Types of Ear Piercings Explained

The amount of ear piercing options has doubled since your grandmother’s day. Any and every location on your ear is not available for piercing by a top Toronto piercer. Below are the most common types of ear piercing types available today.

Lobe

Your standard lobe piercing is so common now babies even have them. This piercing hurts less than all the rest and heals quickly with proper care.     

Upper Lobe

The upper lobe is often what people get for their second piercing. It is now just as common as the love piercing. It hurts a little more but not by much.     

Anti-Helix/ Snug

Snug, or anti-helix piercings, are located just inside of your outer ear. The area here isn’t as hard making it easier and less painful to get pierced.     

Tragus

The tragus is the cartilage that extends over your inner ear from your head. The cartilage there is really thick making it a painful area to get pierced.     

Anti-Tragus

As the name implies, the anti-tragus is opposite the tragus. This area can be small for many people making it hard or even impossible to get pierced. In addition, it is extremely painful, difficult, and uncomfortable to get pierced.     

Surface Tragus

The surface tragus is the area on the outer part of the tragus. The piercing won’t go through to the inner ear but this piercing is the most painful part of the tragus to get pierced.     

Conch

The conch is the larger concave region on the outer part of the ear. The area is very easy to get pierced due to the large and soft cartilage.

Daith

The daith, pronounced “doth”, area is situated just above the inner ear. The cartilage here is hard making it more difficult to get pierced but it looks great.     

Rook

The rook is the area just below the cartilage. Just a warning, this area is considered one of the most painful places to get pierced.

Helix/ Cartilage

The helix area is the outer part of the ear. Most often it is simply referred to as a cartilage piercing. The pain of the piercing depends on where along the helix you get pierced. The area is hard to heal though due to the low blood flow.

Forward Helix

A forward helix piercing gets placed through the upper, outer cartilage- the part at the front near the head.     

Flat

The flat area is the part of your ear between the upper cartilage and the rook, which is flat as the name implied. This area can take over a full year to heal so take care of it.     

Industrial

An industrial piercing is a rod between two holes on the top part of your ear cartilage. It takes a skilled piercer to get the two holes in the right position so find a good one.     

Gauges

Gauges are a type of piercing that makes large holes in the earlobe. The process requires you to start out slow and then work toward stretching out the ear lobe.  

Come visit us at our Toronto tattoo shop to discuss getting one of the following piercings.

7 Things to Have Ready Before Booking Your Next Tattoo Appointment

Before booking an appointment for your chosen Toronto tattoo shop, make sure you have these seven items considered and ready.

Design

    If you’re doing a walk in appointment you should have a design already in mind. For larger pieces that you book in advance, you don’t need the final image ready for the consultation. You should have some ideas and inspiration for the tattoo artist, though.    

Time

    The best Toronto tattoo shops will have artists booking in advance. As you book your appointment be prepared to be flexible and be available for however long the artist thinks it will take.    

Identification

    You have to be 18 years old to get a tattoo done so have identification ready to show. Some places will let you get it done younger with parental permission but you’ll still need proof of ID.    

Money

    You get what you pay for when it comes to tattoos. Make sure you have the right amount of money ready when you go in to get inked.    

Artist

       When you book an appointment at your Toronto tattoo shop make sure you select the right artist for the job. Look at their portfolio and Instagram to make sure their work is good quality and fits your style.

Image

    When you go in, whether it’s for a walk-in or a consultation, make sure you bring in an image of what you want. It’s always best to print it out and make it larger than you actually want the tattoo to be so the artist can work off of it.    

Size and Placement

    Your artist will be able to give you advice on size and placement but you should think about these things beforehand. Some places are more painful to get tattooed while size will affect the time and money it will cost.    

Portrait Tattoos 101

 A portrait tattoo is a great way to honor or remember someone you love. It can be a portrait of a family member, a pet or even a celebrity icon. This type of tattoo can be tricky though due to the level of detail and the realism. Before you sit down at our Toronto Tattoo Shop to get your new portrait tattoo inked consider the following.

Time

    Portrait tattoos take a lot of time due to the level of detail and skill. Expect to spend between 4-10 hours in the chair. This time can go up though depending on the size, placement, and details.    

Style

    Most tattoos are done in the realism style, capturing the lifelike image from the photograph. However, recently people are getting portraits done in another style such as dot work, cubism or watercolor. Consider if you want a coloured portrait or black and gray as well.    

Cost

    Portrait tattoos can be costly due to the high level of details and skills needed to capture the realism.  They can be pricey but you never want to go cheap on tattoos, especially not portrait ones.

 Artist

    Always, always, look through an artist’s portfolio. Make sure they have experience and skill in portrait tattoos. It’s a good idea to ask to see the original photo and compare it with the finished tattoo they completed.   

Picture

    An artist can only recreate a quality image if they’re given a quality image. Make sure to always print out the picture and make it larger than the tattoo size you want. Make sure the image isn’t blurry, pixilated or faded. 

If you’re looking to get a portrait tattoo done check out our Toronto tattoo shop. We have many gifted artists that specialize in portrait tattoos.

10 Most Painful Places To Get A Tattoo

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10 Most Painful Areas To Avoid Getting Tattooed

If you decide to get a tattoo just know that there is no way to escape pain. Getting any part of your body stabbed repeatedly with a needle is going to hurt. You can however determine how much pain you’ll feel based on where you get inked. To avoid extra pain avoid these ten spots.

1.    Hands: Bones, ligaments, thin skin and tons of nerves. These are all the reasons why hand tattoos are some of the most painful. Not to mention, not having full use of you hands can be extremely difficult.  

2.    Feet: The tops of your feet are made up of bone and thin skin, which make for extreme pain. Always avoid the anklebone and if you’re determine to get a foot tat try going for the side of the feet where there is less bone and more muscle.

3.    Elbow: The elbow is pure skin and bone, not to mention in order to get a tattoo to look right you’ll have to hold and bend your arm in an awkward position while it gets done.

4.    Back of Knee: While there’s no bone here to cause pain the extremely thin skin that makes up this area will do it. It’s also not a commonly touched place so it’s even more sensitive.

5.    Inner Arm: Your inner arm has really sensitive nerves that will react immediately to the needle. People describe getting tattooed in this area like a scratching burn- sounds pleasant.

6.    Chest: Your chest is nearly all bone, which means you’ll feel the needle vibrating the entire time.

7.    Sternum: Just like a chest tat, a sternum tattoo is painful due to the needle hitting bone. However, sternum tattoos are even worse as they extend lower towards the stomach, which sends the vibrations lower too.

8.    Head: Your head has no muscle, sensitive skin and bleeds a lot which all makes for a painful experience. It also means that you’ll feel the needle vibrating through your skull the whole time.

9.    Ribs: The ribs are probably the most painful spot. Even tattoo veterans avoid this area. The skin there is tight and thin. There’s also no muscle to cushion the needle. Expect the need for lots of breaks if you decide to go through with a rib piece.

1.    Spine: Your spine is bone and nerves. What could possible be painful about that? To avoid the pain in this area try moving over a little on either side to hit the strong muscle that runs along side your spine instead of right on the bone.

Pain is unavoidable when it comes to tattoos but hopefully we can help you avoid a little bit of it by warning your away from these spots. If you really want a tattoo in any of these areas just be prepared for all that comes with it. Talk to an artist at our Toronto Tattoo Shop before hand to get their take on it and if you’re going to go for it then commit fully.