Ear piercing is a primitive art which started when early man was learning ways to beautify his body parts. However, it has gained abnormal popularity in recent years heightened with the frenzy of body art among younger folks. Ear piercing is mainly two types; one is that of simple holes made to allow for various types of ear jewelry and the other is large ones for enlarged piercings in accordance with the traditional tribal practices and culture. The piercing of the ear is usually done by making a hole on the cartilage of the ear which has no or minimum nerve endings thus, enhancing body aesthetics or expression of cultural beliefs or minds with minimum damage to internal body. On a basic level the ear piercing can be classified into three categories -The industrial piercing, Daith Piercing and Tragus Piercing. Read on and choose accordingly.
1. Industrial Piercing
Industrial piercing, or as also called as scaffold piercing, typically refers to a two fold perforation of the upper cartilage of the ear. This type of piercing is used to adorn a 30 to 40 mm long barbell diagonally along the upper part of the ear. This type of piercing requires a healing time of about three months to one year and is by far more troublesome and agonizing than conservative forms of piercing. Jewelry size of 14 gauges is generally used in the initial piercing; however, you are free to choose a bigger or smaller sized ear-piece once the piercing is healed.
2. Tragus Piercing
The tragusis the cartilaginous projection in the inner ear and closer to the face. It is situated at the entrance to the external ear and thus quite well placed for some eye-catching embellishments. This piercing, like other common piercings are made on the ear cartilage and requires about 8 weeks to a year to heal completely. Usually used to adorn hoops, captive bead rings, micro-barbells and micro-labrets, tragus piercing usually is less painful as there are lesser nerve endings to deal with. An 18 to 14 gauge captive ring is typically used as the initial jewelry in this type of piercing.
3. Daith Piercing
Daith piercing is called so because of the piercing that happens on the internal projection of the cartilage called daith. This area which is situated near the ear canal is small and is quite difficult to reach. Hence, piercing is often done with a curved needle to keep off from hurting other parts of the ear while working on it. Looking at its position small hooped rings of 18 to 14 gauges are perfectly suited for such piercings. The piercing requires about 4 to 6 months to heal fully.
Although popular body piercing studios generally take adequate precautions to protect the health of the person being pierced and the piercer too, however, it is advisable to look into issues of contamination. It is also necessary to abide by the healing period required for any type of piercing. Avoid hair or clothes entanglement in the initial stages of piercing as this might cause inflammation and pain and further medical complexities.