a semi blunt slightly pointed stud through the ear and into the back of the stud a fast pace. The biggest problem with these is sterilisation and control. The studs are held in a frame and so the exact spot the stud will come out is hard to see and if the gun is held slightly crooked it can not only go through the ear crooked it can jam into the back of the stud on an angle and become stuck. This is quite painful to remove and having a gun stuck to a newly pierced ear must be quite terrifying especially for a young child.

This leads me to an amusing if somewhat horrifying story about a Tattooists wife back in about 1994, she had got hold of a piercing gun and had decided that she was going to make some money by going to her partners shop and doing cheap piercings with the gun. She decided to pierce her own navel (Yes she was going to put an ear stud in her belly with this gun) She loaded it and Bang the stud went through the skin she had pinched up into the gap but the gun got stuck and would not come off. Living about ¾ of an hour drive from her partners shop and being home alone with her children she had to bundle them into the car with the gun still stuck on her now throbbing and painful tummy. She drove to the shop, gun and stud still attached to get him to help her remove it. She had second thoughts about her new money making scheme.

The other problem with the guns is of course sterilisation. No reputable piercing studio will use a piercing gun on ears or anywhere else for that matter because of the inability to adequately sterilise it. I have heard so many stories of hairdressers, Tattooists and even Chemists that have the gun kicking around in the bottom of a draw with dust and dirt and other bits and pieces and then pulled it out and used on the next unknowing child. However, there was a time when the ear piercing gun was revolutionary and the way to bring ear piercing into the shops and malls and by the 1970’s it was seen as the advanced piercing method.

Because back in the 50’s and 60’s mainly women got their ears pierced, many using ice and a sewing needle to make a hole. Women would take their daughter to the doctor who would get a needle and cork and pierce the childs ear which at the time was thought to be scary. By the late 1970’s and early 1980’s in Australia it was common to go down to your local Hairdresser and get a stud shot through your ears with the stud gun. “As easy as this, Bang! Bang!” two studs shot into the lobes generally not marked and usually not in the same place on both ears. But, quick and said to be painless however the thud was followed by hot throbbing earlobes for the next few hours and you were given a bottle of Chlorhexadine in spirit to clean it with if you were lucky or you just used some of Dads Metholated Spirits. ( The industry has come a long way since those days.)

Personally, I had mine done at a Hairdresser in roughly 1983 (they were very uneven which still annoys me). In 1984 I watched one of the boys in my class at school shove a sewing pin through his ear. My thoughts at the time, “that’s not so tough.” And the next day I got one of my studs from having my ears pierced and I ‘sterilised it’ by putting it into metholated spirits and setting light to it. (I know now that this does not actually sterilise anything at all and please don’t try this at home!) I then shoved the ear stud through my own ear and put the back on it. What a sense of accomplishment. I guess you could say this was the first piercing I ever did. I probably owe the start of my piercing career to the boy who in our year 10 Maths class pierced his own ear. Although it was not until I met Geoff in 1986 that this all really began.

Because in the Infections and problems from this sort of thing were not uncommon back then and so a lot of research and study has gone into providing the service that we provide today to do ear piercings correctly with minimal risk of infection.

So, by the late 1980’s the men were well and truly on the bandwagon and getting ear piercings. However, that was a time when male ear piercings were often used as a sign of sexuality. The right side being seen as the feminine side and the left as the masculine. So, a homosexual male would get his right ear pierced as a subtle indicator to other like minded males that he was approachable and so the heterosexual males would only get their left ear done as proof that they were not homosexual. This indicator had it’s flaws because often the homosexual male would get his left ear done so as not to appear homosexual (This was a time when it could be dangerous in some areas to be openly ‘gay’ and so a simple ear piercing in the right ear could bring persecutuion.) By the 1990’s men were getting both ears pierced and then by the mid 1990’s the stretching to larger sizes began.

By 2001 stretched lobes were becoming common and males getting both ears pierced was also common. While some people still ask which is the “Gay side” for most it is not a real issue. Although, we still find that men who are only planning on getting just one ear pierced will still choose the Left as the preferred side even if it is not to make a statement at all.

In 2019, it is more common for men to get both ears pierced and stretching has taken a slight downturn although with the introduction of a heap of new designs in ear weights and plugs I don’t think we have seen the end of big stretched lobes. With improvements in ear repairs and ear stitching if you do change your mind they can be fixed. I have had a number of clients who have had lobes repaired after being stretched to 30 or 40mm plus and they loved them but then they found that they just wanted to wear normal earrings again and so got them repaired. (see our page on ear stitching).

The industry has experimented with guns and procedures and now the preferred method of piercing is with the use of a needle into a cork, only nowadays the doctors leave it to the professional body piercer. At Body Pleasure Piercing we have modified this procedure by adding the use of anaesthetic and only using a piercing blade and not a cannula needle because we have found that cannula needles drag on the tissue causing more tissue damage which not only hurts more but increases the healing time and therefore increases the risk of infection. All piercing done at Body Pleasure Piercing involve the use of anaesthetic and single use piercing blades, for your comfort and safety.

Anti Tragus

This is the small pointed lump of cartilage opposite the tragus. Not a hugely common piercing we did our first one of these in 1998 but it did not really become popular until roughly 2007. Care needs to be taken with this piercing that the piercer does not slip and clip the edge of the cartilage which can split the edge of the cartilage or place the jewellery against the cartilage and it will cause it to reject.

An effective looking piercing when done well and it can be done with either curved bars or ball closure rings. Depending on the size of the ear multiple anti tragus piercings can be clustered in this area and once healed some of the pretty helix and eyebrow jewellery can even be worn here.

In 2019 it does not make the top 10 piercings list but it is an effective and slightly different piercing for the slightly adventurous.

Conch / Orbital

This piercing is a deeper piercing in the ear and has been mildly popular since around 1997. In 2017 it seemed to have a sort of revival and by 2019 it is a very common piercing. And as we have had demand for forward facing jewelled rings in 12mm size to accommodate this piercing I have recently spoken to many manufacturers to get these made and we have an increasing range of jewellery designed for this piercing coming onto the market.

It can be done with either a ring or a flat back labret both have to be large enough to allow for swelling and movement when first done. Lots of people want a nice neat fitting ring when first pierced so it hugs the ear (Which looks lovely but if done as an initial piercing the pain after a few days and the agony to change it once the ear swells just a little and becomes tight on the jewellery soon makes it so not worth getting that inexperienced piercer to put that tight fitting ring in it.) So, take your piercers advice and don’t get anything less than 10mm long in the way of a labret or 10 to 12mm inside diameter of a ring. As even if you feel it is a bit big it is so much healthier for your piercing during the healing time.

I guess we can say that 2019 is the year of the conch as far as ear piercings go. It is a very popular piercing and looks amazing when done well with the correct jewellery.

Transverse Lobe

This piercing is placed through the lobule of the ear diagonally from one point to another the angle and depth will depend on the size of the lobe and any other piercings that may have been done. We have even done this through existing tunnels. Popular in 2010 to 2012 this piercing is difficult to do and only really experienced piercers will attempt it making it a less common piercing. While a titanium bar can be used for this piercing a flexible PTFE can be more confortable and allow for swelling and the curvature of the piercing.

In 2019 it is not on the top 10 ear piercing list and is definitely for the adventurous piercing enthusiast and the experienced body piercer.

Rook

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Scaffold / industrial

This piercing started to be done in Australia in roughly 1997 to 1998 and was known as the Scaffold due to the placement being across the Scaphoid of the ear. This was not as common back then but quickly increased in popularity. Then by 2001 the American influence hit Australia and the name Industrial became the name of this piercing which was a play on the term Scaffold. No longer relating it to the medical term. It became a trendy piercing and people experimented with different angles and even multiple scaffold/Industrial piercings.

This piercing had it’s own evolution with piercers trying different methods one of the unsuccessful methods we saw some places use was to do two piercings separately and then attempt to put a bar through them once healed. This was generally not good because the piercings would heal on different angles and so the bar would not go neatly through them or when put through it was putting so much pressure on the ear that it would irritate and become quite painful.

At Body Pleasure Piercing we always did this piercing by inserting one needle directly through both piercing sites lining it up carefully was the key to a good scaffold / Industrial and placing it so that the bar does not rub on the scaphoid.

By 2004 the industrial jewellery started to be more creative and shapes, stripes and logo bars came onto the market. In 2019 we have a vast array of jewellery from tribal to pretty jewels and crystals to use in this piercing which is still a popular one for both genders. Check out our gallery to see just some different Scaffold / Industrial piercings that we have done over the years.

There have also been several combinations of industrial piercings including transverse/ vertical piercings going from the central top of the helix and down through the back of the conch area and ending behind the lobe.

Triple Forward Helix

A group of three piercings done in the forward Helix.  Can be pierced at the same time or on consecutive visits.

Tragus

This is a popular piercing done in The small lump of cartilage that sits against the face in the middle of the ear.  Can be done with a Ring, Labret or Circular Bar

Flat

This is placed on the scaphoid of the ear which is the flat area between the helix and forward helix. It can be done anywhere in this area, a good piercer will place it to avoid hitting any larger veins but there is nothing terrible to be hit in this area.

High Snug

It is placed across the little lump of cartilage down from the Helix and as the name describes.    The high snug is generally slightly deeper and on the right ear shape can look amazing either on it’s own or combined with other helix piercings.

Constellation Piercings

Ear Piercings designed to suit you. We can consult with you to create customized bespoke Constellations, designed to suit the anatomy of your ear, your personality and your style. Grouping piercings together to be unique statement or a subtle look.

Orbital lobe

This piercing is basically two piercings through the lobe placed so that a single pierce of jewellery can go around it.

Other areas of the ear can also have Orbital piercings.