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!

You could stick with the traditional and most common ear piercing, or you could be a little more adventurous and try out nipple or tongue piercings which are also quite popular.

However, if you are looking for something that little bit different then you may want to take a look at industrial piercings.

What is an Industrial Piercing?

An industrial piercing is basically two holes that are joined together by one single piece of jewellery. Typically they are mainly found at the top of the ear. However an industrial piercing can also be used in the navel, too.

If you are interested in a navel industrial piercing then you will usually have two separate piercings first. The piercer will pierce one part of the navel and then leave that to heal with a single piece of navel jewellery.

Then the next piercing will be made at the opposite end of the navel and that too will be left to heal. Once they have healed they can then be joined with a single bar ring. One thing that you should keep in mind is that if the jewellery that you choose puts any pressure onto either piercing, it could cause an infection. For this reason it would be a good idea to use flexible jewellery.

What you should know

You may find that you are not suited to a normal industrial piercing. However, unfortunately the piercer will not always tell you this. If they go ahead anyway and you are not a suitable candidate then it will cause problems and this is known as a “shallow industrial piercing”. It will likely cause scarring but if you are lucky you may get away with just an infection. So you need to be sure that you are suitable for an industrial piercing before you go ahead and get it done.

Industrial piercings are mainly situated at the top of the ear. They are sometimes otherwise known as scaffold piercings and one piercing is made close to the head whereas the other is made a little further down the cartilage. This gives the piercing a diagonal appearance. There are not as many different types of jewellery that you can use with an industrial piercing. However, they can look great if you are an ideal candidate for one!