Have you ever heard of a conch piercing before? This unique piercing is incredibly versatile, giving you the chance to get creative with your accessorising. Its placement is unusual and bold, which is in part what makes it such a desirable piercing.
In our guide, we're going to explore conch piercings in full, answering people's most asked questions about this piercing and offering our own conch earring recommendations to elevate your jewellery look.
What is a conch piercing?
A conch piercing is a hole made in the hollow dip in the centre of your ear. It's the part that looks a little like a cup, named for its similarity to the entrance of a conch shell. The piercing is created with a thicker needle than is used for lobes, as the cartilage is thicker and requires a piercing and earring with a bit more stability.
Conch piercings aren't always in exactly the same spot. All ear shapes are different, and this is never more apparent than when deciding on a conch piercing placement. The location can also be slightly altered for preference. Typically, you'll see it in the centre of the conch or slightly closer to the soft fold of cartilage around the edge of the ear. If you're planning on getting a conch piercing and think you'd like to eventually wear a hoop in it, it's recommended to request the piercing be closer to the outer fold.
Pictured: 18ct Gold Textured Conch Hoop
What are the benefits of a conch piercing?
Conch piercings come with several benefits, from how they look to how they heal.
-
Aesthetically pleasing: Conch piercings look beautiful! They're unique and offer the opportunity to style them in a wide variety of ways. From studs to hoops of all shapes and sizes, you can truly make this piercing part of your personal aesthetic.
-
No painful catching: Unlike piercings on the outer rim of your ear, such as low helix and helix piercings, there is little chance of this piercing snagging on things like hair. That's thanks to its tucked-away position; your ear's cup keeps it nice and safe. This helps improve healing time, too, so unless you're a serial hair-tucker, it could heal anywhere between 5 and 12 months.
-
Adaptable for all ear types: Realistically, a conch piercing can be done in any part of the conch, so it should work for all ear types. Unless there is something specifically different about the area of cartilage, such as scar tissue or a unique extra fold, then a conch piercing should be possible.
-
Claimed health benefits: Before we get into these, it's important to note that these health benefits are not scientifically backed. Some believe that a conch piercing targets a specific pressure point, like in acupuncture, and delivers relief. They claim it can help with chronic pain, stress, and migraines, but there is no scientific evidence that can support this. It's suggested these results could be a result of a placebo effect, but if you find a conch piercing does help with these issues, then that's a wonderful benefit!
Can you sleep on a conch piercing?
When the piercing is fresh and healing, it's definitely not recommended to sleep on it. As with all other piercings, sleeping on one that is trying to heal is only going to cause heightened risk of infection as the earring rubs, snags, and pulls in your sleep. It can also pick up bacteria from your pillow. Many people will simply advise not sleeping on that side, but we all know it's difficult to control what position we move into while we sleep!
As recommended in our helix piercing guide, a travel pillow can do wonders for allowing your conch piercing time to heal, if you ensure your ear is in the hole in the centre to avoid pressure. Piercing pillows are also available; they look and feel like a typical bed pillow, but they come with a small, ear-sized hole in the middle.
If you find you cannot sleep with a special pillow, then the best solution is to keep your hair tied up for bed and wash your pillowcase regularly, around three times a week.
When can you change a conch piercing?
As we mentioned earlier in our guide, conch piercings typically take between 5 and 12 months to heal. This is slightly on the longer side, thanks to the thick cartilage and minimal blood flow, though they tend to heal faster than a helix piercing. We strongly advise not changing the bar it's pierced with for a new conch piercing earring until it's been fully healed for at least a few weeks. This means no sensitivity, no tenderness, and no discolouration.
If you're unhappy at the prospect of wearing the same earring for perhaps a full year, then we recommend finding a piercer who has a range of piercing jewellery you love the look of. This way, you'll be able to boast a beautiful conch earring from day one.
Can you wear AirPods with a conch piercing?
The good news is that conch piercings are mostly safe from the risks of in-ear headphones like AirPods. In-ear headphones are some piercings' worst nightmare. The shape of them, the movement when taking them in and out, and the bacteria that can collect on them all pose a risk to certain piercings. Tragus and daith piercings are especially difficult to navigate, and most people with these piercings simply use over-ear headphones instead.
If you have concerns about your headphones bumping your conch piercing earring, ask your piercer to place it slightly closer to the outer edge of your ear. This is also highly recommended for those with small ear cups, as it ensures the earring is as far as possible from any AirPods or in-ear headphones.
How to clean a conch piercing
Cleaning a conch piercing is simple and follows a similar technique to other cartilage piercings. We advise purchasing a sterile saline solution in spray form. This allows you to coat the area in the solution without touching it and possibly introducing bacteria or nudging it while it's trying to heal. Spritz the front and back of the conch piercing and then let it dry. Do this every day for as long as it takes the piercing to heal (or twice a day to be extra careful!).
Sometimes, a small amount of crust will form around a new piercing, but this is nothing to worry about if the piercing doesn't hurt. It should dislodge easily enough in the shower, but if not, douse a cotton bud in the saline solution and very gently dislodge it. If there is blood in the crust, this could mean the piercing has been knocked too much, and it's best to seek the advice of a professional piercer for the next steps.
What is the difference between a conch earring and an ear cuff?
People sometimes confuse these two, and that's understandable as they're worn in very similar places.
- A conch hoop is worn through the hole of a conch piercing, and it loops fully around the outer rim of the ear.
- An ear cuff doesn't require a piercing hole at all, and instead gently pinches around the outer rim of the ear.
We've created a diagram to help you visualise the difference between a conch hoop and an ear cuff:
Pictured: 9ct Gold Lucky Ear Cuff, 18ct Gold Textured Conch Hoop
Our range of hypoallergenic conch hoops and other cartilage earrings
Designed and crafted in our London studio, discover our range of hoops and studs for conch piercings, helix piercings, and tragus piercings. Each piece is delicate for a soft, styled look or to stack when creating a statement.
Our textured conch hoop, made from 18ct gold, is the perfect hypoallergenic conch piercing hoop for those who love adding subtle shine to their ear accessorising. It's claspless, so you only have to slightly twist the hoop to close it.
Discover ethical earrings and jewellery
The small, passionate team here at Wild Fawn are dedicated to creating sustainable jewellery. We go far beyond cartilage hoops and ear cuffs; we delve into all types of ethical jewellery, from lab-grown diamond pendant necklaces to responsibly sourced gemstone engagement rings.
Explore our ranges today and fall in love with your next sustainable jewellery piece.
