With well over 20 different styles of ear piercings to choose from, it’s understandably difficult to decipher between similar ear piercing names. From traditional earlobe piercings to cartilage piercings and beyond, here are some simple ways to remember different ear piercing names.
Ear Lobe Piercings
The earlobe is the most popular type of piercing for both men and women and is typically where people choose to start in their piercing journey. The earlobe is softer than other parts of the ear, making it the best ear piercing location for beginners.
Using the Inverness System, there are two ear piercing names to remember for the lobe: Standard Lobe Piercing and Upper Lobe Piercing.
The word standard can also mean typical or regular. This is the most common place we see ear piercings.
An upper lobe piercing, on the other hand, sits right above the lower lobe region. While it is also found on the earlobe, it’s a little bit higher than the standard lobe piercing – hence “upper” in the name. When a standard lobe piercing and an upper lobe piercing are both done it’s called a “double piercing.”
Finally, there’s the Graduated Lobe Piercing. Graduated is defined as “to arrange in a series or according to a scale.” Graduated ear piercings are popular because they allow for multiple piercings of varying sizes to be pierced along the earlobe.
Cartilage Piercings
Before we get into piercings, let’s talk about the cartilage itself. Cartilage is the connective tissue that forms the structure of your ears, nose and other areas around your ribs. On the ears specifically, cartilage is the strong, flexible tissue located in the upper portion of the ear and differs from the earlobe primarily in that is has a limited blood supply.
Cartilage piercings are very popular and can also be graduated.
The Inverness Ear Piercing System is used to pierce the outer cartilage only, which is located between the helix and antihelix of the ear. The number of cartilage piercings a person can have depends on the size and shape of their ear.
If you have any questions, we’re always happy to answer questions at Inverness. Please visit our website to learn more.