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Step 1
Start with a lobe piercing, which you will certainly recognize as one of the most common types of ear piercings. This is the only type of ear piercing that should be performed with a piercing gun, since the blunt tip can cause trauma and damage to cartilage.
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Step 2
Learn to recognize cartilage piercings, which are implemented at the ridges of the top of the ears. A pinna ear piercing involves a hoop that is placed through the cartilage at the very top of the ear, around the ridge. An auricle type piercing is placed a little further down that ridge, almost near the midway point of the ear.
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Step 3
Note the types of ear piercing which pierce the cartilage at the front of the ears, just above the entry to the ear canal. A tragus piercing is located on the lower ridge of cartilage directly in front of the ear canal, while a daith piercing is located on the ridge directly above the tragus.
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Step 4
Learn about the type of piercings that are applied to the cartilage folds at the center of the outer ear structure. A conch piercing penetrates the largest cartilage fold at the very center of the ear in two separate places. A rook piercing is located above a conch piercing, along the same fold to the point where it narrows behind the daith.
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Step 5
Investigate more complex piercings, which may involve more than one part of the ear. For instance, an industrial ear piercing involves a barbell that pierces both the pinna and the conch, and is fastened vertically by a stud at the very top ridge of the ear. A scaffold, however, pierces both the front and rear ridges of the pinna with a horizontal bar.
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Step 6
Notice the use of a simple stud piercing, as opposed to a hoop or a ring, which will help you to recognize an orbital piercing at the flat upper portion of the inner ear.
