An ear lobe piercing is by far the most popular ear piercing. It's so popular that some parents even get their childrens lobes pierced. There are three types of lobe piercings you can get. First there is the standard lobe piercing which is located usually at the center of your ear lobe and runs from the front to back. You also have the option of a transverse lobe piercing. This piercing runs horizontal (side to side) through your ear lobe instead of front to back. Finally, a vertical lobe piercing is one that runs from the bottom of the lobe out the top near the location of the antitragus piercing.
The most common piercing gauge for all three lobe piercings is 14 gauge, but it can always vary between 20 gauge and 10 gauge depending on your piercer.
With the standard lobe piercing, many people choose to stretch their original hole to fit body jewelry items such as flesh plugs, flesh tunnels and large gauge earrings. Many people refer to this stretching process as gauging the piercing, which confuses some people. I have stretched my ear lobe piercings to 8 gauge but plan to go to at least 0 gauge in the future. The stretching process takes quite some time and a lot of patience.
So what type of jewelry is best to wear in lobe piercings? Well, the standard ear lobe piercing that is not stretched can accommodate many types of jewelry including circular barbells, studs, hoops, and labrets. For the transverse, a straight barbell and curved barbell are pretty common although you will see some people with ciruclar barbells and hoops. A straight barbell is really the only option for the vertical lobe piercing.
How painful can I expect these earlobe piercings to be? Some people like the man in the video below felt little pain with his standard lobe piercing. He even states that the clamp hurt more than the stick. I found this to be true with several of my piercings, even my labret! The transverse lobe piercing is said to be even less painful than the standard lobe piercing, while the vertical lobe piercing I've been told is more painful. Pain though is all a matter of opinion. Some people may pass out at certain pain while others laugh at it.
Healing time for these three piercings vary. The ear lobe piercing and transverse lobe both heal within 4 to 6 weeks while the vertical lobe piercing heals in about 2 to 3 months because it is a more involved piercing. Healing time always varies though depending on how well the aftercare instructions from your piercer are followed.
Most people do not run into complications with the standard ear lobe piercing. Unfortunately, with the transverse and vertical lobe piecings you run the slight risk of developing an abscess, especially if you overclean these piercings or contract an infection. It's good to clean your lobe piercings twice a day for at least the first 3 to 4 weeks. When you are cleaning your piercings, make sure to wash your hands with antibacterial soap beforehand. Also, you will want to remove any crusty pieces that tend to form around the piercings and jewelry. Never use alcohol to clean your piercings like many people used to be told years ago. It's best to use a homemade sea salt solution or special aftercare spray like H2Ocean.
Now that you know a little about ear lobe piercings, do you want to run out and get one? I know after I got my first one, I ran out and got a second one, and a third one. If you aren't interested in one of these three piercings, how about a different type of ear piercing? Check out the daith piercing next and see if its right for you.
