We know ear piercing placements can be confusing. Who on earth has ever heard of a conch before? At Rowan, we’re here to help! Here’s everything you need to know about the conch piercing placement.

What is a Conch Piercing?

A conch piercing is a needle piercing performed in the bowl-shaped part of the ear. This is considered a cartilage piercing.

What Kind of Piercing Jewelry Do You Recommend for the Conch?

We pierce the conch with flat back piercing jewelry. We love piercing with earrings that sparkle for this placement. They add an extra flare to the piercing and make it more noticeable in your ear stack while your piercing is healing! 

My personal favorite piercing jewelry for the conch piercing is our Diamond Curved Bar!

How Do I Style a Conch Piercing?

The conch is quite a versatile piercing. Depending on the rest of your stack, you can choose to use a small stud, larger statement stud, endless hoop, or a curved bar to embrace natural curvature of the conch anatomy.

Everyone’s ear is different! If you’d like to put in a hoop, we recommend waiting 6 months before making the switch - and definitely make sure to ask your nurse which size hoop will fit best based on your unique anatomy.

How Do I Take Care of My Conch Piercing?

Good piercing aftercare and high-quality aftercare products will help you avoid infection and help your ear piercing heal more quickly. Make sure you follow through with the aftercare recommended by our nurses.

Always wash your hands before touching your earrings, and try to limit touching your ears to only when you are cleaning. Clean the front and back of your piercing with our aftercare solution 2 to 3 times per day for at least 8 weeks. Give your earrings a 30-second rinse with warm water in the shower.

Make sure to disinfect anything that goes in, on, or around your ears (this includes your cell phone!) at least once daily to decrease the risk of introducing bacteria to the site. With a conch piercing, it’s also particularly important to disinfect things like headphones (or a stethoscope, for my medical professionals reading!) before each use.

It’s important to leave room in the front and back of the earring to allow the ear the “space” it needs to heal. If you’re a side sleeper, make sure to use a piercing pillow so you don’t “annoy” your new piercing in your sleep.