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ear piercings advice !!! cost,pain,names etc

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ok so i've only ever had my lobes done and that was when i was 9 years old so i don't have a lot of experience with piercings anyway ever since i seen this photo i've wanted these exact piercings. I'm 15 now by the way 16 at the beginning of next yr!

I was wondering

1. when exactly would you get these done like can you get multiple piercings done in one sitting?

2. what exactly are each of these piercings called

3.should i pierce both ears like this (or would that look silly as lots of people who go for the cartilage at the top piercing only had it on one side)

4.how much would this hurt (any comparisons to pain such as cat scratch or burn)

5.how much would this cost on average per piercing or whole ear like this

6. do you know any places that will sell earrings similar to those in the photo but obviously ones that aren't hundreds of pounds

7.any aftercare tips etc

any help and/or advice is really helpful thank you!! (if you were wondering the photo is from maria tash)
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 1
Original post by cloudyyy

ok so i've only ever had my lobes done and that was when i was 9 years old so i don't have a lot of experience with piercings anyway ever since i seen this photo i've wanted these exact piercings. I'm 15 now by the way 16 at the beginning of next yr!

I was wondering

1. when exactly would you get these done like can you get multiple piercings done in one sitting?

2. what exactly are each of these piercings called

3.should i pierce both ears like this (or would that look silly as lots of people who go for the cartilage at the top piercing only had it on one side)

4.how much would this hurt (any comparisons to pain such as cat scratch or burn)

5.how much would this cost on average per piercing or whole ear like this

6. do you know any places that will sell earrings similar to those in the photo but obviously ones that aren't hundreds of pounds

7.any aftercare tips etc

any help and/or advice is really helpful thank you!! (if you were wondering the photo is from maria tash)


Gebnerally, it#s not advised to get more than 3 piercings at the same time. With them being all close together it would be more painful to get them done at the same time - you'll just end up with a very painful ear. So you could, but it might be more sensible to get them spread out. If you want both sides done you'll have to get one ear done and then the other, as otherwise you won't be able to sleep.

The top star shaped is a helix, although it ca also be called a pinna or auricle. The one halfway down the outer rim is also a helix, pinna or auricle - sometimes it gets called a "lower helix" to help with identification. The top inner one is a rook. And the lower one is obviously a lobe.

It's completely up to you whether you get both sides done. Most people do seem to get both ears done differently, but it's your decision.

The rook will be most painful because it's the thickest bit to go through (out of the ones pictured; I'm not saying it's the most painful piercing ever).

Cost varies greatly. I would advise to expect around ยฃ25 per piercing, although you will find places that cost ยฃ35 and others that do it for ยฃ15. I'd recommend avoiding the really cheap places as they're likely to use cheap jewellery or badly trained staff. You might get a discount for multiple piercings done together. You don't need to buy any expensive aftercare solutions.

For jewellery, I tend to use BodyArtForms and BodyJewelleryShop. I don't know if they have jewellery like the picture, but I would expect so.

Aftercare is basically leave them alone. Don't touch. Try not to get shampoo etc in the piercings, and be careful when brushing your hair, wearing hats, or other similar things.
Out of those I've had the lobe and helix done - lobes were fine, helix hurt significantly more. Obviously it's going to hurt because it's a needle going through your ear but it's bearable, mine hurt like hell for about 10 seconds and then just felt really warm and tender for a few hours after.
Reply 3
Original post by Juno
Gebnerally, it#s not advised to get more than 3 piercings at the same time. With them being all close together it would be more painful to get them done at the same time - you'll just end up with a very painful ear. So you could, but it might be more sensible to get them spread out. If you want both sides done you'll have to get one ear done and then the other, as otherwise you won't be able to sleep.

The top star shaped is a helix, although it ca also be called a pinna or auricle. The one halfway down the outer rim is also a helix, pinna or auricle - sometimes it gets called a "lower helix" to help with identification. The top inner one is a rook. And the lower one is obviously a lobe.

It's completely up to you whether you get both sides done. Most people do seem to get both ears done differently, but it's your decision.

The rook will be most painful because it's the thickest bit to go through (out of the ones pictured; I'm not saying it's the most painful piercing ever).

Cost varies greatly. I would advise to expect around ยฃ25 per piercing, although you will find places that cost ยฃ35 and others that do it for ยฃ15. I'd recommend avoiding the really cheap places as they're likely to use cheap jewellery or badly trained staff. You might get a discount for multiple piercings done together. You don't need to buy any expensive aftercare solutions.

For jewellery, I tend to use BodyArtForms and BodyJewelleryShop. I don't know if they have jewellery like the picture, but I would expect so.

Aftercare is basically leave them alone. Don't touch. Try not to get shampoo etc in the piercings, and be careful when brushing your hair, wearing hats, or other similar things.


thanks so much for all this advice!! i never knew the aftercare was somewhat optional, i had an infection on my lobes and they took months and months to heal and it makes me think now that it might of been because of the amount of times i was touching the piercing (i was told to wash it with the special solution, spin it around and change it in and out often once it sort of healed)
Reply 4
Original post by bones-mccoy
Out of those I've had the lobe and helix done - lobes were fine, helix hurt significantly more. Obviously it's going to hurt because it's a needle going through your ear but it's bearable, mine hurt like hell for about 10 seconds and then just felt really warm and tender for a few hours after.


thanks for replying! i really hope the pain is somewhat bareable i am ok with injections and needles so no problem with that it's just the on going sting and burning i had when i got my lobes done (a long time ago now but they were a real pain)
I had double helix in one sitting, took agesss to heal. Pain was 4/10 but my helix is thin.
Would recommend going to a tattoo place and having it down with a needle. Piercing guns should NOT be used for helix piercings.
Reply 6
Original post by queenofswords
I had double helix in one sitting, took agesss to heal. Pain was 4/10 but my helix is thin.
Would recommend going to a tattoo place and having it down with a needle. Piercing guns should NOT be used for helix piercings.


thanks!! i definetly can't tolerate a lot of pain so it's probably best i get one piercings done after the last one has somewhat healed iceberg decided i'll get get it on my right side too! I know a local tattoo place has been recommended so i will go there interested to know what's it feels like with a needle instead of a gun definetly don't want to shatter my cartilage or any part of my ear for that matter
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1. when exactly would you get these done like can you get multiple piercings done in one sitting?
Do not get them all in one sitting, it would be daft. Get 2 at the most. Would cost you a mint to get them all at once too.

2. what exactly are each of these piercings called
The Top star is the helix and the one below is also a helix. The one inside the year sort of is a rook. Do not recommend getting a helix and rook done at the same time.

3.should i pierce both ears like this (or would that look silly as lots of people who go for the cartilage at the top piercing only had it on one side)
Get different things on both ears, mix it up

4.how much would this hurt (any comparisons to pain such as cat scratch or burn)
Helix is about 5/10 for me and i just heard the scratch of the jewellery going in. Rook I wouldn't know but heard it's not pleasant.

5.how much would this cost on average per piercing or whole ear like this
Helix cost me ยฃ25 and rook would probably be the same. But all depends where you go. I know one piercing shop who charged ยฃ45 for an industrial piercing while the other charged ยฃ30 so have a look around multiple shops.

6. do you know any places that will sell earrings similar to those in the photo but obviously ones that aren't hundreds of pounds
Try Crazy Factory

7.any aftercare tips etc
I didn't sleep on my left side at all when I got mine done, and then one day I did so by accident and it was totally fine. Try not to touch them too much, I did that mistake. No need to do extra cleaning if you shower every day, but if you don't then just warm salt water. Best to get a friend to help you change it first time, their bloody awful holes to find sometimes.

Advice: try to plan out your own piercing styles for your ears instead of copying someone straight off the book.
Original post by queenofswords
I had double helix in one sitting, took agesss to heal. Pain was 4/10 but my helix is thin.
Would recommend going to a tattoo place and having it down with a needle. Piercing guns should NOT be used for helix piercings.


For clarity, piercing guns should never be used for any piercing, ever. For helixes in particular i have never seen one done with a gun that was placed correctly so...

Original post by cloudyyy
thanks so much for all this advice!! i never knew the aftercare was somewhat optional, i had an infection on my lobes and they took months and months to heal and it makes me think now that it might of been because of the amount of times i was touching the piercing (i was told to wash it with the special solution, spin it around and change it in and out often once it sort of healed)


Its not that aftercare is optional, its just thag the solutions some piercers give / make you pay for are no better and often worse than a plain sea salt solution. I am a big advocate (like most of the piercers i have met) of doing pretty minimal aftercare which basically just consists of keeping the piercing clean then leaving it alone
In Newport in Wales it's ยฃ45 not any more I'm just starting up a place with fully qualified staff and it will only beยฃ20 with a titanium stud, pass it on ๐Ÿ™‚๐Ÿ™‚๐Ÿ™‚๐Ÿ™‚

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