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!

Yes, the majority of you who get body piercings just can’t await when it will be possible to change the initial piece of body jewelry and insert a new one!

That’s understandable; however, you have to know at least the approximate body piercing healing times to assess the condition of your fresh body piercing.

This is very important due to two main reasons.

First – if you ignore body piercing healing time of the particular piercing site, you may damage the half-healed piercing by inserting new body jewelry too early. This in turn will result in prolonged healing time.

Secondly – you increase the likelihood of getting a body piercing infection. You see – the longer the fresh piercing remains unhealed, the more likely the infection is to creep into the wound.

So as you can see, you really shouldn’t rush your body and ignore its natural healing speed. You can read this belly piercing story, for instance, to see what can happen if a girl is too willing to change the initial body jewelry!

Well, the next things to understand about body piercing healing are the three stages of the piercing healing process.

1st Stage Of Body Piercing Healing – Growing New Skin

After the piercing has been performed, the first thing that you body needs to do is – stop the bleeding process and prevent bacteria from entering the wound. Although not every body piercing will result in a visible infection, it’s been actually reported that 10 to 20% of all body piercings result in mild infections!

But generally every piercing will be swollen right after the piercing has been performed and also some discharge will appear during the following days. It’s just the body’s natural defense system in action and it pushes the damaged tissue and bacteria out of the tiny wound.

Very soon after the piercing a temporary clot of scab is formed to prevent the bleeding and protect the wound. Then your body starts forming new skin cells and within a few weeks after the piercing a new skin layer has formed!

However, you have to understand that this new skin is very fragile and vulnerable to mechanical intervention, so it should be taken for granted that the initial body jewelry remains in the piercing during this stage!

And also bear in mind – no rough handling, no exposure to body fluids and dirt. The fresh piercing can still easily get infected, so you have to make sure it stays sound and clean!

In the table below you can find approximate haling times of the most popular body piercings. Just bear in mind – it shows the duration of the first stage of the healing, so it is actually wise to wait twice as much to make sure the skin thickens and it’s safe to insert a new piece of body jewelry!

2nd Stage Of Body Piercing Healing – Full Healing

During this stage of body piercing healing the new skin gains thickness and becomes more like a real skin. The full healing takes about the same time as the first stage of body piercing healing (as seen in the table above).

But even though this stage is called full healing, the new skin still doesn’t reach its mature stage. However, you can safely change your initial body jewelry at this stage because the skin isn’t that vulnerable to damage and infections anymore!

3rd Stage Of Body Piercing Healing – Maturing

This is when the body piercing gains all the features of a permanent skin. The scar-like tissue is formed into a tube called fistula, and this is when the piercing wound can’t close up anymore. But of course, it depends on the piercing type.

For example, tongue piercings can close up at any stage; some also say that due to the vascular nature of the face the facial piercings can also close up even though they’re fully healed.

But it’s all down to the particular person’s body type and features. So one may walk for years with an eyebrow ring taken out, while another may have it close up after a few months!