Body and Ear Piercing Visual Guide: All The Different Types of Piercings

There are a multitude of different piercings you can get, from a belly button piercing to the helix, and everything in between, the humble ear alone has over 10 different piercing locations. All of the body piercing variety is great, but can sometimes be overwhelming when trying to wrap your mind around getting your next body piercing.

That is why we put together our visual guide to all the different types of body piercings. To help you navigate the sometimes confusing world of all the different types of piercings. After reading this guide you'll easily be able to tell the difference between a conch piercing and a tragus, and will be well on your way to becoming a body piercing aficionado.

It’s time to shed some light on the secret world of body piercing, to illuminate yourself and “sharpen” your knowledge when it comes to piercing. Feel free to read the guide the whole way through, or just “poke” around.  Whichever path you choose, a “hole” new world of body piercing awaits….

Belly Button Piercing

The first piercing we are going to talk about is the belly button, this is a fairly common piercing that almost everyone has seen. They look great with standard piercing jewelry and dangly stones like the belly button piercing below. 

Nipple Piercing

The nipple is a more risque type of piercing, great if you are trying to increase the sexy (females or males). You can get a single nipple piercing, but most opt for both, either way they look great so it is a matter of preference. Nipple piercing jewelry is initially done with barbells, but once healed nipple piercings look equally great with hoops.

Snake Bite Piercing

The snake bite piercing looks like a snake bite. It’s a double bottom lip piercing that sits on the corner of your lips. A piercing equally common in males and females, this piercing looks great with studs and open ended hoops. 

Medusa Piercing

The Medusa piercing is a piercing of the upper lip in the philtrum. The philtrum piercing “Medusa” is more popular in women than men, and the jewelry used is a stud. The piercing studs can have any top that fits your style, from basic balls, to more glamorous diamonds.

Monroe Piercing 

A Monroe piercing is a piercing of Marlyn Monroe’s famous birthmark on the upper left lip. This piercing is more popular with the ladies, and looks great with plain studs or sparkly gems.

Madonna Piercing 

The Madonna piercing is just like the Monroe piercing except it's on the upper right lip instead of the upper left lip. Again, this piercing is more popular with women, and it looks best with plain or gem studs.

Lip Piercing

The lip piercing is most commonly done in the middle or sides of the bottom lip. It can also be done on both sides (snake bite piercing) or all 3 locations, the choice is up to you and all ways of doing a lip piercing look great. Lip piercings work well for male and female alike, and although pierced initially with studs, after the piercing heals can be switched with hoops.

Septum Piercing

Septum piercings are not as common as nostril piercings, but you have probably still seen a lot of people with a septum piercing. The septum is that thin piece of cartilage that runs between your two nostrils, the cartilage however is not pierced, just the soft tissue below it. Septum piercings look good on men and women, and usually look best with a horseshoe type of piercing jewelry, but hoops are popular too.

Nostril Piercing

The nostril, more commonly known as the nose piercing, is quite popular. From small studs to large hoops, almost any jewelry looks great in a nose piercing. Nose piercings can also be done in a variety of styles to suit anyone's taste, from a single nostril to both nostrils, to multiple in each nostril, the possibilities are nearly endless. Again, like most piercings, nostril piercing look equally good on a man or woman.

Earlobe Piercing

This is definitely the common piercing location on our list, but that doesn’t mean it needs to be pierced in a common way. The ear lobe has one of the largest surface areas for piercing, leading to many different piercing options, and any type of piercing jewelry works for the ear. That combined with the relatively easy healing process makes ear lobe piercing the perfect choice for any man or woman.

Helix Piercing

The helix piercing is where the cartilage on the back / top of your ear begins to curl. It is popular with men and women, and makes a great first body piercing step when moving from the traditional ear lobe. Helix piercing looks great with both hoops and studs, and can be placed in multiple locations along the helix.

Forward Helix Piercing

The forward helix is the area of the top of the ear where the cartilage folds over where the top of the ear meets the side of the face. This piercing looks good with hoops or studs, and is a good piercing choice for men or women. 

Industrial Piercing

An industrial piercing is a form of a double helix piercing where one piece of jewelry goes through both piercings. This is done with a long barbell, and looks good on both males and females. Industrial piercings have been gaining popularity in recent years which leads to more and better jewelry options.

Rook Piercing

The rook piercing is located in the upper part of the inner ear on the ridge between the outer and inner sections (in between the helix and the daith). This piercing is not as common as other inner piercings, so if you want something a little more unique you can’t go wrong with a rook piercing. More popular with females, but can work for males too.

Daith Piercing

The Daith piercing is a piercing that goes through the crus of the helix (the cartilage fold goes into your inner ear at the spot where your ear connects to your face). Popular with both sexes, the daith piercing looks best with hoops or horseshoe style jewelry.

Conch Piercing

A conch piercing is a piercing in the center part of the ear. You can have an inner or outer conch piercing, the inner is perfect for studs, and the out works well with hoops. This piercing has become more and more popular with women, and the fact that it is so customizable is one of the reasons why.

Tragus Piercing

The Tragus is the piece of cartilage that extends like a shield over the inner ear canal. Piercing of the tragus is a bit more popular with ladies, but like most piercings work for both males and females. A tragus piercing also looks equally as stunning with hoops or studs.

Flat Piercing

Named a Flat piercing because of its location, literally the flat part of your cartilage in the upper ear, these piercings are perfect for large decorative studs. A slightly more popular piercing for women than men, a flat piercing is definitely a more uncommon piercing if you are looking for a unique piercing to set yourself apart.

Ear piercing visual guide

Below is an ear piercing visual guide to help you better visualize all the different ear piercings that you can use as a reference.

Of course there are other piercings, for example,  male and female genitals, which can’t be pictured in this article, but I'm sure you can imagine. Along with some more obscure body piercings, like webbing piercings and the like. For the purposes of this body piercing guide, and showing you the different piercings some x rated body piercings were omitted. However, this should be a great start on learning more about the different body piercings..

What are some of your favorite body piercing locations? Is there any popular body piercing places you think we should have included on the list? Let us know in the comments below.

If this different body piercing list gave you an idea for a new body piercing, make sure to book at Mr. Inkwells tattoos & piercing. Where one of our Master Piercers will ensure you have the best piercing jewelry and experience possible.

See you soon!