Piercing Guides

Rook Piercing: The One Headache Paper, and the Ridge Nobody Measured
The rook is the only ear piercing with a peer-reviewed headache paper attached, and it describes symptoms appearing rather than easing. The ridge it goes through has never been measured, and the word rook appears in none of the major piercing-complication reviews. Plus a 2025 UK Pseudomonas outbreak traced to a piercing studio's water system. Read more...
Nose Piercing: The Staph Reservoir, and the Risks Borrowed From the Ear
Nose Piercing: The Staph Reservoir, and the Risks Borrowed From the Ear
A nostril piercing is usually not a cartilage piercing, and the Pseudomonas and perichondritis literature attached to it is all ear. The bump is almost always called the wrong thing.... Read more...
Belly Button Piercing: What the Complication Data Actually Says
The navel is not the piercing with the highest complication rate. In the one nationally representative survey it ranks fourth and below the average, and the sentence everybody quotes is about popularity rather than risk. Plus the shelf of skin that decides candidacy and has never been measured. Read more...
Tragus Piercing: The Vagus Nerve Claim, Checked
The tragus is the one ear placement where the vagus nerve claim starts somewhere anatomically plausible, and it still breaks in three places. What the anatomy sources actually disagree about, what a stimulation device does that a stud does not, and the study nobody has run. Read more...
Conch Piercing: Inner, Outer, and the Punch Question
Inner and outer conch are studio names, not anatomy. What a dermal punch is, why regulators in different places flatly contradict each other about whether a piercer may use one, and what size a conch actually takes. Read more...
Helix Piercing: Healing, the Bump, and What It Actually Is
Helix Piercing: Healing, the Bump, and What It Actually Is
The lump people call an irritation bump has no clinical definition. We looked up what a helix bump could actually be, what dermatology says about each one, and what the... Read more...
Septum Piercing: What It Goes Through, and What No One Has Measured
Septum Piercing: What It Goes Through, and What No One Has Measured
A septum piercing does not go through cartilage. We checked what the clinical literature, the APP and the NHS actually publish about pain, healing and risk — and where they... Read more...
Daith Piercing: What It Takes, and What the Migraine Evidence Says
A daith goes through the crus of the helix, the fold of cartilage above the ear canal. It takes a 16G ring, not a bar, and it is one of the slowest ear placements to heal. And the migraine claim does not survive contact with the research — we read all four papers. Read more...
Ear Piercing Chart: Every Placement, Numbered
Ear Piercing Chart: Every Placement, Numbered
A labeled diagram of the ear with every placement numbered, and one table giving the healing time, gauge and jewelry type for each. Two of the numbers on most charts... Read more...
Piercing Gun vs Needle: What the Evidence Actually Shows
Piercing Gun vs Needle: What the Evidence Actually Shows
The piercing industry has one answer to this question and repeats it everywhere. We went looking for the evidence behind it. What we found does not support the usual claim... Read more...
Anodized, PVD or Plated? Titanium Piercing Jewelry Finishes Explained
Anodized, PVD or Plated? Titanium Piercing Jewelry Finishes Explained
Three finishes that look similar on a product photo and behave nothing alike. What anodizing, PVD and gold plating actually are, what the FTC requires of each, and what the... Read more...
What a Piercing Actually Costs in the US
What a Piercing Actually Costs in the US
We read the published prices of 34 piercing studios across 24 US cities. The service fee is the small half of the answer: at 19 of them the jewelry is... Read more...
Piercing Age Laws in the US, State by State
Piercing Age Laws in the US, State by State
Only four US states set a minimum age for body piercing — Idaho at 14, and Arkansas, Kentucky and Wisconsin at 16. Mississippi and Washington, D.C. ban it under 18... Read more...
When a Piercing Closes, Loosens or Does Not Fit
When a Piercing Closes, Loosens or Does Not Fit
A surprising share of what people call healing problems are jewellery problems: wrong length, wrong threading, wrong weight. Here is which is which. Read more...
What a Piercing Costs in the UK, and What Actually Happens
What a Piercing Costs in the UK, and What Actually Happens
Prices checked against three UK studio price lists, the age rules for each UK nation, and pain described without the usual scaremongering or the usual dismissal. Read more...
What Piercers Recommend, and What UK Law Requires
What Piercers Recommend, and What UK Law Requires
Two different questions get confused constantly: what professionals specify, and what the law measures. Here is each, separately. Read more...
How to Measure Your Own Piercing Jewellery
How to Measure Your Own Piercing Jewellery
You do not need to remember what your piercer used. Here is how to measure a piece you already own, and what to do when you cannot. Read more...
Hoops, Huggies, Climbers and Dangles: Which Ear Jewellery Style Goes Where
What each ear jewellery style actually is, which placements carry it, and which ones survive a night's sleep. Read more...
Septum Jewellery Explained: Clicker, Horseshoe, Captive Bead — and How to Hide It
Septum Jewellery Explained: Clicker, Horseshoe, Captive Bead — and How to Hide It
The four septum jewellery types, which ones can actually be flipped up and hidden, and how a septum compares to a nostril. Read more...
Every Ear Piercing Placement, Named — and What Each One Takes
Every Ear Piercing Placement, Named — and What Each One Takes
Where every ear placement sits, what it is called, which jewellery shape fits it, and what to get next. Read more...
Navel Jewellery: Curved Barbells, Floating, Reverse and Maternity Bars
Navel Jewellery: Curved Barbells, Floating, Reverse and Maternity Bars
Why the navel takes a curved barbell, what floating and reverse styles are, and what changes during pregnancy. Read more...
Nose Jewellery Types and Nostril Placements Explained
The five nose jewellery types, what actually holds each one in, and how the nostril placements differ. Read more...
Cheap vs Quality Piercing Jewellery: What the Price Actually Buys
What separates a £3 multipack from a £15 titanium stud, what implant-grade actually costs in the UK, and when cheap is genuinely fine. Read more...
Hypoallergenic Earrings for Sensitive Ears: What Works and Where to Buy It
"Hypoallergenic" is not a regulated term. Here are the three materials that actually work, and how to tell a real seller from a listing that just says the word. Read more...
What to Buy for a Brand-New Piercing (and What to Save for Later)
A fresh piercing and a healed one want completely different things. Here is what to buy for each, and what the price difference actually buys. Read more...
Anodised Titanium Colours: How They Work and Whether They Fade
The colour is not a coating. Here is what it actually is, and why that matters for a piercing. Read more...
How to Change Your Own Piercing Jewellery
Flat backs, push pins and clickers each open differently. Here is how each one works. Read more...
Lobe Piercings: Sizing, Second and Third Holes, and Stacking
The most forgiving placement, and the most commonly mis-sized. Gauge, length, and how to space multiple holes. Read more...
Materials to Avoid in a Piercing That Hasn't Healed
Plated, filled, sterling silver, acrylic and unspecified steel — what each actually does in a healing channel. Read more...
Buying Piercing Jewellery Online in the UK Without Getting Caught Out
What to check before ordering, the warning signs, and the UK rules that actually apply to sellers. Read more...
Swimming, Sleeping and Exercise With a New Piercing
What pools, the sea, the gym and sleeping on your side actually do to a healing piercing. Read more...
Solid Gold, Gold Filled and Gold Plated: What's Safe for a Piercing
Only solid 14k+ is accepted for healing piercings. Here is what the other two actually are. Read more...
Downsizing: When and Why to Change to a Shorter Bar
The bar you were pierced with is deliberately too long. Here is why, and roughly when each placement is ready to change. Read more...
Stud or Hoop? How to Choose for Each Ear Placement
Which placements suit a stud, which carry a hoop, and the healing rule that overrides both. Read more...
Does Jewellery Choice Affect Whether a Piercing Rejects?
Does Jewellery Choice Affect Whether a Piercing Rejects?
Material, fit and style change the load on a piercing. Here is the jewellery side of migration — and where the topic stops being about jewellery. Read more...
Belly Bar Sizing: 14G, Bar Length and When to Downsize
Belly Bar Sizing: 14G, Bar Length and When to Downsize
14G and 10mm is the standard. Here is how to measure yours, and why length matters more on a navel than anywhere else. Read more...
Nose Stud Sizing: Gauge, Length and Why Yours Keeps Falling Out
Nostril piercings are finer than ear cartilage. Here is the gauge, the length, and the fix for studs that fall out. Read more...
Internally Threaded, Externally Threaded and Threadless Explained
Internally Threaded, Externally Threaded and Threadless Explained
Externally threaded jewellery drags a screw thread through the channel. Here is how to tell the difference. Read more...
Hoop Diameter by Placement: What Size Actually Fits
Inner diameter, not outer. Here is the size that actually fits each placement. Read more...
Does Titanium Turn Your Skin Green?
Does Titanium Turn Your Skin Green?
No. Here is the chemistry of why some metals stain skin, and why titanium is not one of them. Read more...
Titanium vs Surgical Steel: What You Actually Pay For
316L surgical steel contains 10–14% nickel. That single fact explains the price difference. Read more...
Flat Back Post Length: How to Choose, and How to Tell It's Wrong
6mm or 8mm? How to choose a flat back length, and the visual signs that yours is wrong. Read more...
How to Check Jewellery Is Really Implant-Grade Titanium
"Implant grade" is not a regulated term. Here is what to ask for, and what a real answer looks like. Read more...
Can You Sleep in Your Earrings? Flat Back Studs Explained
Can You Sleep in Your Earrings? Flat Back Studs Explained
Yes, if they are flat back studs. Flat backs are designed to be slept in; butterfly backs and hoops are not. Plus showering, swimming and how to avoid irritation bumps. Read more...
How to Build an Ear Stack: A Styling Guide
How to Build an Ear Stack: A Styling Guide
A good ear stack uses an odd number of pieces, one focal point and a single metal tone. Three stack combinations, spacing rules and how to build one while piercings... Read more...
How Long Do Piercings Take to Heal? A Complete Timeline
How Long Do Piercings Take to Heal? A Complete Timeline
Earlobes heal in 6-8 weeks; cartilage piercings take 6-12 months. Full healing time chart for helix, tragus, conch, daith, septum, nostril and navel piercings. Read more...
The Best Metal for Sensitive Skin and New Piercings
Implant-grade titanium is the safest metal for sensitive skin because it contains no nickel. Surgical steel contains 10-14% nickel. Full comparison of titanium, steel, gold, niobium and silver. Read more...
16G or 14G? A Complete Piercing Gauge Size Guide
16G is 1.2mm and 14G is 1.6mm. Most cartilage piercings use 16G; most navel piercings use 14G. Full gauge chart, bar lengths and ring diameters for every piercing. Read more...