You could end up having an outer or an inner cartilage piercing and it mainly depends upon where the ear actually is.

Obviously everybody is different and so the type of cartilage piercing that you end up with will not necessarily be the same one that your friend ended up with for example.

The Differences between Inner and Outer Conch piercings

The main difference between the two different conch piercings is that the inner one is situated in the centre cartilage and the outer one is situated on the outer cartilage.

You will find that the inner piercings tend to be a little larger than the outer ones. Therefore if you do end up with an inner cartilage piercing, once it has been properly stretched it is possible to wear an earlet.

If you are having an outer cartilage piercing then you should be aware that if you have it lower than 16 gauge then you run the risk of having it ripped out. So always choose a piece of jewellery that is at least 16g. Both types of cartilage piercings can be performed using dermal punching. Typically however an inner conch piercing will be performed using a hollow, large gauge needle and a barbell will be used as the initial piece of jewellery.

The outer cartilage piercing will usually be performed using a big gauge piercing needle. The initial jewellery for an outer piercing will typically be a curved barbell.

What you should know

Cartilage piercings can look really good once they have healed. The actual healing time can be anything from three to twelve months and you will need to follow certain after care procedures too to help it to heal properly. It is important to note that you should never attempt to change the type of jewellery that you have in the piercing whilst it is still healing.

If for whatever reason you do want to change the jewellery, you should ask the piercer to do it for you. This is because it could damage the piercing if you take it out.

Cartilage piercings are popular and they can be performed in a variety of different locations on the ear. You may want to talk through your options with the piercer to see which one would be better suited to you. Just as long as you take good care of the piercing after it has been done, you will get to experience the most benefits!

Body piercing aftercare guidelines are universal for most of the body piercing types except the oral body piercings – it’s due to the unique location of these body piercings.

The first body piercing aftercare guideline to remember – don’t take the body jewelry out until the fresh piercing hasn’t undergone the first healing stage called ‘primary healing’.

The pierced hole is most vulnerable and prone to infections during the initial healing stage and I guess it shouldn’t pose you any problems with keeping the initial body jewelry in.

As for the best materials for the first time piercings – they are surgical grade stainless steel, titanium and Bioplast. These materials are very body friendly and will provide ideal conditions for healing. And if you have any allergy towards metals, Bioplast should do the trick.

The second body piercing aftercare recommendation – use common sense when handling your fresh piercing. This includes washing hands before touching the piercing and avoiding sexual contacts when you get a genital or oral body piercing, for example.

Remember – there are many infections that can get into your fresh piercing like bacterial and viral infections and also parasitic infections. The last ones can result from swimming in open waters while the piercing hasn’t fully healed yet, like seas and rivers. So bear this in mind, too – while the piercing is healing, no swimming!

A universal body piercing aftercare advice for most fresh body piercing is soaking it with saline solution a few times a day. The reasoning behind this is the healing properties of sea salt solution. Its chemical consistence is similar to that of your body fluids, and on top of that by soaking the fresh piercing with the saline solution you will wash away any excess body fluids that are drying up around the piercing hole. This in turn will prevent bacterial build-ups in the piercing.

Some body piercers advise that good body piercing aftercare includes using antibacterial products as well. For example – antibacterial soap that can be gently applied to the piercing while taking shower and then washed off.

However, this can also lead to destroying the healthy bacteria that resides on your body around the fresh piercing. And you certainly don’t want this to happen, do you?

The most interesting approach to body piercing aftercare is LITHA. Can you guess the meaning of this abbreviation? Common, try!

Are you giving up? OK – let me tell you!

Leave It The Hell Alone! As you can imagine, this body piercing aftercare principle is very simple – just leave the piercing on its own and allow your body deal with it!

If it seems to be too extreme, just think about this. Let’s say, you got slightly injured and have a wound. You cut yourself and applied a plaster on the cut. Then ask yourself now – would you remove the plaster and clean the wound a few times daily just to facilitate the healing process?

Well, most likely – not! So this is exactly what the LITHA method involves – leaving your body alone and assuming that a healthy and strong human’s body should be absolutely fine with healing a comparatively small wound.