Ear piercings are the one of the easiest methods of body modifications and also the most common kind. It is not frowned upon like a few other piercings, and is widely accepted be it in schools and colleges or at workplace. It has been in practise for many years and is considered a part of many cultures and their rituals. It was probably man’s first attempt at body piercing as it is the easiest and most obvious part to pierce.
There are many ways to get your ears pierced. There are simple ones like ear lobe piercings which are more common and ones like stretching and gauging which are rarer because of the risks associated with it.
The most common kinds of ear piercings are
- Ear lobe piercing. This is the simplest type of ear piercing. The primary piercing is done on the centre of the earlobe. Some people even opt to get a second or third hole above this piercing. These take about 4 to 6 weeks to completely heal.
- Cartilage or Helix piercing. This is the second most common form of ear piercing. Standard cartilage piercing is the piercing of the tissue on the upper part of the ear. They take longer to heal than the earlobe because of limited blood supply to that area. Healing time is usually a minimum of 8 to 10 weeks.
- Tragus Piercing. Tragus is the thick cartilage that juts out directly in front of the ear canal and is on the inner ear. This is also a fairly common piercing. The size of the jewellery worn here is pretty small and depends on the thickness of an individual’s tragus. It is more painful than the upper cartilage as it is thicker here. This piercing takes about 6 to 18 weeks to heal and may take about a whole year to heal completely.
- Anti-Tragus Piercing. This piercing lies opposite the tragus and the ear canal. It is on the spot on the outer ear just above the ear lobe. This is not as common as the tragus as not everyone has an anti-tragus that is large enough to pierce or fit jewellery through. This like the tragus will take 6 to 18 weeks to initially heal and up to a year to completely do so.
- These are the most non-intrusive methods of ear piercings, and therefore they heal the fastest. They have fewer chances of infections, scarring and keloids and can also look comparatively subtler. These piercings can prove to be very low maintenance and hassle-free if the right brand of piercing tools, hypo-allergenic jewellery and after care products like Studex is used.
