You're one-of-a-kind, and your piercings should be too. Not every style works for every ear. We believe the best piercings aren't just about following trends but creating a look that complements your natural anatomy and style. Not every piercing location works for every ear, so the key is to customize your look based on your unique anatomy. At LABRET, we don’t just do ear piercing, we curate your perfect ear stack. Whether you're going for a subtle single stud or a full curated ear stack, this guide will help you understand how to choose piercings that help enhance your ear shape and better express your style.
Ear Anatomy 101: Know Your Parts
Here are our most popular piercing locations:
- Lobe piercing: The classic. The soft, fleshy part at the bottom of your ear. This location is quick to heal (6-8 weeks) and is great for first-timers and children!
- Helix piercing: The helix is the folded part of the outer ear cartilage. Many ear stack styles now incorporate different parts of the helix to frame the outermost portion of the ear (forward helix, upper helix, mid helix).
- Conch piercing: Inner "bowl" of the ear. Bold and eye-catching.
- Tragus piercing: That little nub in front of your ear canal, perfect for a slight sparkle.
- Rook/faux rook piercing: The ridge inside your upper ear can be pierced through the ridge itself, which is slightly more complex, or from the back of the ear (faux rook) that gives a similar look without the piercing complexity or need for specialized jewelry.
Not sure what’s what? Our piercers will point it out during your consultation.
Matching Piercings to Your Ear Shape
Small or Petite Ears
- Best piercings: Delicate smaller pieces, coupled with something like a small stud in the forward helix, or a 1.5mm diamond stud in the tragus.
- Avoid: Any larger piercings or crowded setups, which can overwhelm tiny ears.
Curved or Folded Helixes
- Best piercings: To frame the outer portion of your ear, incorporate upper, middle, and forward helix piercings.
- Pro tip: Follow your ear’s natural curve, and incorporate multiple piercings throughout the helix for a seamless look. You can even connect them with chains or add charms for additional movement.
Lobes: Simple, Stacked, Possibilities Galore
- Classic single lobe: Many people’s first ear piercing is simple and easy. This is the piercing your grandmother and her grandmother had; it's timeless and low-maintenance.
- Stacked (vertical) lobes: For those looking to up their lobe game, the stacked lobe (two piercings done vertically, one above the other) is incredibly common. It's trendy and customizable, once it's all healed, we like putting a larger hoop in the bottom hole and something smaller and shiny on the upper hole.
- Stacked (horizontal) lobes: Similar to the vertical stacked lobe, the horizontal lobe is two piercings done next to each other horizontally. This allows for an array of jewelry combinations. We like the huggie and hoop look, with one larger hoop on the front hole and a smaller hoop (huggie) on the other.
Flat or Wide Ears
- Best piercings: Flat piercings are great for those with larger ears. Additionally, with a larger or wider ear, the conch piercing coupled with a larger piece of jewelry is great because it brings people’s attention to the inside of your ear, not the larger outside, and can make your ear appear smaller.
- Pro Tip: Use the large flat portion of the ear as a canvas, incorporating multiple piercings and geometric patterns to express yourself, and use the lovely ear mural you were born with.
Jewelry Matters
Material
- Titanium: The titanium we use for our piercing posts is implant-grade (designed to be inside the body) and hypoallergenic, lightweight, and durable. The titanium flatback post is the piece that sits inside your ear, so you want to make sure it is of the highest quality.
- Gold: Our piercing jewelry designs are 14k solid gold (yellow and white). It is the highest quality and tested to ensure that it is alloyed in a way that makes it body-safe.
- Avoid: You always want to avoid low-cost piercing jewelry, as it typically contains nickel or other mystery metals. Plated jewelry is also not meant to be used for piercing, as the plating can wear off and reveal the non-safe metal underneath to your skin.
Size & Proportion
- Small ears: Stick to the smaller piercing jewelry, 1.5-2mm gems throughout the ear.
- Medium ears: The world is your oyster, you can mix it up with all sizes of gems, typically we see the larger gems used toward the bottom of the ear, and smaller gems towards the top.
- Large ears: Similar to the medium ears, prominent ears can get away with large gems and statement pieces. Also, as mentioned, large gems in the conch can bring attention to the middle of the ear to make the ear seem smaller.
LABRET's Approach: Your Ear, Your Rules
We don’t do one-size-fits-all. At LABRET, you’ll get:
- A free consultation to map out your ideal setup, lifestyle (Active? Office job? Going scuba diving in the coming week?), and jewelry choices.
- Honest advice from professionals who will tell you what works and what doesn’t.
- No pressure at all. If you need more time to think or change your mind at the last minute, no problem. We are here to be a partner in the process, and will be here to help when you are ready if you wish to dive into our FAQs for First-Time Ear Piercing.
Next Steps
- Collect inspiration (save Instagram/Pinterest ideas).
- Book a styling session, or pop into the studio for a no-pressure chat with our piercers.
- Bring reference photos to your appointment.
Follow @labret.co for piercing inspo. Tag us in your pics—we love seeing your looks!
