Inside: 31 of the best cartilage earrings for 2023.
One of my favorite piercings that I have is my cartilage! I’ve kept the same earring in it since I got it pierced when I was 17, but I always love to look at ideas for something new, and simply lack the execution.
So here are some of the best cartilage earrings for 2022 that I think you should invest in, and I probably will too by the end of the year.
Whether you’re a hoops gal or a stud dude, these earrings are cool and interesting and will vibe with any style or aesthetic you’ve got going on!
I love to coordinate different earring styles with each other– having multiple piercings is just a great opportunity to coordinate and curate a great style on my ear. These are so fun, and whether you’re a gold, silver, copper, or rose gold metal kind of person, these are some great options!
Have some questions on cartilage piercings? Are you looking into the jewelry to get excited about getting a cartilage piercing? Then let’s answer some of your questions before we get into all the cute earrings you can wear!
How Much Does It Cost
Earring prices can vary so much, there are $10 hoops on Amazon and $200 studs on Maison Miru. Whatever your price point is or how high of quality jewelry you need for your piercings, you’ll find what you need.
Now, if you’re looking into the cost of a cartilage piercing, you’re likely ranging anywhere from $35 to $85, depending on where the shop is located and how experienced your piercer is.
Don’t go cheap on a piercer just because. You want to make sure they’re quality and do good work. If you trust the shop and find it to be safe and sanitary, then there’s no reason you shouldn’t trust it! But if you’re not too sure about the place, a few extra dollars aren’t worth an infection! You’ll thank yourself later.
These prices also generally do not include jewelry, so you’ll want to budget for that as well! If you do a consultation or make an appointment at the shop, you can usually ask about pricing on their general piercing jewelry.
How Much Does It Hurt
The cartilage piercing is definitely not one of the most painful, but it is pretty uncomfortable! Only because the cartilage is pretty thick and tough, so it makes it a little bit of a tougher process to get the needle from one side to the other.
If you only have your lobes pierced thus far, this will likely hurt a little more than that, but as you continue to get more piercings, this won’t be your most painful! So deep breaths, you’ll be fine getting this one done!
It remains tender for a while because of the pressure applied to it for the piercing, so as you’re changing out your cartilage earrings after the technical healing time, it might still be a bit sore!
But it will be oh so worth it for this cute piercing!
How To Heal And Not Get Infected With New Jewelry
Healing cartilage isn’t difficult. Other than the ongoing soreness you will experience, as long as you keep it clean, you’ll be fine. So what’s the cleaning process?
Using a saline solution, soak a cotton swab with it and gently clean the front and back of the piercing. It might be uncomfortable, but you’ll need to get under the earring and get at the base of the hole of the piercing. Same with the back. Crust can build up as the piercing heals, but you’ll need to get all that out as best as you can to let it heal fully.
When it’s time to change to one of these new stunning cartilage earrings, I always like to disinfect the earring itself too once it gets to me. Even if it’s in packaging that generally should have kept it safe from picking up germs, you never know who or what touched it and in what conditions before it got into the packaging.
Whether your cartilage piercing is new or old, you want to avoid any germs from God knows where, so I recommend using the same saline solution you use on your piercing on your new jewelry to clean it all up. Especially if it IS new, though. It can be much easier to catch an infection in a fresh wound.
What Does The Scar Look Like
Good news! Ear piercings don’t leave much of a scar behind, and even if they did, you wouldn’t see it much with it being on your literal ear.
The scar for these piercings are more likely to feel like a chunk of scar tissue inside of your ear if you were to pinch it between two fingers.
Our bodies are made to utilize scar tissue when the skin has been pierced, so it’s not unlikely to feel some sort of effects, but it won’t be anything crazy.
Hoops
I love hoops. When I start to change out all of my piercings, I might just get all new hoops for them all and do away with studs. While studs are a classic look, hoops are my all time favorite!
Here are some that I have my eye on and you should too!
1. Embellished Hoop
2. Bubble Hoop
3. Sterling Silver
4. Beaded Hoop
5. Gold
6. Studded
7. Orbital
8. Lightning Bolt
Studs
Again, studs are such a classic look! And there is a lot of creativity that you can have with a few different stud styles. Use different shapes or metals and you’ve got some fun and funky earrings!
9. Classic Diamond
10. Pearl And Stone
11. Trio
12. Lightning Bolt
13. Smiley
14. Cluster Earring
15. Gold Ball
16. Evil Eye
Aesthetic
You’ve got a certain vibe going on. Whatever it is, there’s a new and fun way to find some new piece to incorporate it into what you’ve already got going!
Check these out and find your vibe!
17. Star
18. Cutie Flowers
19. Distressed Metal
20. Horseshoe
21. Golden Snake
22. Opal Hoop
23. Celtic Braid
24. Moon And Diamond
With A Chain
Connecting your different piercings with chains is such a cool look, and adds the illusion of more jewelry on your ear than there is!
If you’re considering getting some chain connected earrings for your cartilage, here are some of my favorites.
25. Double Hoop
26. Chain Detail
27. Cluster
28. Trio Chain
29. Double Helix
30. Helix Chain With Stone
31. Connecting
I love finding new ways to wear my jewelry in my piercings– it’s what makes it so fun to have all kinds of different piercings! Coordinating or mixing and matching, creating a cool vibe with different earrings is such a fun process. Whether it’s with hoops, studs, chains, or barbells, new jewelry always refreshes the look and makes me feel like I’m not still itching to get a new one.
Though I always am. But it holds it off for just a little bit.
I hope you found a new cartilage earring that you love and will have you showing of your cartilage piercing all over again!
If you’re looking for some new and fresh ideas for your ears, I’m loving the concept of these orbital ear piercings! It’s such a subtle way to make your usual ear lobe piercings refreshed and new without doing something too wild and crazy.