Ear piercings are those pieces of jewelry that attach to the ear by way of a barb or thin piece of metal that is threaded through a small hole in the earlobe or other part of the ear. Ear piercing is one of the most widespread practices in the world. Ears were the first to be experimented on when man considered piercing. In some tribes, it was done because they thought that evil spirits entered the body through the ears and metals repulsed these spirits. Throughout history, we have instances of women, and even men, piercing their ears and adorning them with beautiful jewelry.

Though ear lobe piercing is most common, and it is the easiest to perform as the lobe is made up of soft tissue, there are other cartilaginous sites which can be pierced too. There are many types of piercing vertical, industrial, helix, orbital and anti orbital. A helix piercing, for example, is a piercing along the outside rim of the ear. This piercing is slightly difficult to do, as this part of the ear is not as soft as the lobe. Industrial piercings join two holes with a barbell.

The risks involved are negligible if proper precautions are taken and the healing period is around six to eight weeks in an ear lobe piercing. Precautions like keeping the wound clean until it heals, not swimming, and keeping the telephones, headphones, reading glasses and hats that come into contact with your piercing clean are all important steps that can be taken to safeguard piercings.