How Much To Get Ears Pierced

How Much Does It Cost To Get Your Ears Pierced? (Price Guide)

Written by Dan Hunter

Ear piercings are the most common piercings to get. Due to their popularity, you have a lot of options for where to get your ears pierced. Of course, all of those options mean that the cost can vary quite a lot from place to place. How much an ear piercing costs will depend on many factors.

In this article, we talk about each and every factor that goes into deciding how much an ear piercing typically costs, but also, why you should definitely not base your decision on price alone.

The Average Cost Of An Ear Piercing

With all the factors put together, the average cost of an earlobe piercing at a body piercing studio is about $20 to $50 with the jewelry. Some places may have deals on getting both earlobes pierced at the same time because this is such a common double piercing.

Standard cartilage piercings like a helix piercing will cost around the same as a lobe piercing. If you go for more complex ear cartilage piercings, like an orbital or industrial piercing, the price is a bit higher, more like $45 to $85 per piercing with the jewelry.

Piercing Type	Piercing Cost
Earlobe (Single)	$25-$50
Earlobe (Pair)	$20-$50
Conch	$30-$70
Daith	$35-$70
Helix	$30-$60
Forward Helix	$30-$60
Industrial	$45-$80
Orbital	$45-$85
Rook	$30-$60
Snug	$30-$60
Tragus	$30-$60

If you'd like to gauge (a.k.a stretch) your piercings, you have a couple of options. You can start with a smaller gauge of needle when you first get pierced. The smaller the gauge number, the larger the size of the piercing hole.

Once your initial piercing is fully healed, you can have a professional gauge your piercing for about $5 per stretch plus the cost of larger jewelry. Alternatively, you can simply purchase stretching tools and jewelry and do it yourself at home.

Ear Piercing Prices: The Factors Involved

What exactly are these factors that determine how much you pay for an ear piercing? Here's an explanation of each of them.

Ear Piercing Type

First, there are several different places you can get pierced on your ears, divided broadly into lobe piercings and cartilage piercings. You can get several lobe piercings along the space of your earlobes. You can also get a transverse lobe piercing, that runs horizontally through the lobe tissue.

You have even more options for ear cartilage piercings, because everywhere else on the ear that is not a part of the lobe is made up of cartilage. The most popular ear piercing types include:

Each different type of ear piercing can vary in price, with earlobes often being the least expensive.

You also have the option to gauge your ear piercings. The earlobe is the most common piercing to stretch to larger sizes because it is the easiest place to stretch and can usually accommodate quite large jewelry.

That being said, other piercings can also be gauged, though the final size may be more limited. Gauging existing piercings is much less expensive than getting a new piercing.

Piercing Technique

Ears are one of those piercings that everyone thinks are so simple, it doesn't matter which method you use. That's not true at all! There are two different techniques primarily used for piercing ears, piercing gun or piercing needle.

You can get earlobes and some cartilage piercings done with a piercing gun. Often, the places that use only piercing guns do so for a lower cost than places with professionals trained to use a piercing needle.

That being said, you get what you pay for, and piercing guns can lead to some nasty complications that may not be worth the money you saved. Some people have experienced severe scarring from gun piercings, both in the lobe and the cartilage. Also, piercings done with a gun and stud are more likely to get infected.

Ear piercing pain can also fluctuate depending on the piercing method too.

Piercer Experience

If you've never been to a tattoo parlor or body piercing studio before, then the idea of having your ears pierced with a piercing needle may give you a bit of anxiety. However, trained body piercing professionals know how to use a needle deftly, and they often cause less pain than a gun piercing.

Of course, someone who doesn't know what they're doing can make the piercing experience less enjoyable. Therefore, if you notice that a particular body piercer costs way less than others you've considered, find out how much experience they have. It's often better to pay more for an accomplished piercer, who will give you a safer experience.

Studio Popularity

Just like different individual ear piercing professionals may cost more or less than one another, so do different studios. Studios that get lots of customers are likely to charge higher prices than those that don't get a lot of people coming in.

It makes sense though. They have to balance how many piercings they are able to do in a day with how many people are coming in, and being popular means their piercers are more experienced.

Studio Location

Yes, the ear piercing stand at your mall is probably the least expensive place to get your ears pierced, and sure, it may turn out fine. Although if it doesn't, then you're going to have to spend more money to get your ear re-pierced. Of course, you can decide not to re-pierce it, but you will probably end up feeling bad that you wasted money on something you didn't get to keep.

Ear piercing guns are more difficult to aim accurately than a needle, and the advice given by employees trained only to use a piercing gun often isn't the best or most accurate when it comes to aftercare. I'd suggest paying a little more to get it done right, and by someone who stays up-to-date on the best aftercare methods.

Piercing Materials

Different types of piercing studios or shops have different procedures. Piercing guns and studs come at different prices than sterile piercing needles and high-quality jewelry, and you'll find that you have options when it comes to what your first piece of jewelry is made out of.

Most studios suggest only gold, titanium, or surgical steel for initial ear jewelry, and they may charge a flat fee for the piercing plus basic jewelry, or they may instead price out your piercing separately, one fee for the process and one for the jewelry you select.

Extra Purchases

In addition to the cost of the piercing itself, you may end up spending a bit more money before leaving the piercing studio.

Many people like to buy extra jewelry while they're at a shop so they can get the kind of quality pieces they want.

Your piercer should also suggest aftercare products to help your piercing heal without infection or other complications. Cleaning an ear piercing is extremely important, so don't overlook this part of the aftercare process.

The best aftercare product I've personally used is the After Inked Piercing Aftercare Spray. Not only is it vegan, but it's also completely alcohol and additive-free. The solution works well on all skin types including sensitive skin, and it comes in a generously-sized mist-spraying bottle for easy application. When using it from the very start of the healing process, the spray helps to decrease healing times and aims to eliminate any lingering pain or soreness.

Why The Cheapest Prices Aren't Always The Best Option

I cannot repeat it enough times that you should seriously consider not going to the cheapest place possible for your piercings.

Sure, you may be able to "get the piercing for free" with the purchase of a jewelry and aftercare starter kit at a kiosk in the mall. Nevertheless, unfortunately those employees are not usually trained piercing professionals, and piercing guns have been linked to higher rates of infection and scarring.

Piercing guns are more likely to leave you with a crooked ear piercing or one that is not exactly where you wanted it to be. Also, the mall or similar shops are not exactly known for exceptionally sanitary conditions. A piercing studio typically follows stricter hygiene and disease control procedures.

Not only do you not want to go cheap with the piercer you select, but you also don't want to cheap out on the jewelry. Cheap jewelry metals often cause allergic reactions, and those reactions usually end up turning into an infected piercing.

Once your piercing is infected, you may have to deal with a bump or pus discharging from the piercing, and do you honestly want that hassle? Pay for quality jewelry made only from gold, titanium, or surgical steel for new piercings.

That first piece of jewelry has to stay in until you are completely healed, so you want to make sure it's something that won't irritate your skin or other ear tissue.

Common Discounts

It's fairly common to get a deal on certain scenarios at a piercing studio. Discounts on getting two or more piercings are pretty standard, and some places even offer buy one get one free deals for multiple piercings performed at one time. You will probably still have to pay for the additional jewelry though.

Depending on the area, you may also find student discounts. Also, a lot of places will charge less to re-pierce an area that you already had pierced before, even if it wasn't done at their studio.

Summary

Ears are a really fun place to pierce because they present so many different configuration options, and you can wear many different styles of jewelry.

Just because they're one of the most common piercings doesn't mean you should cheap out on getting them pierced or selecting appropriate jewelry. An ear piercing may cost slightly more if done by somebody who is professional and highly experienced, but this additional cost will be completely worth it in the long run.