The 7 Biggest Ear Piercing Trends of 2022

Jump ahead, or read on for everything you need to know about the freshest ear-piercing trends, as well as the estimated length of time the healing process may take.

Why Are We Getting More Piercings Right Now?

Milestones are one reason customers are flocking to their local licensed piercer, but another is a generalized sense of freedom and autonomy that’s arrived as a result of the pandemic. “With remote work and workplace norms overall changing, more people are feeling free to experiment with bolder looks and express their personality,” says Lisa Bubbers, cofounder of Studs, a national piercing studio. That experimentation shows up both in the amount of piercings and in the piercings themselves, which are getting “more creative,” Bubbers says. (Plus, as Rothstein points out, “one fun thing about mask-wearing is that your ears show.”)

The last “really important trend,” as Leo West cofounder Jill Katz, RN describes it, is “adorning what you got.” There’s no normal, she says. A gorgeous earscape is all about working with your budget and your anatomy to create an embodiment of your style in tiny, beautiful silver, gold, or gem form.

The result: forward helices, vertically stacked lobes, conches, sconches, snake bites, and plenty of other piercing types we never knew existed, spanning from the outer rims of the ear to the inner cartilage and back to the earlobe. Our trend-spotting piercers shared the adornments they’ve seen grow more popular over 2022, and what they envision for the years (and ears!) to come.

Just as with microblading, filler, or any other body modification, it’s important to find a professional piercer that you trust, with a style that appeals to you. This is an essential step, whether you’re a longtime body modification fan or it’s your first piercing ever.

As Brooks notes, the benefit of following a piercer on social media is that you can seek them out and, as in one service she offers, put your ear(s) in her hands. During a “curation” appointment, the expert will look at your ear as a whole and help design multiple piercings to fit your style and your desires.

At Leo West, that might look like getting multiple differentiated piercings on each ear. “Symmetry is out,” says Rothstein. As she points out, a specialist is extra helpful if you’re nervous about curating an asymmetrical look. “It’s easy to say you don’t want ears that match, but it has to have a rhyme or reason to it,” she says. “I have two ears, and I like to say ‘one’s a little bit classy, one’s a little bit sassy.'”